Green’s Dictionary of Slang

rip and tear adj.

(US Und.) unplanned, unsophisticated.

1937

(con. 1905–25) E.H. Sutherland Professional Thief (1956) 9: Other mobs use rip-and-tear (crude) methods that heat up (cause danger in) the spot.

In compounds

rip-and-tear man (n.)

(Aus Und.) a pickpocket.

1953

Argus (Melbourne) 31 Oct. 9/6: The ‘rip-and-tear man’ usually works with a ‘bumper-up’ - someone who bumps the victim off balance and distracts his attention while the pickpocket ‘lifts’ the ‘willy’ (wallet). Most pickpockets begin as‘bumpers-up’.