1. MelissaEllis
3/29/15
Criminal America: A Tale of Every City
Thecasespresentedbyeachauthorareboth poignantandwell-illustrated.And I thinkit shouldbe noted that these
authorsare describingtwocompletelydifferentworldsof CriminalAmerica. Thedepictionofeachissuperficially
accurateandbotharesupportedby researchandstatistics. David A. Andersonis passionatein hisstanceregarding
street crimeasthe moretroublesomeandcostlyto America’scommunities,aswellas to Americaasa whole.Then,
Jeffrey Reimandoesa fantastic dance ofprinciple-relatedlogicrightontop of all of those numbersandfactsthat
David Anderson workedso hard to lay out for us. But sinceI must chooseaside,David Andersongets myvote
today. Theinformationheprovidesis not just statisticalinnature. David Anderson takes into consideration indirect
costs suchas: victim-relatedopportunitycosts,the mentalandemotionaltolltakenon victimsandcommunities, and
“…a transfer of assets from victim to criminal”,whichshiftsthisdiscussionintopersonalterritory (Anderson 274). For
example,whenbreakingdowntheobvious costsassociatedwithstreet-level crime,Andersonextends hisstudy by
including“…implicitpsychic andhealthcosts(fear, agony, and the inabilityto behave as desired)…” (Anderson274).
Thisillustratestherippleeffect that crimehason a communityand thosethat live in it. Andersoneven goesso far as
to calculateandcategoricallyorganizethemoneythat wouldnot have beenspent if the nationdid not suffer from
street-level crime,downto the dollar.It is not enoughthat Anderson talliedupour nation’swhopping$400billiontab
of expendituresbut, gave us a play-by-play of “…the costs of goodsand servicesthat wouldnothave to be produced
in the absenceofcrime”(Anderson275).As if this revelation alonewasnot enoughto forceus to pondernewways
to fight crimeinour neighborhoods,Andersondigsdeeper.He callsus out onthe very existenceofthings “…that do
not contributeto societyexceptin their associationwithcrime”;likethe TaserIkeep in the consoleofmytruck
(Anderson 274). See, personal.Andersongoes on to say “…time, moneyandmaterialresources…couldbeusedfor
the creationof benefitsrather than the avoidanceofharm” (Anderson 274). Tome,this feelslike a reprimand.A
shame-on-usforallowingprisonsandpoliceprovisionstosoak up the resourcesmeanttobuildschoolsand
playgroundsfor our children.I believeDavid Anderson’s articleismoreaccurateadepictionofcrimeintheU.S.
today. Thepersonalassociations heforcesusto makewithwhat wouldotherwisejust benumbersona page,
doesn’tjust raise ourawarenessof an issue, they allowus to recognizethe relevancethosenumbershave ineachof
our lives. WhileJeffrey Reiman’sargumentispresentedin a comprehensivefashion,andhisfacts probablypaintas
accurateaportrayal of white-collarcrimeinAmericaasonecouldhopefor, if there is no legitimacyto be had,then
that oh-so-accurateportrayalisnever even seen.
Works Cited
Anderson,DavidA."The Aggregate Burdenof Crime."Finsterbusch,Kurt. Taking Sides:Clashing Views
on ControversialSocialIssues.Dubuque,Iowa:McGraw-Hill/Dushkin,2005. 272-279. Print.
Reiman,Jeffrey."The RichGetRicherand the PoorGet Prison."Finsterbusch,Kurt. Taking Sides:
Clashing Viewson ControversialSocialIssues.Dubuque,Iowa:McGraw-Hill/Dushkin,2005.280-
284. Print.