What do you think?
Rate this book
The Professional Thief
This monograph by a professional thief—with the aid of Edwin H. Sutherland's expert comments and analyses—is a revealing sociological document that goes far to explain the genesis, development, and patterns of criminal behavior. "Chic Conwell," as the author was known in the underworld, gives a candid and forthright account of the highly organized society in which the professional thief lives. He tells how he learned to steal, survive, succeed, and ultimately to pay his debt to society and prepare himself for full and useful citizenship. The Professional Thief presents in amazing detail the hard, cold facts about the private lives and professional habits of pickpockets, shoplifters, and conmen, and brings into focus the essential psychological and sociological situations that beget and support professional crime.
- GenresNonfictionSociology
268 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 1937
7 people are currently reading
263 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 18, 2018
Lu dans le cadre de mon master, cette recherche de Sutherland est vraiment intéressante. Il a élaboré des entretiens avec un voleur professionnel, ce qui permet d'avoir réellement les "secrets" de cette profession et c'est vraiment enrichissant.
April 30, 2020
An in-depth look at the sociology of what Sutherland terms "The Professional Thief". This encompasses pickpockets (cannons), shoplifters (boosters), forgers and con men. It is based on his interview with one particular thief, however, it includes commentary from a range of people in the "industry" including police, lawyers and judges. If you want a detailed look at the lives of such persons from the early 1900s in the US, then this is the book. If anyone knows of something similar for more modern thieves, I'd love to know!
Currently reading
November 14, 2011one of many research books for my first novel
February 4, 2021
From the inside - pretty interesting.
May 26, 2023
Published in 1937 and billed as a "sociological document that goes far to explain the genesis, development and patterns of criminal behavior" of the late 19th and early 20th century professional thief. We learn about...
The Cannon - The term "cannon" is used to designate the pickpocket and also the racket of picking pockets.
The Heel and Boost - The heel and boost are two related types of stealing from places of business. The difference between them is that the booster contacts the salesman, while the heel does not. The booster asks the salesman for some article and then steals what he wants from the articles displayed or from some other accessible articles. The heel is a sneak thief who steals what he wants without asking the salesman for assistance.
Pennyweighting - The pennyweighter is a professional thief who defrauds jewelers by substituting spurious articles while the genuine articles are being shown to him as a perspective customer.
The Hotel Prowl - The hotel prowl is a thief who steals from guest rooms in a hotel, either by finding them unlocked or using different methods of unlocking the doors. This racket may be worked single handed or with one or two associates. Assistance is occasionally secured from bellhops or clerks. Bellboys seldom feel it necessary to call in professional thieves when there is any stealing to do; they try to do it all themselves.
The Con - (See if this sounds familiar...Paul Newman and Robert Redford think so). One type of error is to instruct the prospect to place everything on a certain horse, which the man knows has already come in second. In racing parlance "to place" is to come in second, but the instruction is given in such form that the prospect thinks it means that this horse will come in first and that he should bet accordingly. Consequently he bets everything he has on this horse to win and he loses. When the steerer returns (for it is necessary for him to be away when the error is made), the sucker learns that he has lost everything, by his own misunderstanding of instructions.
The Cannon - The term "cannon" is used to designate the pickpocket and also the racket of picking pockets.
The Heel and Boost - The heel and boost are two related types of stealing from places of business. The difference between them is that the booster contacts the salesman, while the heel does not. The booster asks the salesman for some article and then steals what he wants from the articles displayed or from some other accessible articles. The heel is a sneak thief who steals what he wants without asking the salesman for assistance.
Pennyweighting - The pennyweighter is a professional thief who defrauds jewelers by substituting spurious articles while the genuine articles are being shown to him as a perspective customer.
The Hotel Prowl - The hotel prowl is a thief who steals from guest rooms in a hotel, either by finding them unlocked or using different methods of unlocking the doors. This racket may be worked single handed or with one or two associates. Assistance is occasionally secured from bellhops or clerks. Bellboys seldom feel it necessary to call in professional thieves when there is any stealing to do; they try to do it all themselves.
The Con - (See if this sounds familiar...Paul Newman and Robert Redford think so). One type of error is to instruct the prospect to place everything on a certain horse, which the man knows has already come in second. In racing parlance "to place" is to come in second, but the instruction is given in such form that the prospect thinks it means that this horse will come in first and that he should bet accordingly. Consequently he bets everything he has on this horse to win and he loses. When the steerer returns (for it is necessary for him to be away when the error is made), the sucker learns that he has lost everything, by his own misunderstanding of instructions.
January 25, 2008
This book is unlike any other ethnography I have read. I was particularly interested in Sutherland's attempt to triangulate Conwell's description of professional thieves with other self-identified thieves as well as law enforcement personnel.
April 2, 2008
wow... ever wanted to know how to be a confidence man, pickpocket or just not get "beat"?.... amazing book, hard to find, but worth the effort.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews