11 March 2008

1 comment:

Steve said...

Okay, I know what you mean by the frequent fliers aspect of certain wrongfully accused citizens, but it is more a lack of impulse control than any planning on their part.
I think you give them way too much credit for evaluating the consequences of their acts. My experience is that they had no concept of what would happen when they did what they are accused of.
While there is the thrill seeker group (shoplifters who have the money but want to steal anyway) I see more of the "I don't know why I did it" crowd.
Some crimes are inherently unthinking, such as DUI. How many people actually think (while sober) that "I think that I'll get trashed and put the general public at risk." Most are just thinking, "Boy am I hammered, I hope I make it home without the cops finding me." And remarkably, most do.
The increase in DUI Deterrence Patrols have increased the probability of getting caught - ergo, a reduction in the number of people who are drinking and driving versus ten years ago.
And this is without addressing the idea that crimes are inherently about costs (monetarily that is). An example, if you have just worked the 250 hours that it takes to pay for a flat screen TV, and a thief breaks into your house and steals it within less than a half an hour, the thief is way ahead in the game, and you are out 250 hours of your life.
If there is little chance of his being caught, he will go ahead and do the crime, figuring that he can sell it to a fence for the equivalent of 80 hours that you would have worked, and the fence will resell it for 100 hours of your equivalent work.
Hmm, getting a bit disjointed here because I haven't thought it all the way out, but the bottom line - Don't buy anything new, just buy it from a fence. You will save money in the long run, as long as you ignore the dings and scratches that occurred shoving it out the window.