Watchout!! Pickpockets!!

Daily living in Jakarta is no easy matter. The old saying 'It's a jungle out there' applies to this capital city of Indonesia. One must always be alert to one's surrounding whenever one braves the streets of Jakarta. Those who are used to commute with various public transportation and walk the sidewalks of Jakarta could attest to this. Various hazards await, such as thievery, pickpocketing, robbery, buses that never stop at their predetermined bus stops, picket lines, riots, protests, kidnappings, extortions, hypnotism (another popular form of thievery on the streets and in public transportations in Jakarta), car crashes, accidents (AND fake accidents to extort owners of various automobiles), presidency (and various higher-up government people) motorcades, bombs, and of course, air polutions. In short, living in Jakarta is close to living near a warzone.

Of course I'm just dramatizing. It's the purpose of this writing. And in any case, there's a lot of truth in that.

So, in the spirit of helping the good citizens of Jakarta (the nice people, mind you, not the bad people that tried to rob me this morning...aha!) to cope with daily living on the streets of this buzzling city, I would like to give some descriptions of two pickpocketing techniques that I've encountered (and managed to survive) so far.

The first one is (drum roll): "Excuse me sir, you've dropped your lighter" trick.

Bio:
Places to watchout for:
bus stops, under the stairs of crossing bridges (on the sidewalks), under the stairs/walkway to busway crossing bridges, and other places where public transportations usually stop and drop passengers off.

Number of culprits:
usually 3 to 4 people

Descriptions of targets:
males, wearing loose formal pants, most likely right-handed malesGeneral descriptions of culprits : nondescript t-shirts and jeans, dark-skinned (probably due to staying in the sun for long periods of time), sometimes they wear hats (to conceal their eyes), and very good at pretending to look the other way or having blank expressions, standing and pretending to wait for something, wearing nondescript shoes/sandals, looking pretty much gruff (but could be nervous and sweaty when caught or failed in nabbing their targets)

Standard Operating Procedure:
So this is where it gets interesting. Their targets are people walking on the sidewalks, usually people from the male side of the human species who just got off from a crossing bridge or a busway bridge. They spot their targets from afar and ready themselves to do their 'trick'. one or two of them stand/crouch at the left side of the sidewalk (or the crossing bridge stairways) while the other one or two stand/crouch on the right side of the sidewalk. When a target comes into the space between them, the ones on the left side of the target (why left, you asked? You will understand later) will suddenly stand up and grab the left side of the target's pants (the target's left leg) and start shaking the pants. Sometimes they will say "excuse me sir, you've dropped your lighter". This will, of course, attract the attention of the target to the left side of his lower body. While attracted, the other one or two will search the right backpocket of the target and fish out the target's belongings (wallets, cellphones, or other expensive belongings). Now, I will explain why they attract the target's attention to the left side. I assume that most people are right-handed. And I assume that right handed people usually put their wallet in the rightside pockets of their pants (either front or back). This is why these tricksters attract the target's attention to the left side so another one or two could work on the target's right side. I don't know what will happen next after they succeed getting the target's belongings (since I've managed to survive two attempts of this trick), but I imagine that they will either run, hide, switch the prizes between them and run away again, confusing the target in deciding who he/she will run after.

The second one is (drum roll again): "This train is so crowded!" trick

Bio:
Places to watchout for :
train stations and inside a car (train car, that is)

Number of culprits:
at least 4 people

Descriptions of targets:
males, wearing loose formal pants, don't have to be right-handed/left-handed

General descriptions:
see "Excuse me sir, you've dropped your lighter" trick bio

Standard Operating Procedure:
Targets are males about to go on board a train, most likely on the Jakarta Kota - Bogor line. As always, these culprits spot their targets from afar. When a train arrives, two of them get themselves in front of the target and board the train. The other two get themselves behind the target. Those in front will pretend to be having trouble getting inside the car, making the target think that the train is crowded (while it probably isn't). With this 4-people formation, the target is caught in the middle, innocently thinking that the train is crowded, while the 2 people behind start searching the target's pockets for valuable belongings (wallets, cellphones, etc.). After awhile, the two people in front of the target will 'release' the target and the two people behind will try to mingle among the crowd inside the train car. By the time the target realizes that his belongings are gone it will already be too late.

I hope that these two descriptions I have above will help readers to be more cautious toward these kinds of tricks. But I will elaborate more on tips and tricks on how to see them coming. Here I go:

1. Always be alert to your surrounding.
I know daily routine bores the hell out of anyone. And there are times when we couldn't help but be immersed in other matters while commuting, just to get rid of the boredom (or maybe just plain daydreaming). But try to bring yourself to an alert state once in awhile (it would be better if you're alert all the time, though, but that's all up to you...it's your mind anyway). The theme of both tricks above is 'distraction'. And the less alert you are, the easier for them to distract your attention. Try to pay special attention to the people around you. Watch out for those who act strangely. I know this is subjective, since different people have different ideas of what 'strange' is. Just follow your gut instinct. It's a jungle out there and instincts work best.

2. Pay special attention to your valuable belongings.
Put them in your bag (if you have a backpack, that's better). Or if you don't, put them in the front pockets of your pants and if you like, put your hands inside your pocket. That will make it harder for them to search your front pockets. Can't say anything for the ladies though (since these tricks are mostly aimed toward male). Just hold on tight to your hand bags, ladies. That's all I could say.

3. Raise your voice.
Don't be afraid, scream if you need help. Some people are too taken aback that they forget they have a weapon: their mouths. Use it to scream for help. Or even better, use it to throw some obscene words toward the culprits. In my experience, this tactic works best to throw them off guard. They are not expecting you to be brave and fight back (even if you're only swearing). The ruckuss will draw attention from other people on the streets, and most of these people hate pickpockets. Sometimes, being caught while pickpocketing is fast way to a certain death (usually by being beaten to pulp). This tactic works best when the surrounding area is full of people. I tried shouting "Don't f***in' mess with me!" toward some culprits unfortunate enough to pick me up as a target and it elicited nervous glances and sweats...from the culprits. Shouting "thieves!" may scare them off too, but the most important thing is pay attention to your belongings, always. Because these are the things you're trying to protect.

There you go. These are the things I could offer the reader for now. I have been lucky enough to survive several pickpocketing attempts. I may not be so lucky again in the future, especially if these culprits come up with new and better techniques. But for those who are unfortunate, don't worry. Be comforted by the fact that at least it's only your wallet or cellphone and not your life you lost. Like I've said, it's a jungle out there.