Crime? What crime? This is really depressing.

http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/355

Regards - Charles

 

Well, I agree that the percieved annonymity and abilty to act at a distance which the internet provides leads some who would otherwise never dream of a criminal lifestyle to do things which are totally unacceptable. However the looting and other activity we viewed in the aftermath of Katrina shows that given the opportunity many folks would do the same in the real world if they thought they could get away with it.
The reality is that the majority of the members of human society behave responsibly and obey the law out of fear of the consequences not because it is the right thing to do. They fear getting captured by the police and punished and they fear the consequences which their religion threatens them with. The idea of forgiveness for your actions may be a big money maker for religions, but it is socially irresponsible.
Much depends on whether there is a perception that there are authorities who are not only going to investigate your activity , but can also bring you to justice.
If the perpetrator is in another country , often they figure that even if detected they will not be prosecuted for actions abroad. (Kind of reminds me of the consequences when the State of Texas decided to make burglary of a motor vehicle a misdemeanor instead of a felony. The felony rates dropped , and many criminals changed from felony crimes to breaking into cars. Police no longer responded, just called and asked if you wanted to stick around for someone to call you back and take a report. They never investigated. So while the number of burglaries rose, the number reported declined and they could say the crime rate was down. Here in Dallas, they have hit on this as a solution to having one of the highest crime rates in the country. The police announced they will no longer respond to burglar alarms until someone (the home owner or a private security guard) calls and informs them that the burglar is still there. If you get burgled and no one gets there in time , then no police response. They will call you and ask if you want someone to call you back to take a complaint. Then you wind up waiting several hours for a call back. Most folks won't waste the time and thus the crime goes unreported and the rate goes down.)