Pick up criminal in boat (6)
I believe the answer is:
obtain
'pick up' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'criminal in boat' is the wordplay.
'criminal' is an anagram indicator.
'in'+'boat'='inboat'
'inboat' is an anagram of 'OBTAIN'.
(Other definitions for obtain that I've seen before include "Take possession of" , "Get or receive" , "Hold good" , "'Get, acquire (6)'" , "Get one's hands on" .)