Everybody Does It!: Crime by the Public

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University of Toronto Press, Jan 1, 1994 - Social Science - 378 pages

This is the first book to explore in detail crime committed by the general public. Thomas Gabor challenges the prevailing stereotype of the criminal by documenting the extent to which ordinary citizens (those who are not habitually in conflict with the law) violate the law, exhibit dishonesty, or engage in actions harmful to their fellow citizens. He shows that so-called respectable citizens account for a large proportion of many kinds of crime: theft, fraud, tax evasion, assault, sex offences, business scams, political and corporate crime, environmental crime, technological crime, and mass lawlessness such as looting and vigilantism. He also discusses crime by police and other authorities in the justice system. Case studies provide concrete examples and raise crucial questions about law enforcement.

By discussing the justifications and excuses ordinary people provide for their transgressions, Gabor draws a parallel between those justifications and the ones provided by chronic or hard-core criminals. He shows, through experimental and other evidence, that members of the public are often not firmly committed to society's laws or the legal system. Using existing theories in conjunction with an original, interdisciplinary theoretical model, he shows why criminality is so widespread, and why it varies from person to person, and from one milieu to another. He shows why some crimes are more prevalent than others, and why some people are more immune to being labelled and processed as criminals within the criminal justice system. He concludes with a discussion of approaches for dealing with widespread criminality.

 

Contents

Introduction
3
Our Brothers Keeper? The Commitment of
10
3
23
Is Everyone Doing It? The Extent of the Publics Criminality
51
Notes 370
53
CaseStudies
60
Property Crime
73
Working Overtime at a Chemical Plant
76
Crime by Societys
134
Sleazy Politics in Nova Scotia
137
Other Crimes
153
Rationalizations Justifications
167
Justifications for Employee Theft
183
Reactions to a Shoplifting Incident
197
An Early Christmas in New York City
203
The Impact of Live Models and the Media on Violence
220

Hotel Linen Lifting
84
Violent and Sex Crimes
98
Murder Is Sweet Revenge
101
Corporate Crime
116
Highway Robbery in Canada
119
The DoortoDoor Hustle
125
Ordinary People Following Orders
232
Rape and Suicides as Rational Acts
244
Tables
259
Elements of the Predictive Model
273
Which of These Men Are Armed Robbers? 24
359
Copyright

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About the author (1994)

Thomas Gabor is a professor in the Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa.

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