Subscribe:
RSS feed
Trayvon Martin’s death is inextricably bound up in his age, his hoodie, and his race. An older white woman, even in a hoodie, would not have been a likely target for George Zimmerman. But Trayvon, in his youth, his masculinity, and his racial identity as an African-American, fulfilled the stereotype of the unknown criminal offender. […]
It is with great interest that I have read the posts by CrimeCents and crimineepery about the television program Dexter (2006-present). I always find it interesting to read about the ways that the medium provokes responses filled with a sense of emotion. CrimeCents rhetorically asks, “Why can’t I just willingly suspend my disbelief and enjoy the show like everyone else?” Russian […]
March 19, 2012 by PennEJustIs
This is a question I often ask participants to consider at the close of trainings on crime victimization. It’s an ongoing discussion I’m having with practitioners, such as police officers, advocates, prosecutors, nurses, teachers, psychologists, and others. More than a few times someone has burst out either with tears or a tirade to exclaim that […]
March 18, 2012 by CrimeCents
What is the dark figure of crime? Criminologists often use this term to describe the crimes we don’t know about. These are the crimes that are unreported, not investigated, not known, not punished. While all types of crimes are found in the dark figure of crime, violence against women may be the single most important […]
March 16, 2012 by CrimeCents
Want a prison sentence for stealing something free? It helps if you can describe yourself as follows: Black, poor, homeless, single mom, drug-involved. Oh, and let’s add in another ingredient – you want your child to have a better education. Tanya McDowell’s short journey has taken a strange path from struggling mother, to school services […]
March 14, 2012 by CrimeCents
Oh, TSA. Shall I compare thee to a stupid agency? Oh wait, there’s no one out there doing security work as badly as you are. I’m glad you aren’t as interested in patting down the elderly. But reading through the official release carefully, here’s what it boils down to for older travelers: TSA is going to […]
March 14, 2012 by PennEJustIs
As the anxious young woman waited to board the airplane that would take her to testify as a witness in an out-of-state court across the country, an unknown caller rang her cellphone. “Listen,” the caller threatened, “are you going to cooperate and do what we told you? You’d better! If not, we’ll get your little […]
March 13, 2012 by CrimeCents
A new article titled “Lethal Ladies: Revisiting What We Know About Female Serial Murders” is in Homicide Studies by Farrell, Keppel, and Titterginton. It’s a good article. And I get the need to draw people in with catchy titles, even in an academic journal. But language matters. My problem with the titling of this article is the […]
March 12, 2012 by CrimeCents
Bruce Schneier is a cryptologist. Bruce Schneier is his own trope. Bruce Schneier is also a geeky hero, triumphing with the mighty power of his little gray cells over the brawny exploits of Chuck Norris. If you’ve never checked out schneierfacts.com, run right over and do it. Then come back here, because if you don’t, Bruce […]
March 21, 2012 by CrimeCents
39