According to statistics from the US Department of Justice, thirty percent of violent crime in 2008 occurred in the home. Murderers, rapists, kidnappers, robbers and dacoits all prey on the chance to enter your homes and wreak havoc. The point of this reminder is not to frighten you, but to ensure that you do not allow criminals to take advantage of any lack of preparedness on your part.

First and foremost, discuss all possible crime situations with your family. Decide which threats are most likely, given your neighborhood and any other factors. For instance, robbery could be common in your area, or a family member could have possible enemies owing to past jobs, lawsuits etc. in which case you would need to carefully guard your whole family. If there is ay specific threat, work on minimizing the risk of that actually happening, and if there are no specific threats, then just generally come up with ways to prevent break-ins.

The first thing to do is to take preventative measures. Install a security alarm system if possible. If not, at least install a peephole in your front door and instruct children to open the door only to known people. Install metal grilles in all your windows, so that ventilation is possible without allowing break-ins. Talk to children about the importance of locking the door carefully whenever they leave. Do not leave the house key in an obvious place such as under a doormat or over the front door frame. Also, do not give the house key to young children who can carelessly pass it to any stranger. Instruct children never to let a stranger know that they are alone in the house. When you come home to an empty house, make sure it really is empty. If you suspect that anyone is inside, do not go in, but go to a neighbor’s house and call the police. Tell your children to do the same so that they will be out of harm’s way.

Sometimes you will need to escape from the house if there is no possibility of defending yourself from an intruder. Make sure that each room has at least one exit and one good hiding place. Obvious ones like under the bed will usually just trap you in the room with the intruder, so avoid those. Escape through a window or something similar if there is no other option. Hide children or weak members of the family immediately for they can be used as hostages by the intruder.

There is usually little point trying to fight an intruder. Your best option is to go along with his demands and try to distract him so that someone can send out a distress signal or call the police. There should be a list of emergency numbers by the phone, and preferably, more that one phone set in the house. Agree on a distress signal with a neighbor if possible. For instance, hanging a certain colored cloth from a window or knocking an adjoining wall in a certain rhythm. Also, if any family members are out, make sure they stay out, again by a pre-arranged signal. For example, you could hang something over the peephole, or invert a sign hanging over the front door to indicate danger.

Finally, keep legal weapons in the house. Most effective are stun gun and pepper spray, and these can be used as a last resort if it comes to a fight. These will temporarily disorient the intruder and you can make a quick escape.

Like most survival situations, the key to home survival too lies in effective planning and preparation. You have nothing to lose by preparing, and a life or many lives to gain if the possibility prepared for becomes a reality. Start your preparation here and now so that there is no regret to face later.

Collierville, Tennessee is a suburb of Memphis located in Shelby County. Because it is outside the Memphis city limits, it has an independent municipal government including its own court system. If you are charged with a crime in Collierville your case will be heard in the Municipal Court located at 101 Walnut Street.

The Collierville municipal court is a general sessions court, which means it does not have jurisdiction to dispose of felony cases. Felonies must be transferred to the Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis for review by the grand jury. However if your case is a misdemeanor or if it’s a felony that can be reduced to a misdemeanor, it can be resolved in Collierville.

Some types of misdemeanors that are handled in Collierville include shoplifting, minor in possession of alcohol, disorderly conduct, simple drug possession, simple assault, domestic assault, and driving under the influence. If you are charged with one of these offenses you should do everything possible to avoid a conviction and keep the charge from going on your record permanently. A Collierville criminal defense lawyer can help with this.

How the case is resolved is going to depend on the particular facts of that case. Shoplifting charges in Collierville, for instance, carry a sentence of up to 11 months and 29 days. If the accused qualifies, he or she may be placed on judicial diversion for that length of time and then have the entire record of the case dismissed and expunged at the end. Alternatively, the case may be resolved through a shorter process where the accused pays restitution to the store in lieu of prosecution. Your lawyer can coordinate with the store and the prosecutor’s office on how to do this.

