ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the realities behind the image of criminality on the docks in a comparative international perspective. It argues that with the exception of pilfering, dock workers worldwide were far more often the victims of corruption, extortion, and violence than its perpetrators. The chapter also argues that what is and is not criminal depends largely on social mores and legal constructs. Decasualisation of labour, especially through unions, resulting in higher wages and better job security was the single most significant reform in the history of dock labour. In New York and a few other cities, dock workers are associated with organised crime. The distinction between theft and pilfering is a matter of scale and definition. Pilfering is the theft of small items or quantities of cargo while theft involves larger quantities, often for resale.
