Urban sociology - Essay Example

The ‘Guns’ of Gotham The criminal subculture of pickpockets shared certain values and acted in certain ways when placed in certain positions. They refused to cooperate with law enforcers; they avoided testifying against enemies and accepted to be punished even if they did not actually commit the crime. They also were members of a fraternity with a distinctive language which was not easily comprehensible. Accomplices were known as mobs, the trolleys and streets where they worked were called beats, pocket books were referred to as leathers and money as rolls.

Other terms used in their code language included touch, wire, pick, bugger, tool and cover all of which were used in their work context. “Guns” prospered so well in the 19th century for four major reasons; the first reasons was because the overpopulation in the city which forced physical intimacy easing picking pockets further to the daily supply of purses, pocket books, jewelry and small wares. Fashion was the second reason for their prosperity as most of the men and women had the tendency of carrying valuables in their coats as opposed to pants.

Women’s’ clothing were particularly easy to pilfer especially the loose dresses which usually fell over the next person in street cars. Reason number three was involved law enforcers tolerating pickpockets in return for a percentage. The most important reason was huge amounts of cash carried by the business persons, bank messengers and ordinary pedestrians. Owing to the perception that pickpocketing was increasingly becoming common; the public reacted by becoming hostile. New Yorkers were overwhelmed with publications that warned of the dangers of pickpocketing as well as other criminals.

Official actions included creation of a select committee in the year 1975 to probe growth in crime, increase in number of prosecutions, prescription of harsh punishments to the thieves and the 1860 legislation applicable specifically to the city which treated stealing, taking or carrying away of other people’s property as grand larceny. These official and stringent measures were aimed at protecting social interests and minimizing the practice as much as possible.Works Cited.1. Timothy Gilfoyle.

“The ‘Guns’ of Gotham”. A pickpocket’s Tale: The underworld of Nineteenth Century. New York: W.W. Norton, 2006.