Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. to pick a pocket; thus drawing n.

1591		Greene Notable Discovery of Coosnage in Grosart (1881–3) X 38: In Figging law. The picke pocket, a Foin He that faceth the man, the Stale Taking the purse, Drawing Spying of him, Smoaking The purse, the Bong The monie, the Shels The Act doing, striking.
1608		Dekker Belman of London H1: He that pickes the Pocket is called a Foyst. The taking of the purse is called Drawing.
1799		‘Cant Lang. of Thieves’ Monthly Mag. 7 Jan. n.p.: Drawing a Reader with Bank Screens Stealing a Pocket-book with Bank-notes.
1812		Vaux Vocab. of the Flash Lang. in McLachlan (1964) 237: draw: to draw a person, is to pick his pocket, and the act of so stealing a pocket-book, or handkerchief; is called drawing a reader, or clout. To obtain money or goods of a person by a false or plausible story, is called drawing him of so and so. To draw a kid, is to obtain his swag from him.
1828		‘The Song of the Young Prig’ in C. Hindley James Catnach (1878) 171: Frisk the Cly and fork the rag, / Draw the fogles plummy.
1829		Vidocq Memoirs (trans. McGinn) III 10: Nothing came amiss to him, from cutting a weasand, to drawing a wipe (assassination to pocket-picking). [Ibid.] ‘On the Prigging Lay’ trans. of ‘Un jour à la Croix Rouge’ in IV 263: I stops a bit: then toddles quicker, / For I’d prigged his reader, drawn his ticker.
1833		‘The Slap-Up Cracksman’ Swell!!! or, Slap-Up Chaunter 43: So flick the suck — or draw the clicks, / The lil, the jam, or bung from kicks.
1846		Swell’s Night Guide 58: I drew a swell of a skin coming down – twenty cooter.
1859		Matsell Vocabulum 27: draw / drawing Picking pockets. ‘I say, my kinchin, what’s your lay?’ ‘Vy, yer see, as how I am learning to draw.’.
1866		Wild Boys of London I 314: Vich vill you learn first — to nail a vipe or ticker, or draw the damper?
1881		Trumble Sl. Dict. (1890).
1895		Crowe Aus. Sl. Dict. 25: Drawing, pocket-picking.

2. to obtain money from.

1827		High Life in London 30 Dec. 2/1: The defendants [...] said it was a ‘plant’ on the part of Levy and Money Moses, to ‘draw’ them of 100l.
1828		‘A Flat Enlightened’ Life in the West I 47: [T]hey ‘bleed’ their victims to death, or as long as they can ‘draw’ them of a pound.
1857		Bell’s Life in Victoria (Melbourne) 1 Aug. 2/5: Ned ‘drew’ the governor again and again, until that kindly treasurer began to intimate some reluctence.

3. (UK black) to pick up.

2020

G. Krauze What They Was 139: One peng Somali ting I drew at the bus stop.