PART-TIME CRIME An Ethnography of Fiddling and Pilferage

Hardback. The author unravels the paradox of how fiddling - stealing from customers (which is a criminal offence) is simultaneously 'fiddling', that is, felt to be practically and psychologically trifling by those who do it. Through an ethnographic study of bakers' roundsmen at the 'Wellbread' bakery, the novel thesis of 'part-time' crime is carefully teased out and documented. The roundsmen are initially taught to fiddle by the bakery management. The customer's expectation that the roundsmen should be servile is a bitter experience and guarantees that the customer will continue to be fiddled. The roundsmen protect themselves both practically (by practising a portfolio of fiddles which could not all be exposed at once) and psychologically by wrapping themselves in cosy rationalisations like 'I was told to do it', 'we all do it', or 'they can afford it'. In the end they (and the rest of us) believe that fiddling 'isn't really criminal, is it?'. The book provides us all with a salutary lesson by showing how easily we convince ourselves that our deceptions - our 'fiddles' - are acceptable. With Bibliog. and Index. 195pp. 8vo. h/back. With minimal signs of b/plate removal from fpd o/w Nr. F. in protected Nr. F. pcdw.