The culture of crime. Do our upbringings, teachings and closest influences impact our views on crime? Or is the decision to take from, or cause harm to, others an innate response that is engrained from birth?
Nature or nurture? Or both? Criminal defense lawyer Kenneth Padowitz penned an interesting blog on the subject of the cultural influence on crime, referencing causes ranging from the heat hypothesis to the southern culture of violence to the relationship between individualism and collectivism. I am not sure how much I buy into those connections, but it is an interesting read.
Meanwhile, I can't help but wonder why one person feels it is OK to loot a retail store, and another person wouldn’t keep a $10 bill found on the ground.
What makes a person think it is OK to steal merchandise from companies because “they can afford it” while another person wouldn’t consider taking a pen or a pad of paper from her employer?
I have heard people justify that breaking into businesses and stealing is OK because “they have insurance to cover it anyway.” Others who actually pay for insurance understand how claims increase the cost of premiums and deductibles for everyone, in one way or another.
Some say it is OK for people in need to steal baby formula or diapers or food. But then we see videos of the same people walking out of stores stealing armfuls of boxes of sneakers, too.
The bottom line is that it’s not OK to steal. It is OK to ask for help, and I am amazed how many people and organizations are willing to do that. I am not talking about giving cash to the guy on the exit ramp so he can continue to feed his addictions. I am talking about helping that guy get off his addictions before he commits more serious crimes. Easier said than done, I know.
We undoubtedly have a culture problem when it comes to crime. It is nature? Nurture? Both? Does it matter?
W. Edwards Deming, the father of continuous quality improvement, often said that instead of counting dead fish at the end of the stream, we should go up the stream and see what is killing them. That theory seems to apply to crime, too.
I don't have the answers, but I am convinced that crime will not decrease on its own. It will only fester and grow in cultures that foster it. And, ultimately, that’s not good for any of us.
Have a wary Wednesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com
View Shane Goodman's archived columns from past issues here. | 
