Criminology

McLaughlin 1

Tom McLaughlin SOC 2136 Criminology Section 10 12/4/13 Why I Could Not Be a Professional Thief There is a common stigma that those who resort to a life of crime are forced to as a result of a lack of common skills and abilities or education. This can hold true for an amateur thief. However, to be a professional thief one must possess certain distinct characteristics that set them apart from their peers. In Darrell Steffensmeier’s book The Fence: In the Shadow of Two Worlds he argues that although anyone can become a criminal, only those who are ingenious, charismatic, wise, creative, and possess business skills and knowledge can become successful criminals. In addition to this, to be a professional thief one must have various reliable connections in the criminal underworld. The first and most important reason I cannot be a professional thief is that I was not raised in their culture, among other thieves. Rarely does someone suddenly become a professional thief on any given day. It takes many years of learning and trial and error throughout a thief’s youth. Just like any other profession, they learn from one another and especially one another’s mistakes. Thus, they are able to avoid any potentially problematic situations in the future. I was never given this education and furthermore have never even had a single conversation with a skilled thief. Therefore, if I tried to suddenly become a professional thief it would likely be about the same result as if I tried to suddenly be a professional basketball player, an all-out failure. It takes years of training and dedication to get on the level of

McLaughlin 2

professional thieves these days. For the majority of common citizens though, this training is extremely difficult to come across and is generally only spread through families and very close friends, who thieves are comfortable sharing their tips and secrets with. This close connection with fellow thief family members and friends is an...