They take care to see that no policeman is in sight, and generally endeavour to find out if the person they intend to victimize has something to purloin.
They may ask him for change, or solicit a few coppers to get beer, or inquire what o’clock it is, to see if he is in possession of a watch or money. They abstract the money from the pocket, or snatch the watch from the swivel, which they are adroit in breaking.
Such persons are often seen at midnight in the neighbourhood of Bloomsbury and Oxford-street, the Strand, Lower Thames-street, and other localities.
The most of those engaged in this kind of robbery in Oxford-street come from the neighbourhood of St. Giles’s and Lisson-grove.
| The number of felonies from drunken persons which occurred in the Metropolitan districts for 1860 were | 221 |
| Ditto ditto in the City | 10 |
| 231 |
| The value of property thereby stolen in the Metropolitan districts | £867 |
| Ditto ditto in the City | 40 |
| £907 |
Stealing Linen, &c. exposed to dry. This is generally done by vagrants in the suburbs of the metropolis, from 7 to 11 o’clock in the evening; when left out all night, it is often done at midnight.
Linen and other clothes are frequently left hanging on lines or spread out on the grass in yards at the back of the house. Entrance is effected through the street-doors which may have been left open, or by climbing over the wall. In many cases these felonies are committed by middle-aged women. If done by a man, he is generally assisted by a female who carries off the property; were he seen carrying a bundle of clothes, he would be stopped by a vigilant officer, and be called to give an account of it, which would possibly lead to his detection.
These felonies generally consist of sheets, counterpanes, shirts, table-covers, pinafores, towels, stockings, and such-like articles.
When any of them are marked, the female makes it her business to pick out the marks, in case it might lead to their detection. Such robberies are often traced by the police through the assistance of the pawnbrokers.