“Every economic level in a society has it’s criminals–the economy has very little to do with it… ”

I was actually thinking about Madoff and Spectre, but Enron fits well too.

and then i re-read your article and saw “it is always a dumb idea to leave a bike unlocked in an urban area.”

ouch.

i feel bad for your son; a) he lost a bike b) probably has a nice lock with nothing to lock with it c) had to walk home d) had to tell mom and e) lost a bike,

when i was 13, the bike was freedom, expression, a part of me. it was old and junky but it was mine. and when it got stolen when i brought it to college (locked up with a chain they cut), luck prevailed and a few months later i saw it locked up outside the dining hall. so i stole it back. speak softly and carry a big piece of pipe.

good luck to your son!

Don’t know if these pediatric thieves were unsupervised because their parent/guardians don’t care, because their parent/guardians are working 3 part-time jobs after being laid off, because of a lack of affordable summer day camps, or because the kids themselves are incorrigible regardless of what supervision they get. Don’t know if the passive bystanders did nothing because they were scared, indifferent, impaired, or had criminal records themselves.

Wish my son didn’t have to learn about crime, that the kiddie perpetrators weren’t criminals already, but glad that it wasn’t a Mom being hit while pushing a stroller in Decatur.

“Every recession since the late ’50s has been associated with an increase in crime and, in particular, property crime and robbery, which would be most responsive to changes in economic conditions.” Typically, he said, “there is a year lag between the economic change and crime rates.”

There’s lots of data around, lots of anecdotal evidence, and lots of people trying to interpret it all. Not surprisingly, their conclusions vary across the board. That said, I definitely agree with your point about Decatur’s strong position to address whatever happens.