Professional Burglars

     Some people wonder why burglars excel when it comes to getting the job done and not getting caught. It's all about characteristics, qualities and perfection of slight of hand. 

     According to Neal Shover the characteristics of a 'good burglar' include, technical competence, personal integrity, specialization in burglary, financial success, and the ability to avoid prison sentences. 

     Neal has also identified 4 key requirements that newbies need to acquire to receive recognition as a 'good burglar', this includes; 

1. obtaining the many skills needed to commit lucrative break and enters. This includes gaining entry to homes and apartments. Selecting targets with high potential payoffs. Choosing items with high resale value. Opening safes properly without damaging their contents, while using the proper equipment; including cutting torches, electric saws, explosives, and metal bars.

2. must be able to team up to form a criminal gang. Choosing trustworthy companions is essential if the obstacles to completing a successful job, like police, alarms, secure safes, are to be overcome.

3. must have inside information. Without the knowledge of what awaits, burglars can spend a tremendous amount of time and effort on empty safes and jewelry boxes.

4. must cultivate fences or buyers for the stolen wares. Once a burglar gains access to people who will buy and sell stolen goods, he or she must also learn how to successfully sell these goods for a reasonable profit.

People who follow burglary closely may ask why some burglars prefer to victimize commercial property rather than private homes.because private property is most likely going to have an alarm or a dog to make it difficult for the criminal to break in. Unless there is a sizeable reward to be made a criminal won't want to take the risk. Commercial property is easier to burglarize because commercial owners don't have a set up like someone who would own private property. Burglars tend to usually hit targets they are familiar with or know the layout of so there is less of a risk of getting caught.

A skilled burglar sometimes will have enough courage to hit a home or apartment more than once. The reason being, whatever attracted the thief the first time around: "curb appeal," inside info, isolation, etc. Probably still exists after the crime. What's worse, once the burglar has robbed you, he knows the layout of your home. It's not uncommon for burglars to wait until you've replaced your things, and then rob you again.

Auto Theft

The most frequently asked question when it comes to auto theft is 'why do people steal cars?', well the answer is easy, the money that comes from boosting and stripping cars. When it comes down to it, stripping a car (of any kind) makes more money when sold in separate parts (wheels, radio, grill, engine etc.) then the car being sold as a whole. 

Canada's top 10 most dangerous cities when it comes to auto theft are;

1	Fort McMurray, Alta.
2	Joliette, Que.
3	Surrey, B.C.
4	Kelowna, B.C.
5	Brantford, Ont.
6	Edmonton, Alta.
7	Grande Prairie, Alta.
8	Winnipeg, Man.
9	Langley Township, B.C.
10	Saskatoon, Sask.

The top 10 most stolen vehicles in Canada are as follows;

1. 2000 Honda Civic SiR 2DR

2. 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer SS 4DR 4WD SUV

3. 2002 Cadaillac Escalade 4DR 4WD SUV

4. 2005 Cadaillac Escalade 4DR 4WD SUV

5. 2006 Ford F350 SD 4WD PU

6. 2005 Cadiallac Escalade ESV 4DR AWD SUV

7. 2006 Acura RSX TYPE S 2DR 2D

8. 2007 Ford F250 SD 4WD PU

9. 2007 Ford F350 SD 4WD PU

10 .2003 Acura RSX TYPE S 2DR 2D

According to Statistics Canada, a vehicle will be stolen before you finish reading this blog post. On average, 400 vehicles are stolen every day. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), car theft costs Canadians about $1.2 billion a year in out-of pocket-costs including deductibles, added health care, court and legal costs. Although auto theft has decreased over the past years, this trend will not continue. Auto theft is based on basic supply and demand. 

Here are a few suggestions when it comes to keeping your vehicle safe from theft

- Always roll up your windows, close your sunroof, and lock up when leaving your vehicle.

- Put the key in your pocket or purse as soon as you lock the vehicle and never leave keys in your vehicle or in the ignition. It only takes a moment for someone to jump in and drive away (20% of stolen cars have keys in them.)

- Keep your vehicle registration and proof of insurance on you, in a wallet or purse at all times - don't leave these documents in the glove box.

- Do not leave valuable items such as laptops, sports equipment or packages in clear view. Keep them in your trunk or out of sight.

