Last Sunday, my apartment was burgled while I was asleep. The thief took my bag, along with my
wallets, my keys and my car keys. That night (or should I say early morning)
three other units in my building were burgled.
As a
sociologist in risk governance and a victim of crime I feel like I
should somehow be able to rise above the fear, anger and frustration of the
event. I have in the last five days thought about what I would do or say to the
boy who broke into my apartment and my car. I am filled with a deep sense of anger, frustration and disdain towards him (indeed her). As the stories start to emerge from my
neighbours and friends who also had their houses burgled and their cars stolen,
the picture I am getting is that of a bunch of young kids – between the ages 13
and 19 – just bored, looking for thrills. They are not violent people, and they
are not always interested in money. Sometimes they just want to go for a joy
ride, trash up a car and walk away with no consequence.
My first
reaction to these stories is – the damn fuckers. But my next question is why
are they not in school? Where are their parents? What kind of family background
do they come from? Are they doing this because their family needs the money? Do
they not realise they are gambling with their future? Why do they not consider
this a morally wrong thing to do? What does this say about the moral compass of
society in this little city?
The police
have reported the spate of break-ins as the fault of residents for not locking
up their properties. But they miss the point. That is – or should I say was – the
beauty of our area that people trusted each other enough to leave their doors
unlocked at night. That trust is now lost – and it’s the most valuable thing
that these young thieves took – social trust.
When I
think about how this trust might be restored, my thoughts go back to these
young burglars. As a sociologist, I am compelled to see beyond the individual
and look to the wider social context in which he/she exists. Somewhere along
the life of this young individual, society failed him/her. Perhaps, he was not
taught to respect private property; perhaps his own personal space has been
violated many times in life that he no longer sees it necessary to accord the
same respect to others. Perhaps he has done poorly in school and teachers
unintentionally make him feel worthless, and therefore he must prove himself in
other ways. Perhaps he comes from an abusive family and this is how he gets
relieve from the anger inside him.
There are a
myriad of possibilities, multiple pathways that lead up to the choice that
he/she made to be a burglar. But one thing is clear, burglars are not born,
they become one. And somewhere along the life of this young person, he chose
the path of crime over a path of education, gainful employment and a future
that is meaningful. I have always been inclined to believe that even if one
chose a wrong path at some point in life, there will always be one back to the
right one. We all make mistakes and bad choices in life, and if society is kind
enough to not define us by those bad choices, then I must return the favour.
So
if I meet the kid who burgled my house, I will not be angry. I might, in fact,
sponsor his/her education, be his/her tutor, give him/her options other than
that of crime. Maybe that is the only way social trust may be restored. For
sure he/she is just one person, but I'm saving him and his children and his
children’s children from generations of crime. In the longer scheme of things,
that’s not such a bad achievement.
