This article is about the crime. For the Robert Bresson film, see Pickpocket (film). Robert Bresson (ʁɔbɛʁ bʁɛˈsɔ̃ in French ( September 25, 1901 &ndash December 18, 1999) was a French Film director Pickpocket is a 1959 Film by the French director Robert Bresson.

Eighteenth century engraving showing a pickpocket in action.

Picking pockets without a persons knowledge or approval of you picking their pocket is a crime, a form of larceny which involves the stealing of money and valuables from the person of a victim without their noticing the theft at the time. In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment In the United States, larceny is a Common law Crime involving Theft. Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. It requires considerable dexterity and a knack for misdirection. Fine motor skills can be defined as coordination of small Muscle movements which occur e Misdirection is a form of Deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another Someone who picks pockets is known as a pickpocket.

Pickpockets and other thieves, especially those working in teams, sometimes apply distraction, such as asking a question or bumping into the victim. In Criminal law, theft (also known as stealing or filching) is the illegal taking of another person's Property without that person's freely-given Distraction is the diversion of Attention of an individual or group from the chosen object of attention onto the source of distraction These distractions sometimes require sleight of hand, speed, misdirection and other types of skills.

The crime used to be punishable by death—even though public hangings were considered prime targets for pickpockets. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. William Shakespeare referenced this in his play The Winter's Tale, where the rogue and pickpocket Autolycus observes,

. William Shakespeare ( baptised The Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, first published in the First Folio in 1623 In Greek mythology, Autolycus (in Greek, &ndash " Lone Wolf " was a son of Hermes and Chione. . . every lane's end, every shop, church, session,

hanging, yields a careful man work.

Famous fictional pickpockets include The Artful Dodger and Fagin, characters from the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. The Artful Dodger is a character in the Charles Dickens Novel Oliver Twist. Fagin (ˈfeɪɡɪn is a Fictional character who appears in the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, referred to in the preface of the novel A novel (from Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new" "news" or "short story Oliver Twist (1838 is Charles Dickens' second Novel. The book was originally published in Bentley's Miscellany as a serial Famous true-life pickpockets include the Irish-American prostitute Chicago May, who was profiled in the books Chicago May, Queen of the Blackmailers and Hell Hath No Fury: Famous Women in Crime. Irish Americans (Gael-Mheiriceánach are citizens of the United States who can claim ancestry originating in Ireland. Chicago May (born May Duignan in County Longford, Ireland) was a notorious female international criminal Chicago May Queen of the Blackmailers is an historical biography of May Duigan written by Frank Columb.

Pickpocket skills are also used by magicians, either to take an item from a spectator or to return it without their knowledge.

Further reading

• Avadon, David. Cutting Up Touches: A Brief History of Pockets and the People Who Pick Them. Chicago: Squash Publishing, 2007. ISBN 0974468169. About the history of theatrical pickpocketing.
• Columb, Frank. Frank Columb (born in Cavan) is a historian and novelist best known as the author of Chicago May Queen of the Blackmailers, The Shooting of More Chicago May, Queen of the Blackmailers. Chicago May Queen of the Blackmailers is an historical biography of May Duigan written by Frank Columb. Cambridge: Evod Academic Publishing Co. , 1999.
• King, Betty Nygaard. Hell Hath No Fury: Famous Women in Crime. Ottawa: Borealis Press, 2001. ISBN 0888872623, ISBN 088887264X.

External links

• Howstuffworks.com - Pickpocketing
• The Man of Steal: International Comedy Pickpocket—a video of a pickpocket entertainer
• Videoclip of pickpocket comedian Michael Halvarson, the Cirque du Soleil lead clown character
• Video of Bob Arnoflipping some one off , The World's Fastest Pickpocket