In speaking about the recent murder of Annie Le, Yale University President Richard Levin said that "what happened here could've happen anywhere. Similarly, New Haven Police Chief James Lewis stressed that the murder wasn't about urban, university or domestic crime, but workplace violence. Having lived and worked as a law enforcement officer in areas from the impoverished to the affluent, I understand why officials tend to hype crime in some vicinities while down-playing it in others. But, regardless of spin, it is true that places do not commit crimes, people do.
Putting aside what we know can be a manipulation of crime statistics, when demographics have been examined for correlations, an interesting pattern emerges. From my college days, a study getting my attention took into account virtually every imaginable basis to account for crime in neighborhoods. The results implied just one crime predictor -- a higher percentage of renters living in a neighborhood. No, it's not the race, age, or income that predicts where crime will occur. But that doesn't imply that renters are criminals.
Because sociological research is not based upon an exact science, many discoveries require further study to increase our understanding. For example, it is likely that homeowners' behave in ways that more aggressively suppress crime attractions such as keeping up their properties, or contesting zoning applications for shady businesses. Or perhaps, it is the collective way residential property taxpayers hold their police accountable for controlling visible crimes like drug dealing. Any way you look at it though, strategies can reduce the incidence of crime.
In fact, how to avoid victimization in and around Yale University was the focus of an article written by murder victim Annie Le. So if someone as contentious about victimization as Annie Le was, to the point of interviewing the police chief and writing on the subject, could still fall victim, who can be safe? Moreover, if people cannot do anything to reduce victimization by where they choose to live, go to college or indeed visit, what's a person to do?
My advice is to be your own examiner, evaluator and extractor. Be alert not only in public settings, but when you interact behind closed doors. Things that others do and what they say have meaning. As a criminologist, the goal of my own research is finding suggestions for victimization avoidance. To this end, for my master's thesis in counseling, I interviewed women who had been raped. Between the results of that study and the literature I reviewed about victims and near-victims, I made the discovery that at times victims get, but ignore, non-intended warnings given off by their offenders before an attack. I remain persuaded that increasing perceptions about what constitutes external danger and encouragement for retreating prior to eruption, can thwart many potentially violent encounters.
Whether it's the person closest to you whom you have always known that seems about to "go off or if it's a perfect stranger, endeavor to look the situation straight in the eye. Call them hunches; "I had a feeling things were not right ; "He came across strange ; "What he said did not make sense ; "He looked at me real funny ; or whatever, but when you think things could go very bad, breaking off the encounter early could be enough to interrupt a seemingly unstoppable action. I have even heard about foiled robberies where the intended victim pretended not to notice the note demanding money being enough to get a bewildered would-be robber to depart a bank. You see, part of the dynamics of a crime offense is an assignment of role. Anything you can do to interrupt or break the chain reaction, including pretending to not see something incriminating happening in front of you (especially if it is just you and the offender), may be enough to halt attack.
Victims of crime are never responsible for being harmed. Yet, few of them likely find this comforting in dealing with an aftermath which may involve tremendous physical and emotional harm. We may never know if the person who murdered Annie Le gave any external clue about his propensity for violence in general or in particular the day of the tragedy; however, she thought it important to warn others about victimization avoidance, a sentiment I share. And so it is that I suggest it is better to be perceived rude and aloof if you get the feeling you need to depart another's company prematurely, than it is to be sorry.
Places do not commit crimes, but since violent encounters can take place anywhere, it behooves one to pay attention to others in both public and private settings.