Collierville domestic assault cases can sometimes be resolved without a trial or guilty plea. If the prosecutor’s office agrees, the victim may sign an affidavit stating he or she does not want to press charges. The affidavit can be presented at court and the accused would pay court costs, then the case can be dismissed. Your attorney can draft the affidavit, get the victim’s signature, and make sure the case is expunged from your record.

DUI cases in Collierville are tougher. If the state feels it has enough evidence for a conviction, it will not dismiss the charge. In challenging a DUI case, some of the things to look at are whether the police had reasonable suspicion to intitate the stop, how the driver performed on standardized field sobriety tests, and whether he or she submitted to a blood alcohol content test and, if so, what was the result. There could be many other factors. A Collierville DUI attorney can advise you further after reviewing your case.

Typically, when we think of a loved one dying, we think of it in a peaceful way, in a hospital or with a loved one at their bedside. We want to think of them in a deep sleep and in a better place. However, throughout the United States, there are hundreds of deaths a month that do not end up peaceful. Many lives are taken each month in ways that leave bio hazard cleanup need cleanup. The reason for the need of a crime scene cleanup is even if it is a natural death, clean up is required due to the blood loss, body decomposition, and debris that is left from a body. A body left sitting for more then one day or a death in which a wound occurred, such as a suicide or homicide, releases fluid that is a bio hazard.

Although a person is able to cleanup after a death themselves, the issue of safety and ability to complete the cleanup correctly comes into play. When decomposition takes place in a body, their are a number of fluids, including blood, urine and feces, that seeps from the body. This body matter can start to move into floor boards, carpeting, and furniture, depending on where the body might lay. As well, in the case of a homicide or suicide, you are dealing with a tragedy that usually involves a gun wound, and therefore, blood splatter and the trajectory of the blood splatter becomes an issue. Clean up in matters such as this may involve removing drywall, ceiling tiles, floor boards, carpeting, and again furniture that has been affected by the death.

A crime scene cleanup business uses specific tools like special lighting to determine what areas are contaminated. Technicians will then develop a game plan for what items can be picked up and cleaned and what areas must have restoration work completed. After the cleanup and restoration is done, then the contaminated material, such as furniture, walling, floor boards, and anything else removed from the home must be transported by a licensed transport unit to a nearby incineration facility. Safety must not be left behind, and so, the methods of completing this transportation safely is imperative.

Cleaning up a scene where there is any body fluid, such as blood, urine, or feces is dangerous. There are numerous diseases, such as HIV, AIDS, Hepatitis, MRSA (a highly contagious bacterial infection), and staff infections, that are carried by bodily fluids. For this reason, hazmat training is required for major crime scene clean up services to not only make sure they know how to do a death cleanup but also how to protect those cleaning up the scene. To assure the cleaners are prepared, competent, and that further tragedy is avoided during the cleanup of a death, trained crime scene clean up employees will go through many clean up simulations before they are released into the field. As well, employees learn how to wear protective gear correctly to make sure they can minimize exposure to blood and body decomposition debris. The protective gear typically includes hazmat suits, goggles, tight fitting and thick rubber gloves, and steel tipped boots. Trained crime scene clean up employees are also trained to be cautious of their environment by knowing the potential dangers. Finally, before a cleaners goes into the field, they typically have to go through a number of vaccinations and make sure all their shots are up to date. It is necessary to assure that these employees are capable of dealing with these scenes both physically and mentally.

Even something as big as a global meeting of nations could have its share of cyber mischief, and innocent-looking USB thumb drives and smartphone rechargers could be the crime tools. Not all malicious threats are clear to notice as DDoS (distributed denial of service). The G20 Summit was held in St. Petersburg on September 5-6, 2013 with a group of finance ministers and central bank governors of 19 countries and the European Union. Specifically, they were Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the European Union, represented by the President of the European Council and by Head of the European Central Bank. Russia took the G20 presidency on December 1, 2012, a first for the country. The major categories of thought and planning are Business 20, Think 20, Civil 20, Youth 20 and Labor 20.

