#439: South Africa: Case study

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A study was made recently in an effort to determine the average crime
rate at international airports around the world. The study made use of
an ordinary-looking man standing in the airport terminal, reading a
newspaper. He had an empty briefcase next to him which he would ignore.

Observers recorded how long it took for the briefcase to be snatched:

At Brussels the case was stolen within 4 minutes and 20 seconds.

At Washington DC it was stolen within 3 minutes and 16 seconds.

At Heathrow the briefcase was snatched in less than 2 minutes.

In New York, the case was stolen within 1 minute and 5 seconds.

At LAX it took just 43 seconds before the case was snatched.

The experiment was going to be conducted at Johannesburg International
Airport in South Africa as well, but the people conducting the study
were hijacked on the way there...

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[From the archives]

It may be that your sole purpose in life
is simply to serve as a warning to others.

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