FT Masterclass: Pickpocketing and how to avoid it with James Freedman

In order to pick a pocket or two, you've got to enlist the help of a pickpocket or two. For me, that means meeting professional pickpocket James Freedman and actor Harry Eden, a former pupil of his, on a cold March day in London. As we stand in the shadow of Southwark Bridge, I see Freedman blowing on his hands to keep them warm - perhaps the minimum level of care you'd expect from a showman who has insured them for £1m.

Freedman is a master of the art of pickpocketing and his expertise has been sought by everyone from Roman Polanski to the Metropolitan Police - who deal with hundreds of cases of "stealth theft from person" every week. For Polanski's 2005 film Oliver Twist, Freedman spent several months teaching the then 15-year-old Eden the skills he needed to play the Artful Dodger. Now I am hoping he can do the same for me in just one day.

Before we start the lesson Freedman asks me what I have in my pockets. I show him the contents of my jacket before returning each item to its rightful place. It is only when he asks me to tell him what to try to take first that I realise my pockets are, in fact, empty.

Freedman describes himself as "the only honest pickpocket you will ever meet", insisting that he always returns what he "steals" and never takes anything without first telling the person he's a pickpocket. Even knowing this, I was blissfully unaware as he emptied my pockets. It was only when I saw it done to someone else that I could appreciate the beauty of it.

Since he began stealing pens from his friends as a 10-year-old, Freedman has studied the methods of pickpockets. Mainly he talks to those who have been convicted but he has other methods too. "I covertly film [pickpockets] and analyse how they're doing it," he says, matter-of-factly. "I love the elegant simplicity of the solutions they come up with. I don't admire what they do but I admire how they do it."

Soon I am ready to try it for myself. I am instructed to grab the wallet protruding from Eden's back pocket as he walks by. A simple task, I think. My timing is off on the first attempt, and I end up simply hitting the wallet with closed fingers. On the second try I grab the wallet but my grip isn't tight enough. The third try is the charm as I slip my fingers into the pocket, letting Eden's movement away from me pluck the wallet out. Even in this controlled situation, it feels wrong.

"Not a nice feeling, is it?" says Eden, but he assures me I'll get used to it after a few tries. He should know, after the months perfecting the skill for Oliver Twist. Since then he has starred with Daniel Craig in Flashbacks of a Fool and has even flirted briefly with a career as a professional golfer. Still, he remembers playing a London street pickpocket as a dream come true: "I always wanted to be the Artful Dodger; that's why I became an actor."

Freedman suggests I distract Eden from feeling my hand in his pocket by causing a more obvious form of contact somewhere else. By bumping into someone at shoulder level, for instance, you can distract their attention away from where their valuables are.

I ask if there are certain hotspots where pickpockets strike. Tourist spots, Freedman tells me, especially places such as Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower, where people's attention is directed upwards and away from their belongings. He says that many pickpockets also operate near signs warning us to beware of pickpockets. The irony is that when people read the signs, they check their pockets or bag, thus alerting the lurking pickpocket to where their valuables are.

Learning the pickpockets' tactics doesn't necessarily protect you from them, however, because "they'll adapt and they'll change", says Freedman. "But if you understand the psychology . . . then you just start thinking like the bad guys. Then you are much less likely to be a victim." He adds that most of us could go through our wallet or purse and take out 60 per cent of its contents. If you carry your credit cards in the same wallet as your driving licence, he says, you are giving potential thieves your card details, home address, full name and date of birth. This is what is referred to as "a full set" and is all someone needs to commit fraud.

In his live show, Man of Steal, Freedman exposes the audience to what he sees as the subtle beauty of pickpocketing. When you see the ease with which he reaches into someone's pocket and takes exactly what he wants, or slips a ring from someone's finger, you begin to appreciate why he refers to it as an art.

Back at the bridge, Freedman shows me the advantages of having a partner. He blocks Eden by stopping in front of him suddenly; I follow them closely, slipping my hand into Eden's pocket as I bump into him. This tactic, Freedman says, is particularly common in train stations. A pickpocket may deliberately insert their ticket in the barrier incorrectly, for example, to give their partner the necessary pile-up of bodies.

<

The tabular content relating to this article is not available to view. Apologies in advance for the inconvenience caused.

The final lesson of the day is on watches. Freedman gets me to try some on, before removing them with incredible ease. Placing his hand over the watch, he unclips the strap with his middle finger and lifts it off in the blink of an eye. Even after he has removed the watch from my wrist, it still feels as if it's there. "There's a certain retention of muscle-memory," he says. "Even during a show when I steal a watch or a ring from a lady, they can be looking at their hands and not notice."

Even if you strip your wallet down to the bare necessities and don't wear a watch, the advent of smartphones means that the potential score for a pickpocket has never been greater. "If someone is walking around with a mobile phone that isn't locked and has mobile banking or mobile payment systems or even email, then they are leaving their digital life wide open for abuse . . . It's not the device, which is worth £100 if you're lucky second-hand, it's the data it contains."

Still, it seems that the biggest advantage the pickpocket has is simply that nobody thinks it will happen to them. "People ask me if I could be pickpocketed," Freedman says. "And the answer is yes, if someone was sufficiently skilled."

As I head home through Holborn Tube station I see a sign reminding commuters to beware of pickpockets. I tap my pockets instinctively - and wonder if anyone was watching me do it.

'Man of Steal' is at the Menier Chocolate Factory, London, April 12-27 (Sunday and Monday evenings only); menierchocolatefactory.com

Photographs: Charlie Bibby

© The Financial Times Limited 2015. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation