If you’ve ever been to London or seen the movie “Oliver,” you know that London has a booming pickpocket population. But if you’re hanging around Trafalgar Square or Covent Garden this month, you might witness “putpockets” slipping cash into your pocket or purse! A broadband provider is funding an initiative where 20 former pickpockets slip five 20-pound notes to the same wanderers they might have stolen from in a former life. The cops are in on the plan, which in total will distribute more than 100,000 pounds! Chris Fitch, a former pickpocket who’s manning the project said, “It feels good to give something back for a change—and Britons certainly need it in the current economic climate. Every time I put money back in someone’s pocket, I feel less guilty about the fact I spent many years taking it out.” What a nice gesture! Though I know I’d be a little freaked out if a stranger was that close to my butt without so much as a kiss. [Reuters]
