Queen Of Thieves: Female pick pocket banned from entering city shopping mall

A female thief who has been dubbed 'Queen of Pickpockets', Margaret Johnson, with 77 previous convictions, has been banned from entering the Birmingham City Center for five years, a venue where she carried out most of her criminal activities, Daily Mail reports.

The 38-year-old 'professional' pick pocket has now also been given a criminal behaviour order, which prevents her from entering the city centre, or she risks going back to prison after she was jailed for 43 weeks.

Johnson targeted four shoppers, including a 90-year-old pensioner, in a matter of minutes in January this year. 

Other victims included a new mother whose handbag was lifted from her toddler's pushchair and a customer at Clarks who suddenly realised her bag was stolen while she tried on shoes.

Johnson has made a living out of sneakily stealing bags and purses from distracted parents, the elderly and foreign students around the city.

Sergeant Ifty Ahmed, from Birmingham West and Central offender management team, said:

"CCTV linked Johnson to the offences and she was jailed for a total of 43 weeks earlier this year.

This professional pickpocket had no regard for the victims she targeted or the trauma she caused them by stealing their personal possessions.

Her movements were calculated and her actions deliberate. If she is caught in the city centre over the next five years, she will be brought before the courts and could be jailed."