A Life of Crime (And Why I'm Not Living One), by Ash.ox, Age 25

Some time ago, I sat down and had coffee with a couple of friends. We talked about a lot of things, and finally the topic swung around to killers, rapists and the crimes they commit. This post was directly inspired by that conversation.

WARNING: This post contains some content which may be disturbing, and is to be taken with a healthy dose of mature thinking.

After the aforementioned conversation, I began to mull over some things in my head. The talk the other day revolved around rapes and murders (among other things) and how most times these are crimes of opportunity. Being an amateur student of crime literature myself (and please, I mean really amateur), I've devoured copious amounts of true crime accounts and analyses, notably the adventures of Vidocq, the Frenchman who was singlehandedly responsible for the Surete (the French espionage network) as well as other well known (and some less well so) cases involving Crippen, Cream, Burke and Hare and the like.

What struck me the other day was how true my friend's opinion might be: given an opportunity, a person with a propensity for criminal acts will unhesitantly commit them. A rapist may decide to assault a girl who frequently uses a deserted alley (regardless of dress) and a kleptomaniac may not be able to stop himself from pinching something that's in plain view. Thanks to Hollywood, we've formed the impression that a serial killer, rapist or any such criminal needs a motive, be it similar abuse as a child or some other deep seated psychological root (with the notable exception of Brian DePalma's oft-overlooked 8mm).

We've come to expect this motive for any crime: was the suspect sexually abused? Did he/she come from a broken family? Could it be a genetic propensity for violence? Whatever the explanation, we'll readily accept it as long as it can tell us a particular WHY. The thing we often miss is, it doesn't HAVE to be like that.

As difficult as it is for us to imagine, there are instances of crimes being committed by otherwise sane people simply because they CAN (case in point, the Leopold and Loeb case of 1924, and more recently Ted Bundy). These are ordinarily decent, intelligent citizens who all of a sudden decide to direct their efforts to a life of putting grievous injury to people. As we progress higher up the Maslow chain, we find that we do not commit crimes for food, or shelter. We seek something more. Like Christian Bale's American Psycho, the 21st century killer does not necessarily need a reason. To him, it was catharsis. To these real life criminals, it is an escape from a humdrum existence into something new, and forbidden.

Which brings me to my point in this: So what stops me from committing a rape or murder, besides my sense of morality (which some may argue is subjective)? What stops us from any crime, full stop? Thinking about this, I've realised that besides my sense of right and wrong (which thank God is alive) it all boils down to two simple questions:

1) Can I do it? and
2) How do I get away with it?

My theory is simple. Find someone who knows the answer to both questions, and most probably he or she will have a recipe for a crime, and a successful one at that. Let's talk about our everyday work lives. If you knew you could get away with surfing "restricted" sites on your work time, would you not do so, even if it is just one site? If you know noone would miss that Milo 3-in-1 packet in the pantry, would you hesitate to take it? In other discussions with other friends, we've often pondered on the difficulties of becoming a serial killer in Malaysia (committing a murder is easy, it's getting rid of the evidence that's a bummer). Of course, a harsh penalty helps in scaring off anyone who even considers walking this path. So my contention is this: somewhere, there is someone whose life feels unfulfilled. He/she will be of above average intelligence, and can hold a good respectable job. He or she does not HAVE to commit a crime. But he/she CAN, and if apprehended, we will ponder the reasons behind the act.

What we need to remember is that there may BE no reason. Like Leopold and Loeb, the person may be fed up with a boring straighforward life. If you think this is farfetched, I remember when I was working in Midvalley when it first opened. According to the house detectives quite a few shoplifters were girls who had loads of cash in their purses! They were looking for a thrill, something exciting. These girls could have bought any item they wanted. Instead, they chose to steal them.

Again, this may not be true (as they're only the ravings of a mad ox). But if our country were to develop this type of criminals, our police force may not be prepared to handle them. There are those two questions I wrote earlier on. Go ahead, ask yourselves. What would you do, the next time that sexy girl you've been eyeing crosses your path, or that old lady leaves behind her purse.

What would we all do?