Op Ed Articles
Michael Edward Loftus Sr.'s
Op Ed Articles on Crime
These four Opinion/Editorials concern crime issues that underscore the safety lessons taught throughout this website.
The 1st Op Ed - The Media Whispers the Truth about the Petit Family Massacre - shows that there is no “location immunity” from crime. Neighborhoods or towns with low crime rates tend to be lulled into a sense of false security as to the harsh realities of mobile criminals and random chance.
We’ve all heard those people say, with smug naiveté, “Oh, we don’t bother to lock our doors around here. Nothing ever happens. We all know and trust each other, yadda, yadda.”
What they fail to realize is that predators have also heard of their braggadocio – and predators have cars and highways to roam to such easy targets within minutes. And remote homes are especially vulnerable to local criminals.
UNlocked doors account for roughly HALF of the 4,000+ home burglaries and invasions DAILY in the U.S. alone. Now, how hard is it, really, to keep all your exterior doors locked at all times? Laziness is no excuse. See security products - door reinforcement.
Metropolitan areas have tens of thousands of highly mobile paroled thugs, muggers, burglars, killers, carjackers, kidnappers, stalkers, rapists, and molesters (as well as the young monsters who haven’t been arrested yet). Altogether they far outnumber law enforcement officers by roughly 70 to 1 (especially considering that spreading out police personnel over 168 hours/week, few officers are "on patrol" at any one time).
By the way, idyllic neighborhoods or towns also produce their own homegrown psychopaths who haven’t yet erupted with evil. See criminal minds - predatory mind.
Also, wealthier areas have gardeners, repairmen, and other hired help – who all too often watch for security weaknesses and either return to commit crimes themselves or set them up for their friends. See Hired Help in home security - cracks.
And when an area experiences a serial criminal, and that criminal is finally arrested, the residents all breathe a sigh of relief and soon return to their former sloppy security – as though ALL predators are now safely behind bars. DOH!
On top of all that, the news media often downplay and distort the victim’s contributory negligence – thereby missing a crucial opportunity to warn the general public of such dangers.
The second Op Ed - The Kitty Genovese Syndrome & Yelling “Fire!” - shows how some crimes are falsely portrayed by the news media with distortions and omissions galore. The debunking provides lifesaving lessons.
The 3rd and 4th Op Eds also teach original lifesaving lessons found nowhere else (unless I’ve been plagiarized).
These four Op Ed articles are among my 14 original crime prevention innovations taught throughout this website:
1. The Media Whispers the Truth about the Petit Family Massacre
The murders in Cheshire CT on 23 July 2007 is but one of many examples
of how the news media often distorts the truth about crime.
2. The Kitty Genovese Syndrome & Yelling “Fire!”
Beware – Myths and Nonsense: Debunking a Flawed Crime Escape Scheme
3. Grip It & Rip It - The Ultimate Rape Prevention
With the utmost irony, a rapist's fragile tool of crime suddenly becomes his undoing – truly poetic justice.
4. Dog Attack Defense
Do you know how to deal with a vicious dog if ever you need to save yourself or a loved one?
