Basic HTML Version
----~==------~------=======-============~==~~in~
CURING.. THE·QANCER OF
'
,
..
by
Donald O. Schroeder
A
fter a shon-lived (but possibly in·
agoniti~g
13cts
ol lile. We have lost
~ur
M
accurate) drop in reported enme
initiative and are back on the
defe.nsive.
ln 1972, the U.S. national ctime The nation is in deep trouble in i ts el-
rata has soared by more than 20% in
lo'ns to reduce crime."
the past tW9 years - 16% alone lor
But has the United States ever been, •
the lirst nine months of 1974.
• in recent years, on the
oHensive
against
From 1964 to 1973 spendlng on
the
real
causes ol crime? How could we
local law enforcement shot up over
be when top-ranking ctiminologists ad·
600% - lrom $1 billion to over t7 mit they cannot agree on what causes
btlhon - yet cnme continued tQ march
crime? Without
~greement
and coordi·
on like some unstoppable. mystenous
nation among top crim•n..al theo-.
plague . And like the plague, its cancer-
reticians. it's no wonder crime fighting
like spread has induced a secondary epi-
is flying in
so
many directions and pro-
domic ol loar.
ducing so little resulrs.
Law enforcement officers, judges and
A recent issue o,f
Skeptic
maga.zine
ponal officials admi1 they don't krlow dealt with the basic dilemmas of crime
what ·to do next tó discourage ram·
today, and summarited the ' prevailing
--22IWlll
~ti~gp¡ P~;tit~ ;I,QO,!s.,a~~~ql~i"l,j¡)~t: ~
•
..,lb~
!I.C.\
is
·- lfilñgs-
Wl'
ve tned, they say, '"elfect, that we don t know
w~at
causes cnme.
"and cr•me still continuos to
tise.
Noth·
All
we
have been able todo is describe
mgworksl..
the conditions under which
some
Outgotng Anomey Genef81 Wtlham 8 .
people commlt sorne ktnd of erime
Saxbe ¡udged the nation's '8ffons to re-
sometimos
for
soma
motivas. We don't
duce cnme as " a dismal fatlure ." Ctting know why
evaryMe,
exposed to the
" the incredible increase in crime statis·
same deleterious inftuences doesn' t
be-
liCS
\n recent years," Saxbe said, "they come a criminal [otalics theirs) .... Un-
keep going up despite billions in federal
til we better under.stand human
atd."
'
behavior, we cannot hopa to under·
Unprovoked and senseless violence
stand criminal behevior" (Nov.-Oec.
agatnst indwiduals is a partieularly dos-
1974, speeial issue number 4, p. 14).
turbong trend. The American murder
rate par 100,000 population doubled '"
a decade From 196'3 to 1973, the pop–
ulatton of the United States tncreased
only 11 "'· but reponed violent crimes
jumped over 170%.
The accuracy of sueh staggering sta–
tiStiCS has come under
question in
re·
cent years. The charge is that meny
lormerly unreported crimes 'ere now
being reponed. 11 this is
so,
it has yet to
be demonstrated to what degree this is
the case - or if this ís the case at all.
The enme pocture, however, is gentng
woru. regardle$$ of what stahstics you
use lt has been estimated that at least
twtc•
-
and in some categories. five
hmes - as l'('uc"h seriouscñme is being
committed as is being reponed.
The prool of ircreasing crime isn't' ln
suuistics anyway;
ii's
in what wo alf
sense by reading our local newspepers
or exparienee in our own neighbor·
hoods
A Natlon on the Defensiva
Recent cnme increasescaused former
Auomey General William Saxbe to ac–
clatm
1n
alarm: ··we can now perceive
wtth shocktng clarity that we have suf· ' ,
fered e severe setback in the coi\eened
elfon lO álter one of the natlon ·s most
WEEK ENDINO APRIL 5.,1975
". - . the chi/d sha/1 behave
himself proudly against the
anciént. · · ·,
lsaiah 3:5
Why do many individuals in low eco–
nomic areas commij crime. while many
otheis living in these same areas - just
es deprived, with just as low incomes,
enduring just es much environinental or
social abuse - do not commit cñme
and do not use thetr poveny to justify
criminal actrvity? Moreover, why does
criminal activtty, dtshonesty and corrup–
tion strike frequently In middle- and up–
par-class society
too?
The kay unanswered question to
crime is:. How do we explain deviant
human behavior -
ranging from
thoughts and temptations of _lust to out·
right theh. dishonesty or violence? Un–
less
we
can explain
human nature
(and
cñminologists admit they can' t), ctime
can naver be met head-on •n tha
most
essential areas.
