Those who have no stomach for violence can eke out a living snatching cell phones on the subway, which are much easier to convert to cash than stolen credit cards...
At first I thought this was a fake semantic distinction, but now I see: Snatching is not the same as pickpocketing, because the mark helpfully takes out the most valuable item they own and holds it in prime stealing position for you, instead of concealing it in a pocket.
So this seems like the obvious reason why pickpocketing is dying: We've made it too easy. The most easily-fenced, most valuable object I carry is also one which I am very likely to take out and juggle as I wander through crowded places.
Here's where a better article would have coupled the stats on pickpockets with actual stats on public theft and other petty crimes, including things like ATM skimming. (Of course, I believe that all of these things are declining in absolute terms.)
My mother taught me never to take out valuables, especially money, in crowded public places. Isn't this a common teaching, such as "never cross the road without checking for cars"?
In most parts of the US such lessons are rare. I grew up in the Middle East where I learned similar lessons. To many here's unthinkable that one can't just leave their bag lying next to them, or some such.
Heck, outside of the cities many people here don't even lock their doors.
Yes, probably. These things are also common in some parts of Europe. For example, I remember being told to beware of pickpockets and bag snatchers in Spain in the 90s.
A friend of mine had his brand new iPhone 4 snatched on the subway here a few weeks back. It's a real eye opener. You just hold it out there. If you aren't ready for someone to take it, it's trivial to grab it out of your hands and jump out of the doors while they close.
At first I thought this was a fake semantic distinction, but now I see: Snatching is not the same as pickpocketing, because the mark helpfully takes out the most valuable item they own and holds it in prime stealing position for you, instead of concealing it in a pocket.
So this seems like the obvious reason why pickpocketing is dying: We've made it too easy. The most easily-fenced, most valuable object I carry is also one which I am very likely to take out and juggle as I wander through crowded places.
Here's where a better article would have coupled the stats on pickpockets with actual stats on public theft and other petty crimes, including things like ATM skimming. (Of course, I believe that all of these things are declining in absolute terms.)