At the September 2013 summit, heads of state and their teams were given USB thumb drives with the ability to copy sensitive data from the laptops that they were inserted in. Reports also noted that the representatives received smartphone recharger gifts that could have covertly looked at their emails, SMS and phone calls. Was anyone purposefully trying to spy on the G20 participants? If so, who was responsible?

The “spying” campaign was first noticed by Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council, noted the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. It covered the story on its front page. Mr. Van Rompuy ordered analysis of the USB pen drives and other devices by both intelligence experts in Brussels and Germany’s secret service. The Brussels component declared that the allegations were not true and that there was nothing wrong with the gift devices.

How can thumb drives and smartphone chargers be used to hack devices that access the Internet? In fact, they are responsible for some cyber attacks offline! Kaspersksy noted in August 2013 that it is “becoming more and more common for attackers to find new ways to infiltrate your devices, like through your removable media.” Removable media includes readers, writers, and drives.

Every optical disc (Blue-ray disc, DVD, CD), memory card (CompactFlash card, Secure Digital card, Memory Stick), floppy disk, zip disk, magnetic tape, disk packs, VHS tape, USB flash drive (also called ), external hard disk, digital camera, printer, smart phone and other external or dockable peripheral that are easily removed or inserted into a system is removable media. They all are capable of infecting, copying, and spying on the system and network if they have the right compromising file on them. If they can store media, that media could be a malicious threat.

Some best practices to use when using USB thumb drives or other removable media:

1. Set up automation of scans the second items are plugged into a device.

2. Regularly update device OS (operating systems). Updates are available for Mac, Windows, Android, Linux and other operating systems. Set up the updates to occur automatically or to even do so manually at least once per day.

3. Know what is behind the Facebook, Twitter or other social network chat, wall, timeline or private message attachments and links. One good tip is to hold one’s mouse over the link without clicking to see a preview of what is there.

4. Removable media for personal needs should stay separate from those of crucial business needs. Music and video files that are downloaded from websites, forums and file sharing sites should never be mixed with crucial data.

Keep in mind: even reports on Edward Snowden’s 2013 activities show that he used a flash drive when he downloaded NSA data. The USB stick was also the vehicle of two other famous cyber compromises, the devastating malware, Stuxnet worm, and the data exfiltration vector associated with the Flame virus. The removable data was plugged into a computer, secretly collects data based on certain keywords. The stolen documents are then hidden in a secret folder on the USB drive until it connected to any Internet-enabled computer again. Then, the documents automatically sent to certain IP addresses of the originating perpetrators for their purposes.

Like DDoS attacks, compromising removable media are often a cover for or part of other fraudulent activity such as the stealing of sensitive documents, extortion, and ransom and not just childish mischief.

Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the publication of Sicilian author Andrea Camilleri’s acclaimed Inspector Montalbano series. The series has been translated into numerous languages and adapted for a TV series starring Luca Zingaretti. More recently, Michele Riondino starred as a younger Montalbano in a series of prequels. Both are English sub-titled.

The novels are based in the imaginary Sicilian town of Vigàta, modelled on Camilleri’s home town of Porto Empodocle (Portu Empedocli in Sicilian), adjacent to Agrigento on Sicily’s southern coast. So famous has Camilleri become in Italy, the town has now changed its official name to Porto Empedocle Vigàta.

One thing that sets Andrea Camilleri’s series apart from other – particularly English language – murder mystery series is the pervasive feeling one gets that no event (Sicilian in this case) can exist in isolation – disconnected from the island’s complex, interwoven cultural network. To solve Sicilian crimes, it would therefore seem necessary to be immersed in this network – making it unsurprising that crime investigators will tend to have friendships, contacts (and enmities) on both sides of the ‘law’.

Without this knowledge for example, an ‘outsider’ would be hard pressed to explain the apparent paradox of Inspector Salvo Montalbano’s housekeeper/cook also being the mother of two small-time criminals (one of whom he has personally arrested); or that his childhood friend, Gegè Gullotta, is now both a trusted informant as well as a pimp and drug pusher.

In each of Camilleri’s translated Montalbano novels, there is invariably a series of intertwined narratives to be explored and unraveled by the hero, including – in the true spirit of vendetta – some that had their beginnings several generations earlier.

Like the Persian rug makers that many Sicilians could no doubt point to in their ancestry, Camilleri instinctively weaves together these (often seemingly unrelated) narrative threads to seamlessly advance the story and to simultaneously illustrate the complexities of Sicilian culture and relationships.

At the end of each journey, the final resolution of the crime can appear as an almost incidental detail – the last link in a chain of inevitabilities, or the final piece in the centre of the jigsaw. By the time you get to that stage, you’ve generally assembled a fairly comprehensive picture of the landscape anyway. This entertaining journey Camilleri takes the reader on through the Sicilian cultural scenery thus becomes an essential component of the story – possibly the most important.

Like all good fictional heroes, Montalbano possesses the implied moral superiority that, when required to, transcends laws enacted by lesser ‘mortals’. In fact, at one point, Livia Burlando – Montalbano’s ongoing, long-distance love interest – renders this explicit with the sardonic observation that he’s given himself a promotion to ‘second-rate god’.

Livia herself would qualify as one of the above ‘outsiders’, being the only regular, non-Sicilian character in the series – in this case, residing in the northern city of Genoa. She, for example, fails to understand how someone with her lover’s housekeeper’s undoubted criminal allegiances could possibly be invited into his house on a regular basis. In more familiar jurisdictions this would be viewed at best with suspicion – at worst with an outright presumption of ‘consorting’. The missing clue here becomes obvious in retrospect when one considers the Italian national obsession with quality food. The housekeeper, Adelina, is simply a marvellous cook, and this fact alone will usually trump any accusation of ‘guilt by association’ – especially in Sicily.

Livia’s viewpoint itself will be reassuring to the many non-Italians who fail to comprehend the paradoxical aspects of southern Italian lifestyle and culture – if northern Italians can be perplexed by Sicilian behaviour, then surely foreigners can be excused for being somewhat puzzled.

‘The Shape of Water’ – the first book (and telemovie) in the series is suggestive of the island’s enigmatic nature: a child’s innocent enquiry concerning the ‘shape of water’ – and the reply (‘it depends’) – turns out to be a particularly apt motif for the story. And in fact, it would not be surprising if Camilleri intended it as a metaphor for Sicilian culture in general.

Man has always strived to discover new things to make life better and more comfortable. He has been always motivated to find new vistas and try new methods and technological advancements using the intellect. One development leads to another and he never just stops and advancement and progress in never ending and is an on going project.

Nothing has changed the world more drastically as the internet. Since the wide world of web this world is no longer divided by invisible boundaries. It has become a global village and the advancement in the information technology has changed the lifestyle of the people radically. This change is obvious only since the last 15 years when the concept of personal computers came into existence. People are always connected to their electronic gadgets and almost all functions of our daily lives are dependent on the internet or the related technology.

Pros and cons of the cyber space:

As always the good and the evil are like two sides of a coin. Though the advantages outweigh the disadvantages it is high time we looked into them before they spread. Computer, internet or information technology related crimes are termed as cyber crimes. So what really is cyber crime? How seriously can these crimes affect common man or business establishments? What actions can be taken to curb such crimes and what legal action is needed to restrict the criminals who are into this? Cyber crime is growing to be a greatest threat to mankind and hence serious considerations and actions are definitely needed to check its spreading further.

We need to first understand what cyber crime is and what all activities are termed as cyber crimes. Cyber crime simply means criminal activities using the telecommunication and internet technology. Basically cyber crimes can be categorized into two types. They are,

• Crimes which are directly targeted on vast computer networks or other related devices. For example, malware, computer viruses, attacks on denial of services etc
• Crimes that are facilitated by the computer networks targeted not on any independent network or device. For example, identity theft, cyber stalking, phishing, email scams, hacking etc.

Cyber crimes are also considered or at least in lieu with white collar crimes, as the culprit cannot be conned very easily as the internet is open to the wide world. Although most cyber crimes are not related to any violence or serious crime still identity threat or government secrets can be virtually stolen in no time if the security measures fail. Terrorist, deviants and extremists stand higher chances of using this technology for their illegal and anti social activities.

