Career paths for the bad eggs, ne'er-do-wells and wrongdoers of this world have evolved of late.
In the past they were sent to Australia, hanged by the neck until such time as they were dead, or domiciled in a prison of some sort.
Now, they get jobs being interviewed on crime documentaries, where their former lives of transgression are sugar coated with humour and turned into a series of amusing anecdotes.
The same goes for an elite group of former detectives - both good and bad - who now appear to make something of a living reliving the good old days.
Former very bad Australian criminal Mark Chopper Read, for instance, left the criminal world for the word of publishing and the stage, mining his life for material.
Former very bad New South Wales detective Roger Rogerson, after he got out of prison, was also attracted to the tawdry glamour of the stage, ending up there doing shows with Chopper and some other chums. Rogerson also makes an appearance in The Kangaroo Gang: Thieves by Appointment, on BBC Knowledge this Thursday and next at 8.30pm.
The Kangaroo Gang is the story of what is described as "the most spectacularly successful shoplifting gang in history" a bunch of Australian bad boys who hit the upmarket stores in London in the 1960s and stripped them, on a regular basis, of goods worth millions of dollars.
Rogerson is joined on the show by several others formerly connected to the world of crime and punishment, including former Victorian detective Brian "The Skull" Murphy.
To be fair, all these gentlemen are probably the sort that would have the knowledge to speak intelligently about such matters.
One does start to wonder, though, when it seems every other Australian crime doco stars the same line-up of "personalities".
It may be, of course, because Melbourne journalist and author Adam Shand, whose book about the boys is the basis of the show, also wrote a book about Brian "The Skull" Murphy. It may have something to do with the fact a motion picture, based on the book, is planned.
Whatever, Shand brings the book to life for television, interviewing former associates, family and friends.
All the members of the gang had cool nicknames: there was Arthur "the King" Delaney, Jack "the Fibber" Warren and Billy "the General" Hill.
Their crimes were done without violence, always best when you are trivialising, and, as former associate Dave "Glasses" Barry says: "The only people who suffered were the insurance companies - that's almost legal."
Most important, they were a dapper crew, who wore only the best suits, were popular with the ladies, and liked to gad about in the best establishments.
Altogether, a reasonably entertaining, if slightly silly, romp.
