Thieves reveal tricks of their dirty trade in police video

>> Carelessly shouldering bags and chatting on smartphones while strolling are among the top actions that attract snatch thieves, a video clip made by Thong Lor police shows.

The tricks, from the accounts of two detained suspects, are made into short scenes of a woman whose bag is pulled by a robber riding pillion on a motorcycle, a mobile phone taken from a victim’s hand in a split-second snatch and a valuable seized from on a table of a busy roadside street vendor.

They appear in a 3.35-minute clip titled Change If You Don’t Want to Fall Prey uploaded on YouTube.

All show the relaxed behaviour of victims who are not aware they are being made targets of snatchers.

They carry bags on their shoulders and walk, eat food while leaving assets on a food shop’s table or concentrate on their smartphones even in a short time, police said.

In robbers’ eyes, a clear target, a good opportunity and easy escape routes are three core elements in the “triangle of crime” they use in robberies, said Pol Lt Col Chirakrit Charunphat, a deputy chief of Thong Lor police station, who is behind a police team to make the video clip.

One suspect said in the clip his target is usually women shouldering bags on their sides. This is a position which makes it easy for snatching, he said. “When I pulled a bag, it easily flowed along the arm and then I could easily flee,” the suspect said, adding his gang often approaches the victim from the back in a motorcycle.

Another suspect said he often chose those who are concentrating with smartphones as a victim.

“They did not pay attention in surroundings, only focusing on chatting on their phone. I just waited for a right time and there was no any obstruction ahead to snatch their phones,” he said.

He said sometimes he was riding on a footpath to make the crime easier.

“Riding on footpaths is normal — everyone is doing it,” he said.

However, he said, if women shoulder their bags at an angle, it will be more difficult to snatch, so “I just let them go”.

People who are enjoying eating footpath food are also an easy target. As they eat and briefly ignore their assets on a table, that provides an opportunity. He snatched the valuables before running to a waiting motorcycle ridden by the other gangster, the suspect said.

All these events occur repeatedly, Pol Lt Col Chirakrit said.

Arresting them is not enough, so people have to be more aware and change their behaviour, he said.

See clip: https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=hlzTv30Eu24&feature=youtu.be