Internet related frauds:

Almost 163 million users are estimated to use the internet this year as against just 16.1 million in 1995. thus the need for a more secured network becomes imperative keeping in mind the user’s overall security.

The anonymous nature of the internet is the breeding ground for criminals who engage in activities which are termed as virtual crimes or cyber crimes. Governments have introduced cyber laws to curb such activities but then no serious punishment is awarded to the criminal or individuals who are involved in cyber crimes. Proper legal infrastructure is yet to be created and powerful regulatory mechanisms formed to protect netizens.

Let us now have a look of the different types of cyber law and the amount of damage they release to the society or individual. Generally the cyber threats sources are of three types. They are,

• hacking related threats
• traditional criminal threats
• ideology Threats

Hacking:

This is one of the common forms of cyber crime found in the cyber space worldwide. It has been defined as “whoever with the intent to cause or knowing that he is likely to cause wrongful loss or damage to the public or any person destroys or deletes or alters any information residing in a computer resource or diminishes its value or utility or affects it injuriously by any means commits hacking”. A hacker can crack into computer system thus gaining access to all internal information. Many hackers just do it for fun or pastime. Hacking is considered less harmful than other security related crimes.

Basically the hacker’s main aim is to disrupt a system or network. Whether he is a white hat hacker or black hat hacker his level of destruction is to stop or get the access to the computer systems. Repeated hacking or tampering constantly might take a hacker behind bars but many times these crimes are taken lightly.

Traditional cyber crimes

Criminals whose focus is on monetary gains only are called traditional cyber criminals. Most of them are identified as some internal source. Recent study has confirmed that almost 80% criminals of such crimes belong to the related company or firm. Industrial espionage, intellectual property crime, trademark violation, illegal fund transfers, credit card scams, etc are some of the traditional cyber crimes. Such criminals who conduct these crimes are more likely to end up behind bars if the crime is proved.

Ideology cyber threats:

Stolen data are circulated as against the intellectual property laws according to such ideology threats. These criminals consider themselves as Robin Hood and spread the data which is preserved under intellectual property rights. Many terrorist activities are also termed as ideology threats in the cyber world. They spread their own ideology or oppose government’s by using the internet technology. Cyberanarchistsis how they are called and their primary aim is to spread their ideology or principles and opposing what is against their activities. Many terrorists’ plans and data’s are also considered as cyber threats.

Thus whatever be the nature of cyber crime strict laws must be administered to enable a secured cyber space. As more and more of our daily activities becomes connected or interlinked in cyber space the need for a complete secure technology has become the need of the hour. Be is simple email hacking or phishing, the people involved in such activities are definitely invading the privacy of individuals and business organizations. Identity thefts, money swindling and credit card scams are grave issues which can cause irreparable damage to the person concerned.

Prevention is definitely better than cure:

How can we prevent our network or computer systems against the so the cyber criminals? How can the government aid in curbing such high risk threats to the society? As individuals it is important that we use the best internet security system to protect our systems from cyber attacks. It is important to use strong password to protect the emails or other important data or document stored online. Important details like bank account user names and passwords must not be stored online or in the computer. Remember that the cyber space is an open network and has no security or safety against such important data.

Never open unidentified emails and never reply or believe in email scams saying that you have won millions of dollars in an online lottery. Credit cards must be used sparingly or wisely online. Unsecured sites and restricted sites are always high on risk and thus using your credit cards on such sites is highly unadvisable. Always keep changing passwords and install a powerful anti virus software to protect against torzons, viruses and malware.

Companies and business establishment must ask the workers to sign powerful contracts to prevent internal identity thefts. The servers and domains must be well secured for continuous cyber security for their data. Government datas and highly secretive data must be under strict scrutiny. Hackers are also used by enemy nations to fid out the internal secrets of an opponent country. So, all forms of top secret is better not stored online. Too much information exposed is always a cyber threat. Vigilance, awareness and not sharing personal information while networking can prevent most of such cyber crimes.

The government must setup cyber wings to identify such criminals and put forth strong rules or punishment for cyber criminals. Cyber laws must be very strict and newer technology must be used to easily find these criminals to curb their illegal activity. Steps to block the erring person and information updated on such criminals can help the general public from identifying the different crimes in the cyber space. After all knowledge is what can make one powerful, isn’t it?

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AS HOMEOWNERS WE MUST BE CAREFUL NOT TO TAKE THE LAW INTO OUR OWN HANDS.

Anyone of us that has spent time in foreclosure courtrooms will recognize that a dramatic shift has occurred in foreclosure courtrooms all across the state. The JUDICIAL SCALE is tilted and the new legal landscape is simple; THE BANKS WIN!!, GET OUT OF YOUR HOME, FORECLOSURE IS GRANTED.

The Final Judgments of Foreclosure that are being granted today are converted into Foreclosure Sales and then into Writs of Possession executed by Sheriffs in every STATE. The questions still remains, What Can We DO? Forget about FRAUD, FORGERY, ROBO SIGNINGS, SECURITIZATION AUDIT, CHAIN OF TITLE ASSESSMENTS. None of that matters anymore, THE BANK LAWS are being accepted across the states. There are a few landmark rulings along the way that tear down the walls of a judicial system. The Rules of Evidence and Procedure, refined and interpreted over decades and embodied in case law no longer have application in foreclosure courts. The substantive laws of real property and commercial paper, also embodied in case law, no longer apply in foreclosure cases.

Who will ultimately own these properties? The homes will be taken back by the government. They will be purchased by hedge funds and Wall Street investors. They will be purchased by foreign corporations and shadowy, unidentified entities. With tens of thousands of foreclosure cases clogged in the state’s courts, the Florida Supreme Court is signing off on a plan to use lawyers, and not judges – to handle them. Other states are just overlooking the foreclosure cases and allowing the Ticket courts (LIMITED) to rule against the soon to be evicted homeowners. Homeowners are being arrested now across the states for fighting back for what they believe in. The breaking point came for these foreclosure victims who are willing to face arrest if necessary when fighting for their AMERICAN DREAM.

I have personal friends now that are incarcerated just for simply fighting for their rights and filing documents they believed was their rights. The courts have now overlooked the FRAUD the BANKSTERS have committed, which is the same alleged criminal act the homeowners are being charged with Paper Terrorism, WOW!!! Maybe after all of this we should call and show our support for these brave homeowners. Call the White House Comment Line at (202) 456-1111… maybe ask why the foreclosed Homeowners are Jailed instead of bankers.

Crime is any act which violates a legal norm, code of conduct or statute. There are different categories of crime such as serious, civil, capital, petty and juvenile. A number of factors influence this categorization. For instance, serious crime may be so defined because it may result in the theft of large sums of monies or in harm or injury to the person. In contrast petty crime may not be so financially or personally harmful. The categorization of crime may be specific to county or state. For example, in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica the terms serious and major are used to refer to crimes such as murder, robbery, theft and battery.

In most western societies crime is a serious social problem which threatens social order. Order will be threatened where the blurring of the boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable behavior occurs. In other words levels of civility sink so low that people become indifferent and cynical that misdemeanor no longer sends shock waves or moral panics. Over the last five years the murder rate has been so high that in Trinidad and Tobago newspaper columnists, journalists and writers have reported growing indifference to this phenomenon.

The social determinants of crime are manifold, complex and interrelated. For instance, poverty, unemployment and social isolation may work together to produce higher levels of petty crime among certain groups such as the marginalized or underclass in urban centers. On the other hand members of the lower class appear to be under so much economic strain that they engage in property crimes such as larceny, shop lifting and mugging. Domestic crimes such as rape, incest and domestic violence again men, women and children are also perpetrated in greater numbers in conditions of extreme poverty and hardships.

Gang subculture has accounted for a large number of murders in urban areas in Western Trinidad. Police statistics show that the vast majority of homicides are classified as gang related. The easy access to guns, coupled with low detection rates are significant catalysts for this type of homicide. Many witnesses are afraid to testify even when witness protection is offered. Criminologists have associated gang related homicide largely to poverty, absentee fathers, low educational attainment and unemployment. In other instances the fight for lucrative state contracts has produced some killings in urban neighborhoods.

There is ample evidence that some crimes represent civil disobedience or hitting back at government authorities. In many rural communities in Trinidad it is becoming institutional practice that protest action against the state is a legitimate response to perceived or real state neglect. Acts such as the burning of debris-tires, fallen trees and household refuse are common place. In addition, protestors often use old household appliance and cars to make roads impassable to human and vehicular traffic.

Conversely, members of the middle and upper classes commit crimes viewed as largely invisible. These crimes are usually carried out in the course of their daily work routines. For instance, police have obtained knowledge of financial and white collar crime but often cannot prosecute on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

The notion that the law may be selectively enforced has provided some rationale for the perpetration of crimes of the rich and powerful. They have the economic and political resources to bargain their way out of sentencing. A lot more empirical research needs to go into this area so that confirmation of this can be acquired by sound justification. There are some felons who remain incarcerated for white collar crime such as fraud (conversion of other people’s money and the use of illegal checks).

In conclusion it can be said that there is no criminal class of persons in society. The truth is that people of all social classes commit crime once given the opportunity to so do. Criminal conduct is largely rational response to the belief that the crime will not be detected. The myth that crime results from poor or inadequate socialization must be de-bunked on the grounds that greed accounts for a significant amount of crimes by elites.

Crime is an unlawful act deserving punishment. The nature of crime varies greatly and classification of it differs according to the area of jurisdiction. The scientific study of crime is called as Criminology. Causes of the crimes fall under four major categories – psychological, biological, economic and sociological.

Psychological causes
One’s personality and predispositions induces one to commit crimes. One relates the occurrence that happens in the surroundings to his traits and predispositions and reacts. Freudian psychologists opine that a balance in one person’s id, ego and super-ego are vital to lead a normal life. If there is an imbalance among them then it results in disorderly behavior. While super-ego influences good behavior, a predominance of id over super-ego propels one to commit crimes regardless of the consequences.

Biological causes
Biological causes are governed by genetics and neurological make up of an individual. Genetically speaking, an individual is predisposed to commit crime if one’s parents have a criminal past. Neurologically, abnormalities and chemical imbalances in brain are reasons for one to behave criminally.

Economic Causes
Poverty and deprivation makes an individual to commit crimes. Poverty leads to frustration and anger and provokes criminal activities. Criminal activity gives vent to their anger. Crimes are committed on the assumption that they will end one’s deprivation. But it is not poverty and wants that lead to crimes. Greediness is also a big contributor to criminal acts.

Sociological Causes
The ever-changing lifestyle of people in urban areas is a major cause for crimes. The position of an individual in an urban society puts a limit on him, and to adapt himself to the compelling limitations one resorts to crimes. An individual also needs to have chances to learn how to commit a crime for which the environment he lives in comes in handy.

Crimes are not unique to urban areas only, they also happen in rural areas but the degree varies. In the rural areas, violence is resorted to resolve disputes. Socio-economic factors are also causes for crime in rural areas.

In what best selling author Michael Connelly describes as “One of the best looks inside the mind and motives of a serial killer that I’ve ever read”, authors Kathy Kelly and Diana Montane give readers a true crime drama in I WOULD FIND A GIRL WALKING. Just prior to the technological age that would change the way law enforcement would handle criminal investigations forever, Gerald Eugene Stano became one of the most prolific serial killers of his time. Without surveillance cameras, cells phones, DNA evidence, and computer communication between law enforcement agencies, it was basically a simpler time allowing the likes of Stano to ride around in his treasured cars looking for young girls for sex…or what started out that way.

