Why don’t more criminals take simple precautions like wearing gloves to avoid physical evidence?

r/

For instance, if I were going to commit a crime, I wouldn’t touch anything that would be used in the crime without some cheap vinyl gloves, and I would wear a hair net and maybe even shave my whole body so as not to leave physical evidence. I might even buy some disposable shoes and clothes that I could get rid of after committing the crime.

Is this just me having a Hollywood influenced view of crime lab capabilities or are people just dumb? Or are criminals really just impulsive and risk tolerant?

Comments

  1. rootshirt Avatar

    Criminals are generally stupid.

  2. Royal_Annek Avatar

    Most crime is not planned, but opportunistic

  3. Minion_of_Cthulhu Avatar

    First, most criminals are not very bright. Second, many think they won’t be caught because they’re too smart. You can see how these two things might conflict and cause them problems, such as not actually planning out the crime they’re going to commit or not planning it out very well if they do any planning at all.

    There’s a reason that true crime stuff focuses on cases with surprising twists or criminals who actually did plan the crime thoroughly. They focus on those types of cases because they’re the exception as opposed to the other 99% of criminals who may as well leave the crime scene and turn themselves in at the nearest police station because they did such a poor job that it’s obvious they’re the guilty party.

  4. GFrohman Avatar

    A startlingly large amount of crimes are spur-of-the-moment decisions by stupid criminals.

    They’re going about their day, see something expensive, and can’t help themselves. They snatch it, and inevitably get caught because they took absolutely no precautions to prevent it.

    Grand “heist” type thefts are extremely rare, because generally people intelligent enough to plan something like that are also intelligent enough to make good money in a legal way.

  5. Journeymans_Boots Avatar

    Depends on what area you live in. Lots of criminals are just let go so why even bother trying to hide it.

  6. tolgren Avatar

    Criminals tend to be stupid.

  7. Only_Tip9560 Avatar

    Because many criminals are opportunistic junkies.

  8. 3gkz Avatar

    i’d rather them be dumb.

  9. billthedog0082 Avatar

    Desperate times lead to desperate measures. If your fingerprints and DNA aren’t on file anywhere, you have a lesser chance of being caught, barring cameras and shoes with weird treads.

  10. Modfull_X Avatar

    smart ppl dont commit crimes

    and if they do, they are smart enough to not get caught, therefore you couldnt know that they even commited a crime, thus they must not be doing crimes? 🙂

  11. Ok_Orchid1004 Avatar

    No one said criminals were smart. There are very few “criminal masterminds”. Plus much crime is a result of an emotional reaction to a situation. Someone pissed off enough to wanna shoot someone, they aren’t gonna stop and look for some gloves to put on first.

  12. use27 Avatar

    Criminals smart enough to do that won’t have a record of criminal behavior because they don’t get caught

  13. HotPinkDemonicNTitty Avatar

    So I watch a lot of fictional crime media and a lot of true crime media. The disappointing truth is that most real life criminals are dumb. Not only do they make mistakes, they make the same mistakes that I’ve seen in about 15 other cases. For example, people absolutely cannot stop googling how to commit murder before they do it. It’s in so many cases, it’s embarrassing. They also cannot stop applying for life insurance policies weeks before they off their spouse. Even though that is how murderers have been caught countless times, they keep doing these things because the average person is dumb.

  14. Jimmy_Johnny23 Avatar

    A few things I wonder about … 

    Why not have two pairs of the same clothes. If you’re caught on video in a white polo shirt they’re going to check that for blood. So go home and dispose of the old one and put the new one on. Make sure it’s washed and not brand new. “See, no blood on it.” 

    And don’t talk to the police, ever. You’re either confirming what they know or telling them something new. Neither of which helps you, at all. 

    Hell, if my wife disappeared I’d still call a lawyer. They’d think I was guilty anyways so why not protect yourself? 

  15. Leucippus1 Avatar

    Most crime happens spur of the moment. A prepared criminal is significantly harder for the police to catch. Police generally catch the stupid ones. It is why it took literal decades to catch the Long Island serial killer. It is why financial scams go on for so long, the skill required to pull off a good financial scam can also be used to avoid detection.

    Cops aren’t geniuses, they aren’t especially stupid either. As a result, smart criminals are seriously dangerous.

  16. I_might_be_weasel Avatar

    Confirmation bias. We only hear about the ones who get caught. 

  17. relentlessSeVen Avatar

    Because not all crimes are premeditated.

  18. BigRonnieRon Avatar

    Contra TV, Police and related almost never fingerprints or take any forensic evidence unless there’s a murder.

    IME, the most accurate depiction of how reporting a robbery goes down was on “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” when 2 cops come over after the bar is robbed. Cops take a report for insurance purposes then leave. They laugh at Mac when he asks if they’re going to take fingerprints.

    Burglary, mugging, and petty theft is typically drug-related. People on crack aren’t really good planners.

  19. wiiguyy Avatar

    Lack of intelligence.

