Burglary Case Study

Jonathan Gann w0189144 I'm A Hustler, Baby

Rapper Jay Z once proclaimed, “I'm a hustler baby. I just want you to know... it ain't where I been, but where I'm about to go.” Although he wasn't referring to criminals in the hit song, his words strike a chord in regards to the “Hustlers” discussed in, “Burglars on the Job.” There are a plethora of internal and external factors that motivate a person to commit crimes such as burglary, but through background factors alone we cannot say for certain why a crime was committed by a select person. It is vital to study and begin to understand why people commit crimes as well as how they view their behavior. History and statistics have shown that simply adjusting our justice system to neutralize these offenders has had little to no impact on crime in our nation. Professors Richard T. Wright and Scott Decker risked their lives to further an academic study that sheds light on the perspective of burglars and how they interpret what they do. Many theorists believe that criminals are utilitarian and carefully weigh the potential costs and rewards of their illegal actions (p4). These two gentlemen, however, postulated that there are multiple facets of criminals to discover and consider through intimate contact in the field. While Chambliss and Polsky were hesitant to work “In the wild,” Wright and Decker felt that this was the best way to collect accurate data. They preferred to observe burglars in their natural habitat rather than speak with already incarcerated offenders in criminal justice system surroundings. One of only a small handful of studies involving active burglars, the book describes the motivation, considerations, and choices that burglars make throughout each stage of crime. Follo...

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...tt Decker showed in their book that there are many aspects of criminals to consider. “Burglars on the Job” is the definitive book about how burglars work. It provides many profound insights for those interested in the mentality of criminals as well as anyone who wants to protect their home. Although primarily an academic study, "Burglars" is a fascinating piece of criminology from which we can all learn something. After recently reading this book, I find myself pondering various aspects of deviance when I am traveling through different neighborhoods than my own. I compare my previous thoughts and misconceptions to the knowledge I learned through the reading and realize that there are so many more factors to crime than I had previously believed. This was an eye opening experience that will surely lead me to further investigate the inner workings of social deviants.