Dickens with a twist

The other day I was on a train in Sydney and saw something which was straight out of a Dickens novel. A man of about 50ish got on with a young girl who I'm guessing was about 16 or 17. Now this was just before 9 in the morning and it was obvious he was not bringing her to school. He was balding, bearded and had a bad ponytail. She was wearing a hoodie and looked like she had been/was/will soon be on drugs. There was a real Fagan/Artful Dodger thing going on. Of course, it could have been a totally innocent situation and that I misread the whole incident. I didn't stay on the train long enough to find out. But I'm fairly certain the odds are that they were up to no good. I'm guessing the girl was a pickpocket, he was her handler and they were 'riding the trains' during the morning rush hour looking for a score. What I found fascinating was that they stood out so obviously to me when their body language suggested they were trying to be inconspicuous. You've got to love amateur crooks, sometimes they really don't have a clue.