  20. PhantomCruze Avatar

    “they don’t catch the smart ones”

  21. mrbeanIV Avatar

    The glove may fit, preventing the acquit.

  22. speedy_19 Avatar

    Either it is a crime of opportunity or more likely is that the police don’t bother checking for that stuff. Fingerprints are not really a thing police will do for a “normal” crime, unless you kill someone they are not taking fingerprints from a crime scene

  23. Mesoscale92 Avatar

    They don’t catch the smart ones. Smart criminals do take precautions against getting caught. They also know when enough is enough and stop before the heat gets too high.

  24. DownUnderWordCrafter Avatar

    Other than what’s already been said. Some DNA is hard to control the spread of. Sometimes people rely on the clean-up. Also I’m not an American but apparently half of the murders in America go unsolved.

  25. TrembleTurtle Avatar

    you don’t hear about the “smart” ones

  26. Opposite-Chemistry-0 Avatar

    Intelligent ones dont get caught.

    Yet even them at some point talk to someone to brag, confess…

  27. not_productive1 Avatar

    Because criminals aren’t that smart. And the cops don’t actually give a shit most of the time unless it’s like murder (and even then…

  28. FreshSky17 Avatar

    The ones that do don’t get caught

    When you commit a crime most people think it’s the person you least suspect. Typically it’s the person you most suspect.

  29. Cognoscere007 Avatar

    Anyone smart enough to consider all these things is also able to reach the logical conclusion that their actions will have consequences both seen and unforeseen and then decide not to do it.

  30. Brock_Savage Avatar

    Prisons are filled with short-sighted men of low intelligence who possess poor impulse control and lack empathy. This is not hyperbole.

  31. Grillparzer47 Avatar

    Easy, they catch the stupid ones. The ones that don’t wear gloves, not the ones that do.

  32. EffectiveLink4781 Avatar

    Most criminals don’t take basic precautions like wearing gloves because, honestly, a lot of them just aren’t that smart. Crimes often happen in the heat of the moment/spur-of-the-moment decisions with zero planning. Many are opportunistic, acting on impulse when they see a chance. Others are under the influence and not thinking clearly. And some just don’t care about the consequences at all. They’re not thinking long-term, they’re thinking right now.

  33. Reasonable-Feed-9805 Avatar

    Only the bad crimals get caught (mostly). There’s plenty of crimes commited by pros, you don’t get to hear how they got caught, cause they didn’t.

  34. Ragnarsworld Avatar

    The smart ones don’t get caught. The dumb ones are in jail. For instance, the guy who allegedly shot the Health Company CEO did a lot of things that he shouldn’t have done and got caught. The result is that his face was out there and a guy in McDonald’s rolled him up.

  35. Confident-Mix1243 Avatar

    The ones that do, don’t get caught.

  36. PlayerHeadcase Avatar

    UK: Burgalars and car thieves do not need to worry (unless they steal; a very expensive car, or burgle a rich person) as the cops will give it a once over and just provide you with a crime number; 20 years ago, speaking from personal experience, someone broke into my garage and my car, didnt get anything maybe a specuilative break in.
    The police sent a fingerprint officer round who looked for prints etc.

    Today they mostly never bother- in the North East, if the damage is less than £500, they often dont even come out and provide a crime number over the phone.

    TL;DR UK burgalars and thieves mostly will never be caught unless they are captured at the scene of the crime.

    Weird as multiple Governments have used invasive laws regarding camera footage to claim they help catch criminals..

  37. sugahack Avatar

    I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess your average criminal isn’t the brightest bulb in the box.

  38. JimVivJr Avatar

    Most crimes are opportunistic. Meaning they didn’t plan the crime, they just saw an opportunity.

  39. Goddamnpassword Avatar

    Most Criminals are not particularly smart, and almost all of them entirely terrible at long term planning/risk benefit analysis.

  40. mytinykitten Avatar

    Tbf “most” of them might.

    You only catch the dumb ones.

  41. otterdammerung Avatar

    Evidence of premeditation can and will bite you in the ass if you get caught.

  42. nonlinear_nyc Avatar

    Won’t anyone think of the criminals?

  43. Realsorceror Avatar

    I would imagine that criminals who take precautions are less likely to get caught and therefore are less represented in confirmed crimes.

  44. Confident-Pepper-562 Avatar

    Hollywood also way over plays the whole csi thing. Somehow they always get a full print, or make a match from a partial, they spot that one hair fiber in the carpet, they can match a blade of grass to a specific park, theres semen everywhere.

    In real life, Its not nearly that awesome.

  45. ExogamousUnfolding Avatar

    Not all criminals are smart nor plan ahead

  46. enad58 Avatar

    Your sample size is one of criminals who have been caught.

  47. No_Independence8747 Avatar

    You overestimate criminals

  48. cwthree Avatar

    Both. Hollywood way overstates the effectiveness and availability of CSI techniques and most people who commit crimes don’t think too hard about it.

