Criminology: The Core By Larry Siegel

According to Criminology: The Core, written by Larry Siegel, in order to be a career criminal, one must have committed crimes and participated in antisocial behaviors starting from adolescence well into adulthood (Siegel), and according to reporters at WGLC- TV Atlanta, Phyllis Peterson of Georgia certainly fits that description. Phyllis Peterson, 41, was accused of living in a half million-dollar home for nearly five years rent-free (CBS46). According to WGLC-TV Atlanta, Peterson’s criminal record dates back to the mid- 1990s. From the information gathered from chapter 9 of Siegel’s work and Aging Out, one can clearly make connections to which theory, and associated path, of criminal development Peterson most likely falls under, the influence

One of Peterson’s sons is a convicted sex offender, and the other one is a convicted drug dealer. While nothing is certain, the fact that her children are also criminals indicates the level of social capital that her children may have lacked because of her deviant behavior. In chapter 9 of Criminology: The Core, social capital is an aspect of the Age-Graded theory developed by Robert Sampson and John Laub. Essentially, social capital is the positive and sustaining virtues gained from positive connections and experiences with individuals and institutions. It is argued that children of parents who are also deviant do not gain the positive experiences that prepare them to be successful law-abiding adults. Hence, a possible explanation as to why Peterson, a criminal, also raised children who became criminals

Referring back to the intital news article from CBS46, neighbors were quoted as saying that they feel that someone is protecting Peterson from prosecution. Instead of evicting Peterson the ruling Judge allowed several movements for delays in the case, and spared Peterson jail time in her most recent crime. Interestingly, through Cromwell’s work comes the idea of “criminal” calculus. According to Cromwell, this is the ability to foresee the consequences of apprehension. For some offenders as time goes on their ability to foresee consequences prevent them from escalating in criminal activity; however, there are some offenders, as stated by Cromwell, that never experience orientational or interpersonal changes to make that modification. Cromwell goes on to imply that the failure in modification may be due to the fact that some offenders have avoided prosecution repeatedly in the past, so they never find reason to slow down in order to consider consequences. Perhaps the judge’s leniency Peterson’s case followed a trend that never provided Peterson with the proper wake-up