Highlights
You, your spouse, and your children interact daily with people who have criminal histories.
Acknowledging this and evaluating potentially menacing or uncomfortable situations keeps us safe from crime.
This article is available as a podcast on YouTube.
Author
Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr.
Former Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention and Statistics for the Department of Justice’s clearinghouse. Former Director of Information Services, National Crime Prevention Council. Former Adjunct Associate Professor of Criminology and Public Affairs-University of Maryland, University College. Former police officer. Retired federal senior spokesperson.
Former advisor to presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Former advisor to the “McGruff-Take a Bite Out of Crime” national media campaign. Produced successful state anti-crime media campaigns.
Thirty-five years of directing award-winning (50+) public relations for national and state criminal justice agencies. Interviewed thousands of times by every national news outlet, often with a focus on crime statistics and research. Created the first state and federal podcasting series. Produced a unique and emulated style of government proactive public relations.
Certificate of Advanced Study-The Johns Hopkins University.
Author of ”Success With The Media: Everything You Need To Survive Reporters and Your Organization” available at Amazon and additional booksellers.
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Notes
As the former senior specialist for crime prevention and statistics for the US Department of Justice’s clearinghouse and as the former director of information services for the National Crime Prevention Council, my job was to protect citizens by providing the best possible information.
Some of the research below is dated. There was a time when the US Department of Justice researched: completed and uncompleted crimes, who was victimized, the characteristics of crime, who successfully resisted (those resisting had higher rates of uncompleted crime but were injured more), plus other variables. That data continues to have relevance due to the huge number of people interviewed through the National Crime Victimization Survey.
Article
I have questions from a reader: How many people with criminal histories do we interact with daily? How do I prevent myself from being victimized?
These are interesting questions. If you go to a packed football stadium, you are surrounded by thousands of people with criminal histories. Regardless of the setting, you frequently deal with people convicted of crimes. That doesn’t automatically mean danger (i.e., a shoplifting conviction from decades ago) but people have a right to know that we interact with current and past offenders frequently.
The questions have relevance for multiple reasons. Crime prevention specialists suggest that you need to understand your surroundings and trust your instincts. The recidivism rate for current offenders is very high. Considering that most violent crimes are committed by non-strangers, even those you know can be of concern.
Most people when arrested are under the influence of drugs or alcohol per US Department of Justice research. Mental health problems and impulse control issues among the offender population are growing problems which is why active resistance during robberies or other violent crimes becomes an immense challenge.
Uncompleted Crimes
Bureau of Justice Statistics data indicate that there are a lot of attempted-uncompleted criminal events thus anticipation and reactions are important. “In over 70% of all violent crime incidents, the crime was attempted but not completed (emphasis added). Such incidents ranged from attempts to rape or rob to threats of violence.”
Approximately 49,000 completed or attempted nonfatal carjackings occurred annually in the United States. Notably, about half of these incidents were unsuccessful attempts, en.wikipedia.org.
So it’s obvious that potential victims anticipate dangers, trust their instincts, and extract themselves without harm. Knowing the numbers helps.
The Numbers
Per the latest report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the USDOJ, 1 in 71 adult U.S. residents are under community supervision via parole, probation, or mandatory supervision (released because the state can no longer legally hold them in prison).
One in 71 is a rather profound figure indicating that many people you interact with daily are on active supervision by a parole and probation agency.
Estimates indicate that approximately one in three American adults—around 70 to 100 million people—have some form of criminal record, BrennanCenter, SentencingProject.org.
Focusing specifically on felony convictions, a study estimated that approximately 19 million people in the U.S. had a felony record, including those who have been to prison, jail, or on felony probation, News.UGA.edu.
An estimated 5,407,300 persons were under the supervision of adult correctional systems in the United States at year-end 2022, and 3,668,800 of those were under community supervision, according to Correctional Populations in the United States, 2022 – Statistical Tables and Probation and Parole in the United States, 2022, two reports released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Per the reports above, about 1 in 48 adult U.S. residents (2 percent) were under some form of correctional supervision. More than two-thirds of persons under correctional supervision were supervised in the community.
Context
We need to have some context. Many people committed acts considered criminal (i.e., drunk or impaired driving, drug use, fighting, theft, cheating on their taxes, etc.) regardless of whether or not they were caught. The lack of a criminal record doesn’t guarantee safety.
Let’s not forget that people change past behaviors, especially as they get older.
On the other hand, through FBI data, I’m also aware of people in their 50s and above who continue to commit crimes. The rate of recidivism (new arrests or incarcerations) is sky-high for those leaving prison and for many on parole and probation. Eighty-two percent of those released from state prisons over ten years were arrested once again and 61 percent were returned to prison. For some, regardless of age, a commitment to crime or violence continues.
Criminal justice advocates will tell you that you are in constant contact with convicted individuals thus we should be more sympathetic toward efforts to rehabilitate or provide services to reduce reoffending. They have a point. Drug and mental health treatment are important options.
I have met hundreds of people throughout my career who were convicted felons who are now living drug and crime-free lives. They have left their criminal behavior behind. I do not hesitate to embrace successful people who made mistakes in the past. The vast majority of criminal convictions shouldn’t be a life sentence.
Crime Prevention
Yes, we frequently encounter people with criminal histories. How you assess the circumstances makes a difference. Having good advice and knowing the correlates of crime help.
Crime prevention is not a matter of stranger danger. Most violent crimes are committed by known individuals. Most children are victimized by someone they know. Most rape victims know their attackers and most sexual assaults happen in residential settings.
The vast majority of violent and property crimes are not reported to law enforcement and most reported crimes do not end in an arrest thus, quite frankly, unconvicted people can be a threat.
This discussion is not meant to scare. Fear of crime is at an all-time high per Gallup. Knowing the facts can empower.
We need to understand the risks we take every time we (and our children) exit our homes. A ton of literature is available on personal crime prevention and child safety. We need to understand that how we act and behave is important. The key isn’t how to act during confrontations; what’s important is avoiding them entirely by being sober, alert, and avoiding people and events that make you or your family wary.
Concurrently, our children need age-appropriate discussions as to people who make them feel uncomfortable (in most cases it’s people they know) and the trust they have to tell you what happened. Our children need to understand that inappropriate touching or sexual assaults happen in residential settings with people they know so who you invite into your home or whose home you enter becomes an important part of the discussion. A surprising number of burglaries involve someone you know.
The best advice for avoiding violence is to be with someone else. The majority of violent victims are alone. Simply being with other people reduces your odds of victimization considerably.
The best advice during a robbery is to comply. A significant majority of robberies do not involve harm or when harm happens, it’s generally minor (not involving hospitalization).
If properly armed with information as to how to act during potentially uncomfortable or dangerous situations and whom we choose to associate with, we avoid many if not most victimizations. Potential criminals (even the ones you know) prey on easy targets they consider vulnerable (the reason disabled people have much higher rates of crime).
Knowing how not to be an inviting target is part of street smarts that parents try to convey to their children. Most of us will never be victims because we understand the numbers and dynamics. We’re not easy targets. We’re smart enough to extract ourselves and our families before trouble happens.
Conclusion
Proceeding through difficult situations displaying a sense of sobriety, confidence, and awareness helps. I once left an office building late in the evening in downtown Washington, D.C. when a very aggressive panhandler would not leave me alone. Was this a potential robbery? So I walked in the middle of the street among traffic and told him that one of us was going to get hit and it wasn’t going to be me. He quickly left.
Your demeanor and awareness keeps trouble from happening. Being smart about your circumstances and who you interact with pays dividends.
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