Above: Crime growth sometimes starts at the top, when highly visible politicians escape repercussions. Jamie Myles uses the example of Bill Clinton's sex scandal.

Why I Think Crime is Out of Control Member Series

Member Post by Jamie Myles

Crime is nothing new. Crime and violence is indicative of the injustice that has been a part of society as long as there have been laws. There will always be those that violate laws and there will always be a victim that is hurt by the criminal element of society.    

I believe that Crime is a cancer that starts at the top of our society and trickles down into the whole body of the population. When those in leadership of our Nation are involved in criminal behavior or condoning it, it sets the tone. When the members of Congress and even a president have no respect for the law, they have set the example of criminal behavior for the rest of the nation. The corruption becomes a part of the culture.

When you have a president (Bill Clinton) that knowingly commits perjury and suffers no real consequences of his actions, it says that our laws are powerless. When you have a Congressman (Charles Rangel) that cheats on his taxes and doesn't get the punishment that the law demands, it makes a mockery of the law. What does this teach our children?

Another problem, in my opinion, is the "plea bargain" That is rampant in our court systems. For instance, if I were to go out and commit and armed robbery in the first degree, before it is all said and done, I may have it reduced to a simple misdemeanour theft. Where is the justice in that? How is that protecting society from being victimized by my criminal behavior?

What can be done about an Attorney General that refuses to prosecute criminal behavior? We had Members of the New Black Panthers Commit the crime of voter intimidation as well as the crime of intimidation of poll watchers. Both these crimes are in violation of Federal election laws; however they were, in spite of the evidence of the truth of these crimes being there in the record for anyone who bothers to actually look for it, The Justice Department, headed up by Eric Holder, chose to sweep it under the rug. If the top prosecutor in the nation refuses to do his job, why would criminals feel that they will have pay for their crimes?

On a more local level, we see overcrowding of the jails leading to criminals being released with out serving any reasonable portion of a sentence.  Also when celebrities such as Lindsey Lohan continually violate the law and serve only the very minimal of sentences or even no time at all, Kids think it is no big deal to commit crimes. They may think it is fun or the "in Thing" to do.

Then there is the problem of misconduct on the part of the arresting officers that will lead to a criminal getting off and being released to once again prey on society. The arresting officers may mis-handle evidence or violate the Constitutional rights of the accused. This can lead to a criminal being released to victimize more people. So instead of serving and protecting society they become part of the problem by not doing their job appropriately.

I personally believe Video games, movies and music that glorify violent criminal behavior influence some people to aspire to become criminals. They think it is cool to be thug. Then add to that the lack of parental responsibility that contributes to the upsurge in criminal activity among the youth and we have a culture of criminality taking hold.

With parents not taking the responsibility of parenting their children seriously, we see that kids will be easily influenced by the negative messages that bombard them daily. If parents aren't strongly involved in their kids lives how can they teach their kids to be good, moral, citizens? If we leave it up to kids to raise themselves the outcome is not good for them or for society as a whole.

Member POV: Why Crime is out of Control in America Xray3