Crime for survival or recreation?

Firstly,i want to correct this;a lazy person cannot be a criminal!For someone to be a criminal,he must be very sharp,hard working and very fast, i think,so if you think that a lazy person can become a criminal,forget it,my dear! With my little experience in security,i can rightly tell you that those people that rob or steal cars do it for plesure most of the time,they want to show that they are hard and that's why most of this money are given away or spent lavishly.When you talk of grocery shop stealing,well this majorly does not have anything to do with your financial status, i have seen so many times rich people coming into big stores to steal,this is because they don't want to pay,not that they don't have the money.Well, may the Lord protect us all!

relundad hi great discussion. I think most crimes like robbing banks and stealing cars is all about just plain stupid greed, they never get enough and dont want to work for wages like a decent person would do , so they committ crimes, I dont think here in the US that criminals do it for survival as there are so many ways to get help, they do it for greed and I guess for recreation in a way. I think that most people who are in trouble and havent a way to get his wife to the hospital will search for nonviolent ways perhaps calling a neighbor or a friend,in fact in a lot of hospitals, I know this as I had to use it, the hospital has a special van it will send out to pickup a patient who needs to go to that hospital and it costs nothing at all.So stealing a car sure isnt for something like getting a wife to the hospital but just because the crook can and he wants to brag to his criminal buddies. thats my opinion anyway for what its worth. i hate these greedy crooks. One night I went to my ready teller to deposit acheck and while Icame up to one not in use three men got out of a black car with no license and started towards me, I had walked there but now I knew these guys were up to no good so I ran next door to burger king and asked the guy at the counter to call the police and tell them three men were waiting to hold up someone at the atm machines at the bank and theysent a car unmarked and caught these guys just as they were robbing an old lady at the atm machine. I was so glad to see the police as those guys had scared me something awful.

I agree with you. There are possibly a very small percentage that actually do it for survival. I think people like to jump on that excuse, but having to steal a $200 pair of tennis shoes for survival, yeah I'm not buyin it!

yeah now that i think of it i would have to agree that a lot of our crime in usa have really no value and no real good reason (such as im gonna starve with my children for this loaf of bread type thing) which makes all of it that much scarier

Well, I wouldn't say it is right to steal or rob to meet a need. It is more than recreation. Imagine in the developing countries where a minister who earns an av. $15000, no small money huh! Same person sells a public property for $500 million but pockets $300 million. This robbery without violence, would you still call it a recreation? I think people who steal or rob have a problem.

I have gotten to where i feel that the welfare system is just another form of stealing. I pay taxes that takes money away from my family to where we can't afford insurance, or name brand stuff, but the welfare community continues to take that money and buy name brand stuff, has GREAT health insurance, gets aid on their rent, and have money to get their hair, nails, etc done. If something doesn't change in our society soon I do see crime rising for survival, and when that happens the "just because" crimes will go up as well. It won't be pretty and very much scares me with a 2 year old...