Real Causee Ignorad
Various officials claim the cause¿ of
crime can be attributed to poveny, ra.
cial teOSAons, class struggle, drugs. alco–
hol, glamorization of crime, unequel
justice, corrupt law enlorcement, per·
missiveness, lack ol parental guidance,
or even diet and genetics. Most. maybe
all of these reasons, have some degree
of vahdity in sorne cases. Yet something
much
bigg.,
is
missing in modem ctimt·
nal theory. Ctiminologísts and crime
ftghters cannot put their finger on it
be–
cause
it
isa
spiritualmatter.
Potice. courts and penal
1nst•tutions
ara failíng to reduce the cnme rate be·
cause they are almost totally dealing
with
•Hects
-
not causes. And most of
ihem admit i.tl
•
Let's clearly define the
ma¡or
causes
ip
our
~bric
that are
eocouraging
today'$ Spír&lfing
gfo:;;n;
of
~minal
ee–
ttvtty.
(1) Oecay ohhe Fainily
Standing es the' primary defensa
against criminal influence is -
or
should be - the family uni\. 8ut per·
ents by the droves, gripped wíth all the
populerly promoted pressures of social
acceptance, materialism and sell·gratifi·
cation have' practically handed over
their chlldren to all the wrong in·
fluences lnstead of standing as•a break·
water against the tide of parmossive–
ness. the modem family unit too often is
betng swept away w ith it.
No
wonder
we are experiencing a generattOn of
youth and adults that have little respect.
for honesty, law, order, deceney or prin–
cipie.
"The carnal mind is enmity:
sgainst God: for
it
is not sub–
' ject to the l aw of God, neither
indeed can be. "
Romans
B:
7
Mtllions ol modern homes, from poor
to tich, are beset by the dise.ase of per–
rnissívenoss. erosion of high ideels, lack
of right leadership, lack of self-dis–
cipline, honest character, watmth, love
and stebllity Nearly hall of our nation's
serious crimes are commítted by teen–
agers Much ol this juventle delin–
quency finds roots
in
wrong parental
values, parental apathy, or other wrong
influences.
Senator John McCiellan who probed
organizad crime for 18' years, pin·
pointed this major fai lure: • . . .
1 think
you have to start in the home.
There
seems to be a rack of propar respact and
discipl(ne in the home. And in the
school there is certainly a great lack of
discipline:'·
(2) Undisciplined Education
Once
the homas have taÚed to .Qe–
velop an early
conscíoutness
of high
moral values and nght character, the
modem· school system can
do
little but
hold
weak
réins on the resulting unpre–
dictable student behavtOr. Too many
schools merely concentrato undesirable
youthlul humatTbehavíor into one build·
, ing. 1he school -ground then becomes a
huge trarisniisslon 'ground for criminal
values and clttitudes
1
~
Many- school ad'mínistrations- ca.cfd
teachers, sensing the desperate need to
fill the huge moral and discipline gap,
may attempt to dtsc.phne students, but
they ohen end up cowed (or even terror–
úed)
by bandsol hostile students.
·one recent editortal summed up mOd–
em education 's morel
deierioration:
"[The (act) that basic skills, good rpan.
ners. moral s¡andards and discipline
have gone so lar out of educational
style
as now to
be
termed 'alternative'
is
a
measure of the depths to which public
education has
su~
"
Schools do educatel But from too
many of these morally emasculated
schools, society is i-eaping líttle more
than smarter c:riminals.
(3) lneffectual Aellgion
The Ten Commandments, if kept in
both letter and spírit, will deter crime. .
·one hundred thiny million Americans
are church members. Fony parcent at·
tend ehurch at least once a week. 8ut it
seems that you can't tell a churchgoer
from a _non-churchgoer in day-te><liy
business ethics or social relations.
Why
this mute inffuence ol religion on mod·
em values? The answor is, much of
modern religious philosophy has been
overcome
by
secular society's popular
emphasis on a vague moral value sys·
tem.
Much of modern rellgion has deterio–
rated into meaningless
W<~&kÍy
(or seini–
annual) ritual, to whtch the average
ehurchgoer gives lukewarm lip service
only lor a variety of social reasons. For
millions .. matenahsm. pleasure seeking
and the philosophy ol "getting mine
now" are idolited more than honesty,
the le'ar of God. or respect lor the Big
Ten of Exodus 20.
9