Pickpockets Find Things Tough in New York

Pickpocket Squad Plans to Keep It That Way

HE PICKPOCKET and Confi-

dence Squad of the New York

City Police Department had its
origin in the year 1857 when the
Board of Police, which functioned in
those days, authorized the then
Deputy Superintendent of Police,
Daniel Carpenter, to detail twenty
men as detectives.

Selected for their experience and
special talents, the men were assigned
to separate squads, with each squad
having jurisdiction and primary re-
sponsibility over certain types of
crimes. Each squad was directed to
familiarize itself with the modus
operandi of crimes in its own par-
ticular field.

The book, “Our Police Protectors,”
written and published by A. E. Cos-
tello in 1885, makes the statement
that the detectives “were to make
themselves thoroughly conversant
with the mode and manner by which
each species of crime was committed,
and the class of persons engaged in its
commission.” Beyond this, the detec-
tives were instructed to attend all
large assemblies of people “and to
arrest or drive away all known pick-

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Page Twenty-eight

pockets or others whose actions led
them to suppose they were pick-
pockets or thieves of any kind.” They
were further directed to arrest any
known pickpockets observed mingling
with crowds and to keep a careful
watch over known shoplifters.

The first commander of the squad
given this field of activity was a
Sergeant William H. Lefferts. It is
he who is credited by Mr. Costello
with establishing the first rogues
gallery in the city.

Presently staffed by thirty-two de-
tectives, of whom ten of the key opera-
tives are women, the Pickpocket and
Confidence Squad is commanded by
Acting Captain Harry V. Hanley. It
is one of the Central Office Squads
and operates out of 400 Broome
Street, Manhattan. All professional
pickpockets are known to the mem-
bers of this squad, who give constant
and careful supervision to localities
where they are most likely to be
active. The comparative rarity of this
type of crime in New York City is,
itself, a tribute to the skill and atten-
tion to duty of the squad’s personnel.

Most of the complaints coming to
the squad reach it through the local
detective squad in whose territory the
particular crime is committed. This is
accomplished by means of a copy of
the local squad report which is for-
warded to the Pickpocket Squad.
Upon receiving such copy, one of the

_ Squad’s detectives is assigned to assist

and co-operate with the local squad
detective handling the case.

The only complaints handled di-
rectly by the Pickpocket and Confi-
dence Squad are those emanating
from out-of-towners who are not sure
of the location in the city where they
were victimized.

The squad maintains its own file
of known pickpockets. In addition to

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information gathered by this depart-
ment, this file also contains much
pertinent data on professional thieves
of this type, which has been for-
warded by Police Departments in
other cities. Frequently complainants
who have been victimized in other
cities have been able to pick a familiar
face from the photo collection main-
tained in Captain Hanley’s office.

Close coverage is given by the
squad to locations and gatherings in
all five boroughs, the nature of which
is likely to attract pickpockets. Ex-
amples of these are: theatres, depart-
ment stores, ball parks, piers, and
railway and bus terminals.

The women assigned to the squad
give most of their attention to the
city’s department stores and shopping
centres where women _ pickpockets
(handbag-openers) and shoplifters are
most likely to be active. There is a
sound reason for this. In many sec-
tions of department stores, men de-
tectives would be conspicuous, and
would be very likely to arouse the
suspicions of the thieves. Women
police officers, in such a situation, are
able to mingle unobtrusively with

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