■ Georgia police have charged a man with carrying out several burglaries while wearing nothing but a cowboy hat. Johns Creek City Councilwoman Cori Davenport called 911 when she allegedly found nude thief Ashdon Gibbs, 21, in her home. “They’re like, ‘What was he wearing?”‘ she said. “And I’m like, ‘Absolutely nothing—a cowboy hat.’” Police say Gibbs ran off and […]
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The question has puzzled criminologists for decades: Why did violent crime rates start to soar across the U.S. from the 1960s, before beginning “a spectacular decline” in the 1990s—a decline that’s continued ever since? Theories abound, from improved policing strategies to the end of the crack epidemic. But a more likely possibility is a molecule, said Kevin Drum in Mother […]
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Tokyo ‘Silver shoplifters’: Facing cuts in welfare and pensions, Japan’s swelling ranks of the elderly are turning to crime—many of them stealing food. Shoplifters are now more likely to be over 65 than under 18. Criminal offenses by the over-65 set have doubled in the past decade, even as overall crime has dropped. “Senior citizens shoplift lunch boxes and bread […]
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A woman in El Paso, Texas has been arrested after trying to rob a jewelry store disguised in a black trash bag. Noemi Duchene and Luis Del Castillo arrived at Estate and New Jewelry store, where a security camera captured footage of Duchene, now referred to as “The Wheelchair Bandit” exiting a wheelchair covering her head and upper body with a […]
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BERLIN (AP) — German police have arrested five South Koreans on suspicion of murder following the death of a relative in an exorcism ritual in the city of Frankfurt, prosecutors. Officers discovered the body of the 41-year-old woman in a hotel room when the suspects called a priest after it became apparent that the victim had died, prosecutor Nadja Niesen […]
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Young people who are randomly stopped for questioning by the police—even if they’ve done nothing wrong—are more likely to engage in criminal behavior later than those who aren’t stopped, a new study has found. University of Missouri researchers say that “stop-and-frisk” programs intended to deter crime may actually create more criminals. Researchers followed 2,600 students for seven years and recorded […]
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A 12-year-old Florida boy was arrested after stealing an 89-year-old man’s car after telling the man he needed to check his tires. The boy, who St. Petersburg authorities say has been arrested at least 20 times, is allegedly seen on surveillance footage approaching a car while on his bike. The brazen boy then jumps into the driver’s seat of the elderly man’s car and […]
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