talkmagic.co.uk

for me is that also magic if you giving it back to them ,
their is a dvd with onley explanations and tips and more for watch steeling ,

(am finding it cool and am gonna use that in my tricks , ofcourse i give it )back

http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=399
tell me what you think about that

ther is also another dvd witch is better for explanation named :Mastering the Art of Pickpocketing"; !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To be honest... it scares the c*** (not the best) out of me. I mean, what if you get caught? You see the only venue I do is on the street. If got caught at that point is might appear that the whole act is just a set up to pick pocket and steel watches. Whew... man that would take balls.

I would love to be able to do it though.

I've not tried it yet (not enough confidence).

There is a cheaper downloadable here (£8.37 or $14.95) if anyone would like to review it.

Not sure about abroad, but in the UK................ whilst this may get you into trouble and could be frowned upon in certain circumstances and conditions, if you give the watch back before, or at the very latest as the person begins to walk away, then you can't be done for theft. If you allow the person to walk away, even by a short distance then the circumstances change and you probably could be arrested and charged with theft. Whether it goes to court is a different matter.

The reason is, for theft to be proved (or for you to be arrested for theft), there has to be a number of points proved beyond reasonable doubt (or at the point of arrest reasonable suspicion that a theft has been committed). The main point for consideration in this instance would be for the police officer to suspect, and for the law to then prove that you had 'intent to permanently deprive' the person of their property, in this case their watch. If you let the person walk away then it is significantly easier for 'intent' to be proved if you're caught. (key words highlighted).

However, because there is 'laying of hand' on another person, this could in certain circumstnace be categorised as an assault, and this is the more likely outcome if someone reacts very badly to you taking their watch.

I would personally hesitate in using a pick pocket trick as an opener but would instead use it towards then end of a short routine where

a) the specs get a much better feel for you as a magician and/or entertainer and they are likely to not mind as much, if at all
b) other tricks will allow you to assess the likelihood of someone reacting badly to a pickpocket routine by allowing you to judge their responses to what you are doing.
c) Ask for a volunteer rather than selecting the person at random.
d) If the person does mind afterwards then you have a natural defence that the pick pocket was part of your routine and was not intended to cause any offence and you fully intended to return the item(s)
e) whatever you do, make sure that you DO NOT let the spec walk away without their watch, no matter what distance they walk! If you keep them glued to the spot until you hand their watch back then you will be on the right side of the law.

I've noticed on a number of pick pocket DVD's have the entertainer keep their specs attention by offering them a prize which turns out to be their watch. Everyone likes to win something so they are far more likely to remain where they are - and you will usually get a laugh to end with!

Nearly forgot - in response to the title of this thread, it's not watch stealing if you are intending to give it back.

Still perform it as magic to the spec and at worst think of it as watch borrowing

If you are uncomfortable with watch stealing I wouild recommend not using it on the streets because that can be very risky until you feel totally comfortable, but once you are good enough at it go for it. A few tips for practicing this art (and an art it is) is to place many watches with different clasps around a towel or a board and work on snagging them off. For help email me at s_adamson1@hotmail.com