  49. CODMAN627 Avatar

    Because a lot of crimes are crimes of opportunity rather than an oceans eleven grand heist.

    Also forensic science is a thing that exists. Even something as insignificant as a small fiber did a shirt can place the perpetrator at the scene

  50. PipingTheTobak Avatar

    Most robbers, murders, etc are stupid. It’s really that simple. They are not intelligent people.

    The way most murders are solved is the cops show up and arrest the guy holding a gun and shouting “HE MADE ME DO IT”

  51. CardiologistPlus8488 Avatar

    Criminals are generally stupid

  52. Bikewer Avatar

    “Criminals” are a very broad class of individuals. They have a wide variety of motivations, backgrounds, and so forth.

    A lot of “street” criminals are both not very bright, and have problems with impulse control and planning. This is pretty well studied…. It’s been found that an inordinate percentage of individuals incarcerated for violent crimes have a history of trauma to the frontal cortex of the brain. This is the area that is responsible for those things… Anger management, impulse control, planning, etc.
    But that’s just one type of criminal. Folks involved in the many varieties of “white collar” crime are generally well-educated and take pains to hide their activities. Quite a lot of crime these days is carried out electronically, and involve a very different type of “fingerprints” that require forensic IT techniques to track down. A lot of smaller police departments don’t even have any facilities to investigate such crimes.

  53. ccminiwarhammer Avatar

    Even career criminals don’t take all the precautions.

    The real gangster Tommy DeSimone (played by Joe Pesci in Goodfellas) took his mask off during the Lufthansa heist, which was one of the most famous robberies in US history.

  54. Carlpanzram1916 Avatar

    People who plan out their crimes do this frequently. Most crimes are not planned out. Murders especially tend to be crimes of passion done in the moment. Minor crimes are not usually the subject of detailed forensic investigations so shaving your whole body is rarely necessary.

  55. DiogenesKuon Avatar

    The thing that most criminals have in common is that they have poor impulse control. They see an opportunity, they take that opportunity, and don’t plan ahead nor consider the consequences of their actions. It’s why increasing the punishment for crimes doesn’t tend to decrease crime really, because most criminals aren’t weighing the value of a theft versus the odds of getting caught multiplied by the punishment time, they just don’t think it through that way.

  56. Secure_Insurance_351 Avatar

    The clever ones do. That’s why there are no clever criminals in prison

  57. UnvarnishedWarehouse Avatar

    Possibly it escaped your notice that most criminals are not very bright

  58. JetScreamerBaby Avatar

    I used to work at a family business, one of the cousins was a full-time Chicago PD tactical officer. He had all kinds of fun stories, and in every one of them, he referred to the perpetrator as ‘the goof.’

    It’s because 99% of crimes are crimes of opportunity, and the average criminal is a complete idiot.

  59. InspectionOver4376 Avatar

    Criminals are not smart. This is why we have prisons. Prison is a cage for stupid people.

  60. noticer626 Avatar

    Super low IQ.

  61. Mudslingshot Avatar

    I think the people who get caught are the ones who make mistakes. I don’t think there’s any way to tell how many people do exactly what you’re saying and don’t get caught

  62. Bitter_Procedure260 Avatar

    Survivorship bias. You only see the ones that get caught. 

  63. plated_lead Avatar

    Criminals be dumb

  64. DonaldCumz Avatar

    The smart ones do and never get caught hence you never hear about them.

  65. Lylac_Krazy Avatar

    Funny how cops and robbers is a de escalation of intelligence.

    Dumb criminals dont need smart cops. If the cops got smarter, then the criminals would level up and we would need better, smarter cops also.

  66. DTux5249 Avatar

    90% of crimes aren’t planned. From thefts to murders, they’re almost always spur of the moment decisions where opportunity meets desperation or passion.

    I’m not killing Mackenzie Macavire after carefully deliberating over where the body will go, and how I’ll dispose of the body & blood. I’m killing her because she’s decided to start a shouting match for the 17th time when I told her that her dog needed to be on a shorter chain, and she happened to be standing in front of a staircase when I got angry

  67. Raraavisalt434 Avatar

    They do. How many crimes do you think go unsolved?

  68. rexeditrex Avatar

    I don’t think you’re considering the general intelligence level of most criminals.

  69. zerthwind Avatar

    Many criminals are not the brightest bulbs in the string.

  70. Larrythepuppet66 Avatar

    The criminals who get caught are idiots and don’t take the necessary precautions. In the US it’s only like 57% of homicide cases get solved. Plenty of people get away with shit all the time because they plan it out properly. The opportunistic criminals are the ones who get caught.

  71. GeekyTexan Avatar

    Criminals don’t tend to be smart people who are good at planning. At least, not the ones who get caught.

  72. slapdashbr Avatar

    anyone who can put that much effort into crime could get a day job

  73. 4me2knowit Avatar

    Not the cream of the intelligentsia that go in for burglary is the basic problem