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Catching pickpockets
Catching pickpockets
Every second counts. As soon as you sense something is "off", get away from the area immediately. For example, an old lady carrying a sack suddenly stops directly in your way. Or a youngster sprays ketchup on you. Both are likely setups for pickpocket teams. Doing something unexpected (jumping, backing up and going the opposite direction or picking up your pace to get away) may be enough to get you away from the pickpocket's reach.
Learn "Thief!" in the language of your destination and be prepared to yell it if you notice a pickpocket at work. When confronted, most pickpockets will fling their booty to the ground and attempt to make their escape: it's probably best to let them go, as they may be armed and you don't want to get charged with assault or harassment yourself.
In most cases in a crowded environment, the people around will co-operate with you to at least attempt to catch the thief and report the loss to police and act as a witness. In some places, the crowd may take justice into their own hands, brutally.
In countries with notoriously corrupt police, avoiding confrontation with thieves is strongly advised. They know the language, the system, and the police much better than you do. They may be part of a gang with connections you cannot fight.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Pickpockets
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Pickpockets Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.