[Article] Luas thieves pick the moment to leave travellers out of pocket

[Colm Moore]

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...t-1965708.html

Luas thieves pick the moment to leave travellers out of pocket
By TRACEY KEEGAN

Sunday December 06 2009

IT was a miserable evening as I edged onto the crowded Luas on my way to Heuston Station. As I squeezed down the aisles to find standing room, my phone started ringing.

Scrambling to find it in my stuffed bag before it rang out, I didn't notice that I was not the only busy person on the train. But 60 seconds later, when I went to put it back, I noticed that the compartment where I keep my purse was open and my purse was gone.

What do I do?

Whoever had it was very close to me and knew I had realised it was gone.

Did it bother them that I might make a scene?

Was I brave enough to shout "thief" and risk the fall-out from such an accusation? Should I ring the gardai and ask them to dash to the Luas and search every passenger in the sardine tin for the sake of the meagre contents of my purse?

Ya, right!

It was a helpless scenario and one I clearly had to accept with head down, knowing that a thief nearby was holding their head high.

The Luas stops and I leave it . . . hopelessly purseless and hopping mad!

I had become one of the hundreds of pickpocket victims on the Luas. I made all the necessary calls to cancel bank and credit cards and awaited the arrival of gardai.

"There are CCTV cameras on board the trams but sometimes they aren't even switched on, if you want to go down that route we can . . . but," one garda tells me.

The Luas operators later said they were "disappointed" by this comment and that it's not true -- the CCTV is always in operation.

But it was pointless and we all knew it.

The other garda pointed out that pick-pocketing has become such a highly-skilled business operation that up to five or six pickpockets can be targeting one single person at any one time -- scary stuff. I'm also informed that November and December is when these guys come out in force, especially at Heuston Station where they prey on shoppers from the country visiting the city over Christmas. Thankfully, my purse was found discarded in a Paddy Power bookmakers outlet in the city centre four days later -- minus all cash, bank cards and old lottery tickets, naturally enough. A colleague's business card I had stashed in the back of it traced me.

"You're one of the lucky ones," someone told me. Was I? True, they didn't mug or attack me, but it was a rotten and invasive experience. Did I learn a valuable lesson? You bet I did.

Will I be one step ahead of the eagle-eyed pickpockets in future? Probably too much to ask -- they're a bit like rats and never more than a couple of feet away.

But, if you're heading to the Big Smoke with your Christmas cash stashed in your bag, wise up. When you're squashed onto public transport treat your personal belongings like you treat your enemies -- keep them even closer!

- TRACEY KEEGAN

Sunday Independent