Pickpocket Repellent Ingredient #6 - Watch the watchers
Here we refer to Leroy Jethro Gibbs's Rule #35, "Always Watch the Watchers." The criminal often exhibits telltale signs that they don’t fit in among those who are simply curious.
Our variation of his rule applies to people who are watching the scene of the future crime. We want you to identify possible thieves, and (casually) look them in the eye. Once they know you’ve marked them, their natural reaction will be to stay away.
To apply Ingredient #6, you’ll need a trowel and a wet rag … oh wait, that’s for applying grout. For Ingredient #6, all you need is to overcome the tunnel vision that people adopt in crowds. For example, when in a crowd, you ‘see’ all the people in much the same way that you ‘see’ the table while eating your sandwich. It’s there, but you’ve tuned it out.
So notice the "watchers." Tune them in.
To apply Ingredient #6, just turn on the people watching switch. Look around. Look at individuals. Enjoy watching them. But also make a game of it, to see if you can tell who is behaving ‘normally’ and who is a filch (or, as per our definition in Ingredient #5, a member of a filch).