Late in the 1960s and 1970s, Stano could be found cruising around the World’s Most Famous Beach – Daytona Beach, Florida, in search of his next victim. It is hard to understand why these women went with Gerald Stano who was what we might now probably call a nerd (?) – chubby, polyester pant suits and gold jewelry, large plastic framed glasses, disco music loving drunk (most of the time) and yet, they did. But in I WOULD FIND A GIRL WALKING, Kathy Kelly takes her experience with Stano, goes inside the mind of this madman, and along with Diana Montane, provides a glimpse into what made him tick.

At the time, Kathy Kelly was a reporter at The Daytona Beach News-Journal and being on the “police beat”, was the one to write the stories about these killings and Stano. Kathy’s reporting caught Stano’s attention as he loved to read his own press and he would only agree to interviews if it was Kathy who did them. His other connection was with DBPD Sgt. Paul Crow. Crow, who had studied at the FBI Academy in Quantico, was able to connect with Stano in a way no other lawman could, and so was the one that Stano put his trust in. Since so many of the murders were committed in other jurisdictions, the lawmen from those places would work through Crow to deal with Stano. Once Stano took a liking to Kathy Kelly, he agreed to answer questions for her so she could get all the facts and they corresponded. Kathy kept all his letters in a shoe box in her home with thoughts of someday working to put them into some kind of book.

Along with fellow reporter Montane, they worked for two years to tell Stano’s story and the description of the crimes he committed are compelling. More importantly especially to the authors, are the stories of the victims and their families. Taking the details from Stano’s letters, the authors have written a haunting story that readers will find hard to put down. Many of the chapters are devoted to the victims and how their part of the story came about. Yes, some of the women were runaways or prostitutes, but there also was the graduating senior on a class trip, a dancer, a cheerleader, a local champion swimmer, and even a tiny, young skater. All of these girls had families and lives ahead of them and Kathy makes sure readers knows their stories. There are even two of the girls who had twin brothers so being victims wasn’t the only coincidence. Their families and how they dealt with each loss as well as what some are doing today are included. Intertwined to make an intense and fascinating read, I WOULD FIND A GIRL WALKING will keep you turning pages as it surely did for me.

Gerald Stano’s background is also written about from when he was the unwanted child of a prostitute to a very much wanted baby of an adoptive parent who fought to keep him even after he was labeled “inadoptable”. Gerald’s relationship with his adoptive parents even up until the end is described. In confessing to killing about 40 women all around Florida, you would think Stano would have remorse and yet he is described as someone who you never would believe was spending years on death row, even at some point next to another infamous serial killer, Ted Bundy. Stano could be found knitting blankets for inmates’ children and even sending Kathy a scarf and hat he knitted for her one time. It was obvious as you read the book and later in the letters that are there verbatim in the appendix, that Gerald took a liking to Kathy. He even asked Paul Crow if she was married. For Kathy, it was a difficult and emotional journey to “get the story” and keep herself sane while this madman thought of them as friends. The letters in the back of the book are quite meaningful after reading the story as Kathy interjects personal observations to explain some of what Gerald writes about. In fact, it is from one of the letters that the authors got the title of the book. Gerald Stano had written to explain how he picked a victim, and he said very casually that “I would find a girl walking….”. In a second appendix, all the letters to his “good friend” Paul Crow are also included.

How Stano is finally convicted and which of the murders is the one that finally gets him executed is described. The book even has some photographs but as the authors are quick to say, none of them are gruesome. Stano was executed in 1998 and always one to make people think, he changed his stories, recanted his confessions and put the blame on Paul Crow while claiming his innocence in a letter left with his lawyer! With his hints at knowing more than he was telling before his death, we will never know how many more women he really killed. However, the suspicion he tried to throw on Crow was investigated and of course, cleared. Montane in a recent radio interview said about Stano, “I felt he was a very average but cunning individual…self-inflated with a grandiose image of himself…a lady killer, a real lady killer”. I guess that says it all but one thing I know for sure is that it has made me look at strangers differently, no matter how charming they may appear, I am careful when I am out alone. As a resident of Daytona Beach, chills still run up and down my spine as I think of all the places Stano worked and frequented that are so familiar to me. I ask myself each day where I was at a certain time and wasn’t it REALLY possible I, too, must have run into him? Good thing for me I rarely walk anywhere!