- Make sure to park in a well lit, busy area.

- Get your car parts marked (etched). This could deter thieves, as they resell car parts and this would make your car a less attractive target.

- If you park in your own private garage, lock both the garage and your car.

Sexual Assault & Hypermasculinity

How could sexual behaviour be socialized into males?

The biggest factor when it comes to social norms and imitating thoughts as well as actions of the world while a child/youth starts growing up is the media. First rules in the media that any news channel, commercial, ad or magazine follows is that 'if it bleeds, it reads' and sex sells. Because of these reasons youth today are growing up in a sexualized culture with the exploitation of women being broadcasted on a day to day basis while growing brains sit back and become desensitized to the feelings and actions of the adult world. Another example of this is porn. Porn has the same effect on the brain. It convinces young boys that this is how sex and relationships work in the world. These things are teaching children at a young age the actions of adults, because of this, and their age, they cannot comprehend or exercise the knowledge and repercussions of their thoughts and actions.       

What is hypermasculinity?

Hypermasculinity is a psychological term used for the exaggeration of stereotypical male behaviour. Such as aggression, body odour, emphasized strength and virility.

As stated above, the media, the internet, social networking, it all plays a role in today's culture. This is  where I also feel that boys learn the behaviours of hypermasculinity. The way that male roles are portrayed in movies and TV shows play a large part in how a male individual expects and strives to be perceived by the female population. They want to get the girl and they've be shown by the media that they are to take what they want and when that doesn't work they must fight, drink, become aggressive and take freedom from the female.   

I think that most men who commit a sexual assault show signs of hypermasculinity and some may very clearly be but not all. There are 3 main drives behind any level of sexual assault. Power & control, anger and sadism. I could see that for some sexual assault offenders that fall under the power and control or anger category would commit a sexual assault to compensate for a loss of power or a certain aspect in their life that is spiralling out of control. An example for each would be an overbearing female authority figure (in professional or personal life), The loss of a job or to exact revenge on a certain female. If that female is unattainable then another woman could fall prey to the attackers imagination.           

Clifford Robert Olson Jr, & Marc Lepine

Clifford Robert Olson Jr. 

Olson was born on Januray 1st 1940 in Vancouver B.C. Besides being known as a petty, chronic offender, he was a serial killer who killed 2 children as well as 9 youths in the early 80's.

 On November 17, 1980, Olson abducted 12 year old Christine Weller in Surrey, British Columbia. She was found on Christmas day, strangled with a belt and stabbed repeatedly. On April 16, 1981, Colleen Marian Daignault, 13, vanished. In the 5 month period before her body was found, Olson had abducted Daryn Todd Johnsrude, 16, smashed the boy's head in with a hammer and tossed him into a ditch. In May 1981, Olson got married. Just four days after his wedding, on May 19, Olson abducted and murdered 16-year-old Sandra Wolfsteiner. The following month he killed Ada Court, 13. Olson claimed six victims in in July 1981: Simon Partington, 9, abducted and strangled on the second day of the month; Judy Kozma, 14, who Olson raped and strangled a week later. Raymond King Jr., 15, whom Olson abducted on July 23 and bludgeoned to death; Sigrun Arnd, an 18-year old German tourist, whom Olson raped and battered to death with a hammer the following day; and Terri Lyn Carson, 15, whom Olson raped and strangled.

Olson had now killed 2 children and 8 youths. Because the victims were of both sexes and varying ages, and only three bodies had been found with the other seven missing children tentatively listed as probable runaways. Louise Chartrand, 17, whom Olson battered to death with a hammer on July 30, burying her corpse in a shallow grave.

Because of his lengthy criminal record, Olson became the prime suspect. He was questioned, but there was not enough evidence to hold him. However, on August 12, Olson was arrested for attempting to abduct two girls. 

Marc Lepine

In 1989, Marc Lepine walked into the Ecole Polytechnique and went on a 10-minute shooting rampage. He murdered 14 women and injured 13 others before killing himself. A suicide note found later said that feminists had ruined his life.

