Crime In Lynn Rossellini's The High Life Of Crime

“Because it involves planning, risk, and skill, burglary has been a crime long associated with professional thieves who carefully learn their craft” (Siegel 385). This quote, found in Criminology by Larry Siegel, describes the level of commitment required for being a burglar. Burglary is part of a larger set of crime known as property crime, also called economic crimes. These crimes can be defined as, “criminal activity motivated by financial gain” (Siegel 370). Besides burglary, property crimes include theft, fencing, fraud and embezzlement. Each of these categories listed, share the common factor of using crime to make money. The article The High Life of Crime, by Lynn Rossellini describes the career of criminal, Blane Nordahl. Rossellini gives numerous examples of how Nordahl used exceptional skill in breaking into houses and taking valuable items. Due to this description, Nordahl’s actions clearly fall under the classification of property crime. He used criminal activity for monetary gain. More specifically, there are strong similarities between the profiles found …show more content…
According to Rosellini, Nordahl “was one of the most celebrated cat burglars ever to work the East Coast” (Rosellini). He meticulously planned out crimes based on the appearance of the house, which gives an implication of what’s inside. He also studied what materials were valuable for resale. He specialized in identifying, then selling, silver. In addition, he made an effort to learn how to differentiate between plate silver and pure silver (which is considerably more valuable). A characteristic of Nordahl’s methodology is the absence of weapons. Rosellini quotes him as saying, ‘“If you carried a gun …there’s always the chance you could use it”’ (Rosellini). Instead, Nordahl relied on stealth techniques to avoid