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Two: Socicty's
"Crime
Facrories"
Once a bad foundarion has been
laid at homc. an individual is usually
wdl on his way to
a
life of crime. Bu.r
a
hosr of
01h~r
"crime factories" in
socicry comprisc rhe sccond major
cause of crime which rhc prisons can
little control.
To man y yourhs,
school
is boring
and irrelevanr. L1cking rhe knowl–
edge of a real purpose in life and how
to
rackle and solve life's problems,
ed ucacional sys tems fi nd rhcmselves
turning ofT youngsrers by rhc rens of
rhousands.
Today's reen-agcrs belicvc rhar rhey
are sccking thc answers
ro
life likc
perhaps no orhcr generarion has. And
\'Ct.
rhe schools find rhemsclves inca–
pablc of providing eithcr adegu:ue
answcrs or viable solurions ro young
pcoplc's probkms.
~Iosr
prison inmarcs admir rhcy
were rurned ofT
b~·
school :u an early
age. Many d id noc atrcnd lo ng
enough cven ro lcarn how ro rcacl ancl
wrire. Less rhan five pcrccnr of all
42
prisoncrs have a high school diploma.
In vicw of chis, is ir logica l ro
rhink rhar prisons can solvc rhe many
crime-producing problcms created
by
meaningkss insrruction '
Thc
xbmo:YOIItb
mlture
of big
ciries is anorher spawning ground of
críminaliry. Urban
life-sr~ le~
are
replete wirh vice. The
spr:~wl ing
urban mcgalopoli:.cs (and in crcas–
ingly. thc suburbs) are producing an
ever-grcarer numbcr of yourhful
olfendcr\ each \'Car.
Many
lír
rhe standard p•arrern: young,
hostile. rurned-otr roward rhe "estab–
lishment. .. Their characrer. or l:tck of
ir. and subseguenr criminal bchavior.
is reflectcd
by
rheir widespread misuse
of drugs. alcohoL ancl scx.
Prisons cannor cure rhe crime–
spawning
environmcnr~
of our big
cities!
Due ro
wide.rprem/
deprit•,¡fioll
and
pqrerlr.
mall\· individuals rurn ro
crimc whcn no orher means of finan–
cia! supporr appears available. Unem–
ploymcnr and job discriminarion. as
well as aparhy ami general l:11iness.
are
primar~·
facrors c:lUsing crimcs
sueh as burglary and arrncd robbcn.
A~
one \'\falla \'\falla inman.: rold me.
"1
lud trouble gerring a p.ood job in
rhe lirsr place.
:llld
once
1
hada record
ir was impossiblc.
l
had ro lcarn crimc
co survive."
Are rhe prisons supposcd ro shoul–
der rhe responsibiliry of eli minaring
rhc cconomic causes of crimc?
Thrce: The
"Gamc
of Crime"
As
mosr criminals vicw ir rodav.
crime is a sorr of bizarre social
ga~e
most even·one plays in
onc
form or
anorher - and wirh measured suc–
ccss. This underlying philosophy.
Mrongly emphasized on TV, in rhc
movies. and rhrough rhc mass media.
lus
convinccd many rhat trime is jusr
another parr
of
"normal" life. As rhe
rhinking goes. on ly rhe unlucky and
unforrunart gcr caughr and go ro
prison.
Consegucnrly, many inm:ues feel
th<:ir incarccr:uion is unjusrified. :\fost
fcel vicrimizcd by a socict\ filled wirh
PLAIN TRUTH September·October 1
972