This link below is a  CBC radio call with Professor Elliott Leyton from the department of Anthropology who now  is giving lectures at the College of Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Ottawa. 

http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/society/crime-justice/the-montreal-massacre/marc-lepine-mass-murderer.html 

 

 

Typology For Serial Killers
 
According to James Alan Fox and Jack Levin, there are three types of serial killers. There are ‘Thrill-motivated killers”; “Mission-oriented killers” and “Expedience-directed killers”.  Thrill-motivated killers are composed of sexual sadists and the dominance killer. Mission-oriented killers are not as common and are composed of either reformist or visionary killers. Expedience-directed serial killers are motivated by either profit or protection. 

Thrill killing is a nickname for a kind of premeditated murder committed by a sane criminal who is motivated by the sheer excitement of the act. They are the most common type of serial killer and consist of two types: the sexual sadist and the dominance killer. Sadism is the sexual pleasure or gratification in the infliction of pain and suffering upon another person. Medically it is considered to be a paraphilia. The word is derived from the name of the Marquis de Sade. Patrick Kearney, known as the “Freeway Killer” was known a serial killer that would gain a sense of dominance from killing his victims. The feeling of dominance was important to Kearney because as a child and a teen he was shy, could not fight for himself and was small in size. This lead to being bullied by his peers.

Mission-Oriented killers, believe that their acts of murder are justified. They have convinced themselves that they have a mission to rid society of a certain type of element whether it is prostitutes; homosexuals; children, or drug addicts. With Mission-Oriented killers it is not necessarily a type of person that society generally finds unpleasant, however, as the serial killer may have a delusion that society doesn't want a certain type of person, when in fact they really do. Mission-Oriented killers are composed of two sub-types: reformist and visionary. Reformist killers want to rid the world of evil. Contrary to popular opinion, serial killers are rarely insane or motivated by hallucinations and/or voices in their head. Many claim to be, usually as a way of trying to get acquitted by reason of insanity. 

The third and final type of serial killer is the Expedience-directed serial killer. This killer composes two sub-types: profit-driven and the protection-driven. The profit-driven is motivated by monetary gains and/or materials. The protection-driven killer is the type of killer who kills in order to commit another crime such as a robbery.


Typology for Mass Murderers

Mass murder is the killing of three, four, or more persons at roughly the same place within a short period of time. There is presumably no "cooling-off" period, which means there is usually not a high level of preconceived planning (at least in terms of escape). There may or may not be some mental fantasy re-enacted, and the crime is basically committed out of strong passions or emotions. Motives vary, but a common one is revenge (not against the victims). Others include the need for fame and recognition. Still others may be ideologically or politically motivated. Often, a suicide note or other documents are left behind to explain the murderer's motivation. If captured, a mass murderer will usually show no remorse or regret, expressing a casual attitude that the victims "just happened" to get in the way, or that "people die; get over it." It is the perfect example of what Freudians call displacement -- taking out your anger and frustration on someone who is NOT the cause of your anger or frustration. 

 

Victims of Crime

There are many after-effects of crime that affect a wide range of people who surround the victim, as well as the victim him/herself. Crime (depending of the kind) can be very psychologically crippling. Victims of rape/sexual assaults, survivors of tragedy (surviving an attack (assault), an attempt made on their lives, even a break in) can suffer many debilitating mental issues (in some cases), as well as many other issues that may be unique to them.

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/3-more-sex-assaults-against-young-women-at-ubc-campus-total-now-6-1.1518328

This link is to a news story covering the UBC campus attacks on lone female students at night. The women who have undergone these attacks and the female student population of UBC are suffering all victims of this offenders actions. Rape victims can undergo serious effects of sexual assault, short and long. Some effects are as follows; PTSD, survivors of sexual assaults usually experience feelings of anxiety, stress and fear which can be direct results of the assault. Substance abuse, victims of rape or sexual assault may turn to alcohol or other substances in a fight to relive their emotional suffering. Self harm or injury, which is when a person deliberately inflicts pain onto themselves. Stockholm syndrome is described as a victims "bonding" with their attacker, this can develop subconsciously and on an involuntary basis. Depression is one of the most common effects found in rape/sexual assault victims. They can develop sleeping disorders as well as eating disorders. These victims can use food and the control of food as an attempt to cope with their negative feelings and emotions. Body memories happen when the stress of the memories of the attack takes form in physical problems that if the assault was not known would otherwise be hard to explain. Flashbacks of the past trauma feel as if they are taking place all over again in that very minute. 

