While the phrase has been around for quite a while, I’ve lately been hearing it quite a bit more: “Crimes of Opportunity.” This typically refers to leaving an open opportunity for a crime, such as leaving a laptop case unattended in a library or leaving a office or dorm room door open. Making an easy theft possible.

My impression is that a crime of opportunity is something that might just “come” to someone because they walk past and see something valuable to be picked up or that kind of thing.

So this morning on the news I heard about a home that had a theft. The guy was out mowing his lawn and left the garage door open while he was mowing. Apparently someone saw the garage door open, walked in and through the door to the house, and stole three credit cards and a couple hundred dollars of cash out of his wife’s purse, which was laying on the counter in the kitchen. They referred to this as a crime of opportunity and urged people to keep their garage doors closed even when they’re home.

To me, this isn’t a crime of opportunity. Stealing something out of the garage because the door was open, that’s a crime of opportunity. But entering someone’s house and stealing out of a purse is a step beyond that. It’s not a short pause while you pick up something left unattended. It’s entering someone’s house with the intent of stealing. That’s a little too much premeditation for me to call it a crime of opportunity.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know. I’m open to discussion on this.

Current music: Annapurna: The Towering Sky, by Mark Hunton