European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 3, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine Cristn loom Alfred Btu Putetti heavy drug Ite or Corosh Critts much am 10 time More frequently Ryan it they were not actively using  researching career criminals by Tara Bradley Steck associated press women stand before a judge of sentencing because of limited prison space probably Only one will be sent to prison while the of her will be placed on probation one main is a 30-year-old drug addict who has committed dozens of robberies through his adult life. The other 11 a 2?-Yeaf-old drug dealer with several arrests for peddling drugs at a Junior High school and who occasionally uses drugs himself who should be jailed Crimi ologies May claim conventional Wisdom Points to the it cond Man because to most judges drug dealing 11 More heinous than robbery and 1ho robber s drug Mobil makes him less responsible of his crimes also because Edgos Sec fewer 30 year Olds than 22 Jearolds icy May assume older criminals Are about to abandon their activities and younger Oll Enders More Likely la Commil crimes Lor several Moie years. But Jaccoi dog to criminologist Alfred Blumstein society is Best served it the drug addicted robber is jailed although the drug dealer s crime is abhorrent Blumstein says failing him Wilt not Likely Stop drug trial Wieking i eel As angry about the drug dealer As the next person said Blum slim. Head of the school of Urban and Public affairs at Carnegie Mellon univ easily in Pittsburgh and a member of the Pennsylvania sentencing commission. L1bul Tor the Penny Ante drug dealer to know there is enough profit in it that very severe sentences will not deter others from engaging in it. Ii you lock him up. Someone else will just fill in Tor turn i would rather use the limited prison space Lor the person who s in Licking crime on the rest of us by robbing and burglar izing particularly in they re heavy drug users because that s an indication they re going to continue o do so Blum Sleivis i Seaich has shown that career criminals Are usually men with a Long i Atoy of Ollen ses who Commil crimes Ollen and Ore drug Abu Urs those people he argues arc most Likely to continue in Crimo and Aie least Likely to Slop in Lei i on Tho direct heavy Diug abusers commit crimes As much As 10 times More frequently than in they were not actively using drugs he said. In addition most of lenders give up Ihen criminal activities in their 20a, White career criminals Ottun Don t drop out of crime unlit their Early 40s, Blun Slein 9ays. What s going on is the weak of heart Are dropping Oul and you re Tell Wilh the hard Core by 30," he said. So those who Are still Active at 30, having started at a Young age Are very Likely going to  Blumstein said his research Over the past decade was based on the analyses of the arrest records of Moie than 140,000 Peota in new York state 40.000 in Michigan and 5,000 in Washington . Blumstein acknowledges there s nothing surprising about the thick actors by which career criminals can be Ideal Ifird they arc drug dependent have extensive criminal histories and commit crimes Ottun. But he says that it is perhaps surprising that there Aren t More distinctions. In the past researchers compared criminals to the Reil do the population when trying to ascertain their common Raits Btu Stein says. As a result criminals have been characterized As predominantly Black poor Young and mate. To determine the attrib los that distinguish career criminals irom other Ollendorf however Blumlein studied Only criminals those who Commil crimes occasionally Wilh those who commit them often those who commit serious crimes with those who Commil Petty crimes older criminals and younger criminals Black Criminate and while criminals. Blum teen discovered variables such As race socioeconomic status and age Aio insignificant in projecting who is Moie Likely to Luton into a hardened career criminal and who will eventually Slop committing crimes or Commil Only Petty crimes. Those facial May determine who is More Likely to Commil a crime but not necessarily who will become a career criminal Blumlein says. Tho Chance of Blacks or poor people becoming career criminals is no greater than Whites or Rich people turning into career criminals he says. Those distinctions however Subtle arc critical Lumston says. These Days. Every state s prisons Are overcrowded so we would like to find Tho people who Are the most serious candidates Lor prison and make sure they Are the ones who go there he said. This is just so important a Field that we ought to know something about it we spend billions of dollars on it every year and we moan about in enormously and we know so mile about who they Are and slut distinguishes them and How much they  sunday january 198b in part Hiat s because criminology is dominated 3y ideological considerations Blumstein Savici the political right wants to punish these monsters and the left wants to recognize that there s Rune All around us and Slop being so punitive Anu is Xcvi the social conditions Hal gave Rise to the  he said. What we re trying to do is shed some Light on Allol this and. Become better informed o who set the career criminals How do Heydi Tfir irom the non career criminals what Good do to got from  and whal do we fail to get that we think we re Sourng " Alten Andrews jr., chief of politic p on Iii said Blumstein s three criteria should be taken into consideration by sentencing judges. Sentencing is so subjective now to Jimj knows what counts Lor what in a Given decry m i fully believe that properly done the use of this App 9a h would be As accurate and belter than the def, in using made by instinct by All of us in hid business said an Dicks who. With Blumlein is a a if la of a National panel researching career criminals Reggie b. Wall on associate judge us Juneior court Lor the District of Columbia and also a member of the panel said the research lends to dispel certain beliefs people had but also generates ethical problems. A lot of research regarding ret id1/. A i i id race and sex As factors of future criminal activity and i think the panel concluded those should not be considered he said. If that s gotten across to sentencing judges that s  i think it s Clear though that this information should nol be Overli izod. Ii can t Lake the p Lam of Oiler human actors you can t just put these things into a computer and come out with the Correct answer some states including Pennsylvania have been under Public pressure to increase the in allies for All drug dealers but Blumstein Irtys incarceration should be reserved primarily for the major dealers. We do want to punish this behave to. Axil we should Reserve thai punishment predominantly Tor the largest dealers who i think Aro the most blame or Why in the whole system. And when we catch Thorn we should absolutely throw the Book at  Blumstein says he s not and Vocab Icib Glicr Over Gail but rather More judicious use of both the sentence should be More certain not a flip of a Coin Between jail and  he staid. Sinco a majority of the be Ops Lviv it the of serious crimes Are put on probation he a j in ought to do so in an informed verifiable Way " the stars and stripes Page 13