Community Discussions
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How often do criminals get away with it?
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How much reported crime do you think actually results in a conviction?
How about minor vs major crimes?
Top Comment: Well.....not every crime will be solved. Then there are crimes where the victim isn’t cooperative or doesn’t want anything done. Then there are the crimes solved but the justice system beyond charges being submitted to a DA’s office that fail or go nowhere for whatever reason.
I don't understand the way criminals think
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I've never actually been to court before - I'm an engineer, not someone with a legal background. Recently, I've been watching a lot of court proceedings, and I'm fascinated by how defendants often manage to turn bad situations into much worse ones.
From what I've observed, many defendants receive relatively lenient sentences. For instance, some individuals with multiple assault charges only need to check in weekly and sign some paperwork, yet they fail to do even that. Others are assigned minimal community service - just 4 hours - but don't complete it. In one case, I saw a woman whose only restriction was a no-contact order with a specific man. Despite facing a potential 4-year prison sentence for violation, she not only contacted him but ended up pregnant by him.
And I will not even mention how many drug tests they fail.
I'm curious if there's any research examining this self-defeating behavior in the criminal justice system. Are there any studies or statistics about recidivism rates and probation violations? I'd be particularly interested in what criminologists and other experts think about why people often violate seemingly manageable court orders despite serious consequences.
Top Comment: Part of the issue is poor executive function/poor impulse control. The same issues that land them in trouble in the first place can also be the ones making it difficult or impossible to complete the terms of their sentence/probation. Part of it is jobs don't like it when you're not available 24/7 to pick up extra shifts at minimum wage so they can't comply without losing their employment and thus their housing and food. Part of it is the culture, because when you have the doors of opportunity slammed in your face enough, you start not caring about the rules the door slammers want you to follow.
What are your favorite Criminal podcast episodes?
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I recently started listening but am feeling overwhelmed at how many episodes there are (a good problem to have). What are your favorite episodes of Criminal?
Top Comment: I’m about to save your life is the Criminal episode that stayed with me. Please name more episodes of this podcast that are great. I forgot about this series.
I can't understand people who live the life of a criminal?
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I'm just curious if maybe some people in this sub may have or do live off crime can explain to me how you can live with yourself? Robbing people, killing, selling harmful drugs etc.
I just can't fathom it, and i'm sure some people will say "out of need" as an excuse, i'm currently sitting in a hotel room that I've had to work 7 days a week for the past year just to keep a roof over my head and still the idea of hurting someone else to help my own suffering end isn't an option in my mind, I don't think I could live with myself even something as small as stealing a few hundred bucks from someone.
What is your reasoning? Does it eat away at you? Do you somehow think you're justified? I'm geniunely just curious.
EDIT: I should mention i'm a bit borderline extremely empathetic to other people/animals and even to some extent to bugs. The idea of purposely inflicting pain on others, especially for the purpose of benefiting myself is just something I can't do.
Top Comment: It's important to remember that SOME people have a lower ethical bar than others. Maybe it's how they were raised, maybe it's an actual genetic / brain issue. The point is, not everyone views the same illegal acts in the same light. This means that what you would consider morally wrong wouldn't be seen that way by someone else.
People who commit crimes
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So, I've always wondered about people who commit crimes, especially terrifying and big crimes, are they always born like that? Was it because they were esposed to something that prohoked something in them to get to the point? Is it possible that people whondo such crimes could go back to normal? Like being in a normal state that they won't commit crimes ever? Do you actually believe therapy could be helpful to such that they can go back in the society and treat others like good people?
Top Comment: I mean, there is a whole field of study surrounding this question—criminology. There is no simple answer—people are varied and complex. One especially important wrinkle to consider is that there are plenty of people who are what used to be called sociopaths, but now are more likely clinically to be said to have anti-social personality disorder, who never commit crimes. Instead, they find ways society has said are acceptable—sometimes quite useful—to be successful sociopaths, like working on Wall Street and running big health insurance companies (all sorts of companies tbh) or being a politician. Some enter the military or law enforcement. Some people with ASD really don’t want to go to prison and aren’t the type to actually think they will never get caught.
I now understand why people turn to a life of crime.
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If you are too dumb/lazy for college, there is nothing out there that would ensure a good quality of life past 40. Might as well give into your sick desires and become a criminal degenerate.
Top Comment: I actually agree that a lot of the jobs that we used to have people do who weren’t academically inclined or even lower IQ have gone away.
What criminal committed an almost perfect crime and what was the thing that messed it up?
Main Post: What criminal committed an almost perfect crime and what was the thing that messed it up?
Top Comment: The Dunbar Armored robbery: the largest cash heist in US history A 6 man inside job to rob an armoured cash depot. They set up a house party as an alibi, used the keys to get into the cafeteria, and waited in there until all employees came in on break, then ambushed and subdued them without firing a shot or raising an alarm. They then loaded the money bags (with over $18 million) into a u haul, destroyed the cctv tapes and returned to the party. Then they sat on the money for 6 months before hiring a crooked lawyer to set up a real estate money laundering scheme to avoid suspicion. 2 years after the robbery, one of the men paid a real estate broker with a stack of money still wrapped in the original currency strap. The broker immediately reported it to the Police. After being arrested, he cracked under interrogation, confessed to the robbery, and ratted out his partners Edit: All the men have since finished their prison sentences, and most of the money was never found, so there’s a chance they still won in the end
If you are a criminal, why?
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And I’m not talking “I’m a single mother who stole diapers from Walmart”. Why are you a criminal? Or why were you in the past. I come from a long line of criminals, several family members have killed people and have been in and out of jail and it really grosses me out. They walk through life cheating and stealing and hurting others to get what they want and I genuinely don’t understand it. I understand things out of necessity but destroying someone’s car for fun or beating and old lady is not a necessity.
Top Comment: You’re asking people to admit to crimes online? Are you the government?