In Criminology class on Friday we watched a Special Victims Unit episode that showed the effects, short and long on a rape victim. The victim in this episode without a doubt had most of these effecting her life and because of that was going to extreme circumstances of safety such as sleeping with running shoes on and buying some form of protection ex, a gun. She also experienced troubles sleeping at night and then all together because the fear of the attack and the flashes whenever she closed her eyes. 

I think rape and other sexual assaults are probably one of the most traumatizing forms of crime. They make the victim feel like if one person could do it before what would stop someone else or that individual from doing it again. They feel on edge and extremely alert at all times of the day. 

When recovering from a sexual assault it can become a complicated and controversial concept. Some people believe that with counseling and time you can recover completely from a sexual assault. Others see that some aspect of a sexual assault will be with the victim of the assault forever. Some argue that recovery is the wrong term because it is associated with illness or disease and that the effects of a sexual assault should not be viewed in such a manner. But all the recovery decisions must be made by the victim and for most there are many different routes of recovery that can be taken. 

I think some things that society could do as a whole to try and prevent sexual assault as well as help victims of attacks would be to educate more on the issue. Educate on ways and precautions that at risk age groups could go about avoiding attacks. Maybe try to even teach potential victims what they should do before, during and after an attack. 

Sexual assaults are very personal and psychological crimes that effect every aspect of a victims life.                    

Canadian Crime Trends

 British Columbia consistently has high rates of police reported drug offences. 654 incidents per 100,000 population which was more than double the rate in Saskatchewan, the next highest province. In accordance with the province as a whole, relatively high rates of drug offences are found in the metropolitan areas  of Vancouver, Victoria and Abbotsford. A large majority of these places are where drug users and their kind alike tend to gravitate towards. There are many of them, that is why I feel that more come from far places to be around a larger faction of people in relatable states and situations. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-users-can-access-illegal-drugs-in-minutes-1.1188472  - Vancouver users can access illegal drugs in minutes (head line, published in 2012)

This link above shows just how bad the recent drug issues in British Columbia have gotten

 I think that there is a large direct connection between the experiences of ones' childhood/adolescents and where they will take their lives. If you were to see a interview with some of the people who are addicted to drugs and may not live on the streets but look like it and they are asked about experiences that have got them there. 9 times out of 10 there is a story of a wrecked home life, abuse (physical/sexual, emotional), a stage of rebellion where they met someone who seriously took their life down the wrong path (a 'bad boy/girl'). There are 2 'movies' ('Through a Blue Lens', and a follow up 10 years later, 'Tears For April: Beyond the Lens)  that are shot by the RCMP officers who policed down town East Hastings Street and the surrounding areas. These interviews support my thoughts. 

Crime Theory

     I think that there are many reasons as to why crime happens and why people decide to take part in breaking the law. I don't think there is some magic recipe that cooks up bad ideas in the brain and generates  the need to do them.   There are many factors when it comes to the act of committing a crime. A neighborhood could be knee deep in illegal activities and that's just how the inhabitants of that neighborhood get by in their everyday lives. Family life; a person may not come from the wrong side of the tracks but their home life could not be the best. They could have an abuser in the home, parents could be going through a divorce, infidelity issues, maybe a loved one unexpectedly passed away. A large portion of why crime happens in my eyes comes down to the basics. They may not be what the average everyday person views as a basic need but in a distorted view of someone who is suffering in more ways then one, committing a crime may be the only way they see of fulfilling those needs. I think a big activist for that would be drugs. When someone is on drugs or is addicted to drugs so heavily that they need to mug someone, sell themselves to support their habit, rob a store or break into houses and pawn the stolen goods to use the money to buy their next hit. That would be an extreme urgency to a drug addict and the fact that what their doing is wrong in the eyes of the law, in the eyes of themselves and the people around them, doing the same things, its just everyday life and a way to get themselves through the day. I think that we may not need crime. There's a saying that you can't have light without the dark and I believe that's true. We may not need it, but it will always be there. Inevitably, there will always be people trying to survive the only way they know how, support an addiction, trying to get the attention of an authority figure, executing the plans of an easier way out with lower risk and higher reward. You could name a million different reasons of why crime happens and why people commit them, but until your in that situation where you see crime as no other option, reasons are only ideas until they become your reality.