What Kind Of Person Does It Take?

by Nick Coons
Mar 24, 2004

I live in a fairly low-crime area of town. I can go outside in the middle of the night and not fear for my safety. I lock the door to my car, I lock the door to my house, and all is well -- Usually.

But every once in a while, no matter what precautions you take, no matter how nice the area is where you live, you get hit. My car has been broken into before, more than once even. But it still shocks me when it happens.

I live in a very nice area. The neighbors are friendly and you can talk to anyone. But I have one strike against me -- I live in a townhouse complex.

Apparently, this is the problem. I always knew that vehicles parked in a parking lot were more vulnerable. It seemed to me that it would attract more thieves since they would have a wide variety of loot from which to pick and choose.

But there's one other reason. As well as you may know the people who live right next to you, in a complex of over 100 units, you don't know everyone. And therefore, you see people in the parking lot that you don't recognize, and you think nothing of it. This makes it much easier for criminals to look inconspicuous. You are not going to look at them and wonder why they are there. This, unfortunately, makes it much easier to hang out where they are not wanted -- That is, near your vehicles and watching for an opportunity to break into them.

And as soon as I learn that a vehicle has been broken into, and items were stolen, the frustratingly obvious question pops into my mind -- What kind of person does it take to do this? I mean, how can someone come along and honestly think that it is okay to snatch items that don't belong to them, which you worked so hard to earn?

And then the philosophical questions arise -- How do we stop crime? What is it that compels people to do wrong, and to do so with a clear conscience? Murderers and thieves are the two types of people that hinder a society's progression. Prevention of their actions should be considered somewhat of a priority to the rest of us.