What separates those with a criminal record from the rest of the population? According to lawyer Emily Baxter, not a whole lot. Baxter’s new project “We Are All Criminals” examines the illegal activities committed by people without a criminal record. In Minnesota, 1 out of 4 residents has a criminal record, but Baxter’s project, she says on her website, is about the 75% that “got away, and how very different their lives may have been had they been caught.”
By emphasizing the crimes of the unconvicted, Baxter blurs the lines between criminal and noncriminal and draws attention to the detrimental effects that a criminal record has on the lives of those who are convicted. Many of the undocumented and unpunished transgressions confessed through her project were committed when the perpetrators were juveniles, many of whom are now lawyers, doctors, and professionals.
Executive director of the Legal Rights Center in Minneapolis Michael Friedman is intrigued by the project, saying:
“I don’t think I’ve come across anybody who has not committed crimes as a juvenile,” Friedman said. “Allowing society to use juvenile criminal records as a marker for someone’s potential success, or risk for employment or opportunity, is not scientific. It’s dangerous and discriminatory.”
The most intriguing part of her project lies in its look at society as a whole. Imagine if we had all been prosecuted for every crime we committed, even as a juvenile. What would the crime rate look like then?
The author, Kat Albrecht, is an editorial assistant for The Society Pages. She is currently an undergraduate student in the department of sociology at the University of Minnesota. The artist, Emily Baxter, is the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at the Council on Crime and Justice. Cross-posted at Citings and Sightings.
Comments 41
mbrenman — December 3, 2013
Something not right here. How did the author know these people committed a crime for which they would have been convicted?
mbrenman — December 3, 2013
So it's based solely on self-reporting. Not a very good research design. As in many surveys, people will say anything.
alwaysavailable — December 3, 2013
DId you know Louisiana is the prison capital of the world? Sign my petition and bring an end to mass incarceration in this country.
http://www.change.org/petitions/end-the-use-of-for-profit-prisons-in-the-usa-starting-with-the-state-of-louisiana
mbrenman — December 3, 2013
On the other hand, Letta, we have a criminal justice system with sophisticated means of figuring out guilt and innocence. The fact that the author's website has cute pictures of people holding up handwritten signs admitting wrongdoing makes me think that the whole project isn't serious.
Disqus_eh_um_saco — December 3, 2013
Maybe it'd be better if that one with the retirement funds had been caught. That doesn't even sound like the kind of crime one does out of peer pressure or spontaneous stupidity.
[links] Link salad asks you to bring its nuts on a silver platter | jlake.com — December 4, 2013
[…] The Difference Between Criminals and Non-Criminals? Getting Caught. — Imagine if we had all been prosecuted for every crime we committed, even as a juvenile. What would the crime rate look like then? Other than some extremely trivial vandalism, I cannot recall any crimes I committed as a juvenile. I certainly never committed assault, theft, robbery or arson. Never so much as boosted a stick of gum from the corner store. […]
Kali — December 4, 2013
No, we are not all criminals. I have never done anything criminal or illegal in my life, as a juvenile or otherwise. And I doubt that I am unusual, based on what I know about family and friends. Instead of advocating for going easy on criminals, why not work towards a culture that produces less criminals? For example, one that doesn't try to minimize crime as "it's no big deal, everyone does it."
julie — December 4, 2013
It's scary to know what kind of people walk among us, what vile criminals go uncaught.
Sarah Lageson — December 4, 2013
This editorial from a Mpls newspaper provides some helpful context to where this project came from and what the goals are: http://www.startribune.com/local/229024941.html
pduggie — December 4, 2013
1 in 4 seems AWFULLY high for Minnesota. is there a citation for a statistic?
pduggie — December 4, 2013
" As executive director of the Legal Rights Center in Minneapolis, Friedman sees these very inequities played out daily. “I don’t think I’ve come across anybody who has not committed crimes as a juvenile,”"
in context, you probably wouldn't, since you work with populations that did.
In other news, New York liberals don't know anyone who voted for Nixon.
I wonder if any of these admissions are for rape?
Chris Lawyer — December 4, 2013
I have no criminal convictions. But as a kid I used to like to explore places I probably shouldn't have been, and could definitely been caught for trespassing multiple times.
Bill R — December 4, 2013
Is there a recommendation for policy here?
Bagelsan — December 4, 2013
This is ridiculous. There's a difference between speeding 5mph over the limit on the highway and rape or major theft. In fact, we even have legal categories that these variously fall into...
#confuzzled — December 5, 2013
I bet a lot more of this 25% of Minnesotans smoked pot or shoplifted or drove drunk or something, as opposed to violent crimes like the ones in the pictures.
Sarah Lageson — December 5, 2013
Emily Baxter recorded a podcast with Office Hours this week, providing background to the project and describing her motivations: http://thesocietypages.org/officehours/2013/12/05/emily-baxter-on-we-are-all-criminals/
Mike435 — December 6, 2013
You are more likely to get caught if you repeat your criminal acts many times and if your criminal acts are more serious. So, I don't think the study supports the conclusion that the difference between the convicted and non-convicted is so trivial.