Criminals and other Undesirables

I have no love for criminals. They are vultures and the scum of any society. I’m not talking about what governments consider criminals, like citizens who don’t pay their fair share on taxes, or lag behind paying them, or don’t take part in government functions, or people who broadcast military secrets that shouldn’t be secrets in the first place, and stuff like that. I’m talking about those undesirables who prey on hardworking citizens by stealing their money, by breaking into other people’s houses, stealing cars and things that don’t belong to them, things that people worked hard for to obtain. The worst criminals are the ones who not only steal but wantonly destroy other people’s property.

Why am I bringing this up? I got an email from one of my cousins in Germany. They have a house in Hungary, more like a retreat they visit once in a while. Last month somebody broke into the house and pretty much emptied it, but they also destroyed doors, screens, the garage door, and other items. Sure, the police was there, but, according to my cousin, nothing much will happen. That’s how these things are usually handled. It happens too often. Not only in Hungary. We have plenty of crime happening right in our own backyard.

One must ask why do people behave like that. Why add insult to injury? Isn’t enough to steal property that doesn’t belong to them? Why must they still commit this willful destruction? What kind of people become criminals anyway? Is in their genes? They are certainly not useful members of any society. They are the reason for too many restrictive laws we shouldn't have in the first place.

I wrote about this before, but my family and lots of friends have been touched by crime too many times. Here is a list:

Criminals broke into...  (and stole furniture and other things)

My mother’s house

My brother’s house

My brother’s cottage

Our son’s house

My cousin’s house

The houses of at least four of our friends

Our car

The car of one of our friends

Cottages near our former cottage

Houses and cars near our present residence

Criminals stole:

Our son’s bicycles (twice)

The bicycle of my wife’s former boss’s son. Actually he was robbed.

A car of our friend’s son

Construction material from one of our friends and two of the contractors I worked for.

One of my Electric Services from a commercial building I worked at.

My money from my wallet when they broke into my locker while in the swimming pool.

A lot of merchandize from a store my brother and I owned for a while.

A golden cross from my wife, which was a present from her parents.

My mother’s golden watch (English soldiers did that when they occupied Germany)

Young hoodlums (future criminals) broke our driveway lites last year, egged our house twice, and tried to steal stuff from our back yard.

There is probably more, but this is plenty so far. That’s why I despise criminals.

We are way too lenient with criminals when they are caught. Our justice system does not punish them enough. There are too many lawyers who don’t care about justice. Money and fame is more important to them than having criminals punished for the crimes they committed. Criminals can literally get away with murder if they have enough money to hire a scrupulous lawyer. If murderers get away where does that leave the so-called ‘petty criminals’? One can’t even blame the police for not being interested in catching thieves. Why should they bother if the criminals get only a slap on the wrist or sentences that are much too light?

We have quite a number of car thieves in Winnipeg, most of them are repeat offenders. Why they are still walking around free is a crime in itself. They should be locked away and the key lost. The problem is the bleeding hearts in our society. People who have never been touched by crime don’t have any idea how much it hurts to have been a victim of crime. It is not only the material loss but also the mental stress and the time involved getting back to a normal life. Every time you go away you wonder if you locked the doors, if you put all your valuables into the safe or made sure they are out of sight. We bought new motion detectors and even a camera to catch anyone trying to break in or steal something. Unnecessary expenses and unwanted worries.

One also wonders why some people are so against proper punishment. Are they possibly involved in crime themselves or is a member of their family? Why else would they be so concerned.

They used to hang horse thieves. Isn’t a car the equivalence of a horse in these modern times? Under Shari‘ah law of an Islamic state they cut off the hand of a thief. It sounds brutal, but I can see a deterrent to stealing stuff. Obviously, I don’t support such a barbaric law. It is inhumane and illogical. All they create are handicapped people who will be depending on others. But something needs to be done about all criminals. Perhaps some old-fashioned public floggings (televised these days) and the publication of the pictures, names and addresses of thieves and home-invaders might help. Or maybe if citizens get together and dole out some punishments. But that would be against the law. You can’t even beat up a criminal when you catch him (or her) breaking into your house. Forget about shooting one. Then you’re the criminal in the eyes of the law. There have been plenty of cases where a criminal sued his victim. I personally know of a couple of cases. That’s how screwed up our laws are.

All we can do is be vigilant and hope no criminals target our homes. And if they do we take measures to ensure they never come back.