What is the name of the character known as the "Artful Dodger" in the novel "Oliver Twist"?

Jack Dawkins is the character in the Oliver Twist novel known as the "Artful Dodger". His nick-name is derived from his cunning and skill as a pickpocket.

He is the leader of the gang of child criminals, trained by the elderly Fagin.

In the novel, Dawkins becomes Oliver's closest friend and he tries to make him a pickpocket, but soon realizes that Oliver won't succeed, and feels sorry for him, saying "What a pity it is he isn't a prig!" He also has a close relationship with Charley Bates.

In the story Dawkins is caught with a stolen silver snuff box and presumably sent to a penal colony in Australia (only alluded to in the novel). The absurdity of the master pickpocket being caught over something so small is deemed remarkable.

The "Artful Dodger" is characterized as a child who acts like an adult. He is described as wearing adult clothes which are much too large for him. Like an adult, he seldom gives in to childish urges.