Personally I think there are many reason why taht people commit crimes. I know that sometimes just the thought of another bill coming in the mail or another bill collector calling wanting money I do not have is enough to cause me to have the temptation or the though cross my mind of just going down to the local bank and taking out an unscheduled withdrawal from an account I do not have, LOL (seriously I would not do that though because I have no desire to go take an extended vacation at the State Pen. Also another thing that makes thoughts of stealing money cross my mind is when I know for a possitive fact I do not have the money for food, gas or housing expenses, yet when I go down an apply for assistance I am told I do not qualify. (makes no sense whatsoever to me) and can get frusterating when you don't know which way to turn next. Not to mention not knowing where that the money is supposed to come from for medicines for those in my home who are on daily medication. I can see how someone who is told they do not qualify for any type of assistance could get frusterated to the point that stealing seems to be an easy way to fix a problem that is temporarily just too much. I can almost understand why someone will steal money from banks or stores, or others, not that I would suggest anyone do that, but I can almost see the why of it, I think that if someone is successful in their attempt at robbing a bank or a store, they will feel empowered and decide that since they managed to get away with it the first time they could do that again, then if they succeed again they begin to feel this is a reliable way to get a hold of money to pay the every day bills and to buy the things they want. It can seem easier than actually going an getting an education to do this. I do believe that most of the time those who take to a lifestyle of stealing are not as well educated as they need to be in order to live at the level they want to live at. and do not want to either work towards improving their lives legally or think they can't. Or maybe they just decide that since others have what they want, and they can't figure out how to obtain those same things legally, that they should just take their fair share, (or what seems like their fair share in their own minds.) Then again some families just seem to be brought up in a such a way as to encourage not working, or improving their life thru educational means, and have the mentality that everyone owes them something, and if everyone does not agree that is fine they will just take what they think is their fair share. I think that it is sad that people are like that but some people are. Anyway, as for stealing cars and things of this nature, I think that is more something someone does just so they can say they can do that or just because it makes them feel special in some weird sort of way. As for being lazy I think that if the ones who choose to live a life of crime would put the same amount of effort into furthering their education or starting a legal home business. They would be doing a lot better that a lot of people who have never even entertained the thought of paying off bills by withdrawing money from others bank accounts in order to pay bills off. The ones I really think are lazy are those who do not even try to work or do anything, who are able to do so, but pretend they are not so they can go apply and recieve welfare benifits. and do nothing but sit at home waiting on the checks to pay all the bills. makes no good sense to me. But I guess when someone is trully lazy and unmotivated by their circumstances in life they are content to stay as they are. And just accept what little they can recieve thru no real effort of their own. I think that people need to improve their lives thru legal means and if they do not have the skills needed to get better jobs then they should find a way to get skills legally. and I really wish the every day bills of life were not so high as to make some of us entertain the notions of what if..what if I could possibly get by with going and taking out a very large unauthorized withdrawal from several banks or stores, just to pay off all the everyday bills that I may find I have. If I had no medical bills I would be doing so much better, but when you go take a vacation at a hospital for a few days the total of that vacation comes up to a whole lot more than an uninsured person may have. Anyway, hope you have a great day. and remember sometimes it is when people have given up all hope of a better day that they turn to a life of crime, not that I am condoning that in any way but I believe that does happen in some cases. and that is my long winded opinion, of the matter, lol and there are people in the united states who go to bed hungry every day and after a while that can discourage someone to the point that they start thinking that since they can't pay the rent, or any other bill, can't buy groceries or whatever else they need, that maybe a life of crime would be easier especially since if they are successful in the robbing of banks they will live a lot better lifestyle at least until either they are caught or the money runs out. Then if they are caught and go to jail they are guaranteed a place to live, a place to sleep, and food to eat and medical care. which could mean living in better living conditions than they are currently or at least no worst. More of my opinion lol

I agree with you relundad most of the crimes committed are for the reason you gave and also because of want-if a person steals to survive in my opinion why is that wrong the state don't help people out with very little money to live on as most of it goes on their bills-littleowl

Hi relundad! In my opinion, greed is the basic reason that most crimes are committed. I feel it's greed that motivates most people. As for some people being lazy, that can also be true, i think some people have the ability to work but choose not to. I for one would rather ask for help or even beg before i steal, in my opinion there's no shame in asking for help, but i'd rather die than be labled a theif. What angers me is when people work hard and sacrifice for the things they want, and someone comes along and think it's their right to take what another has. There are so many forms of stealing, and most if not all, cannot be justified.

I agree that some people steal out of laziness. They want what they want and they don't want to work for it. Some steal out of greed. Take the Enron scandal for example. Some steal out of mental illness. Some out of desperation to support substance abuse. But stealing isn't the only type of crime. What about murder, rape, assault, etc. That certainly has nothing to do with survival.

When it comes to armed robbery I don't think it's recreational I think it's about some people being completely retarded and thinking they will actually get away with it. Those that need food to survive will just steal what they need to survive why rob a store when they could easily get away with just stealing some food.

I agree with you, there are not many cases in the US where crime is for survival because we are fairly spoiled and there are very few cases where someone who is really needy can not get any help (Homeless shelters ect). Unfortunately crime in America is about upping reputation, the adrenaline rush, and for other selfish reasons. However when I say crimes I do not mean victim crimes. There are a lot of stupid victimless "Crimes" in America that do not affect anyone but the person committing the "crime."