Harris-Moore Crime Spree
1. What led Harris-Moore to embark on a crime spree?
I don’t believe that there is any singular reason why Harris-Moore entered into a life of criminal activity, but rather that there were many contributing factors. Arguably, Harris-Moore started engaging in crime without even considering it to be criminal activity. As the article identifies, he grew up in a survivalist lifestyle, satisfying basic human needs for food and supplies by stealing them from homes and businesses. If he was raised to view this as simply the way to survive, there is no reason to think that he knew any better or, at the very least, understood the consequences of his actions. In addition, mental health issues (depression) and ADD impaired his judgment and decision-making throughout his early life. These factors, in combination with a lack of parental guidance or structure, likely gave rise to his criminal activity.
However, what began as criminal activity to meet basic human needs (food, etc.) quickly grew to include the theft of luxury items which would suggest that the criminal behaviour was motivated by something beyond survival, possibly the challenge and excitement that evading capture brought. In addition, for a young man who likely received very little positive attention as a boy, this behaviour could very well have been driven (and reinforced) by the negative attention provided by the system. In this way, the system could be faulted for failing Harris-Moore by responding to his behaviour with punishment rather than identification and treatment of the root causes.
2. What role did his mother and father (or his mother’s boyfriends) play in contributing to Harris-Moore’s criminal lifestyle?
I believe that Harris-Moore’s parents contributed significantly to his criminal lifestyle, first and foremost by raising him in an environment which promoted theft as a normal and accepted means of survival. His mother’s alcoholism likely led to a lack of any structure in his
I don’t believe that there is any singular reason why Harris-Moore entered into a life of criminal activity, but rather that there were many contributing factors. Arguably, Harris-Moore started engaging in crime without even considering it to be criminal activity. As the article identifies, he grew up in a survivalist lifestyle, satisfying basic human needs for food and supplies by stealing them from homes and businesses. If he was raised to view this as simply the way to survive, there is no reason to think that he knew any better or, at the very least, understood the consequences of his actions. In addition, mental health issues (depression) and ADD impaired his judgment and decision-making throughout his early life. These factors, in combination with a lack of parental guidance or structure, likely gave rise to his criminal activity.
However, what began as criminal activity to meet basic human needs (food, etc.) quickly grew to include the theft of luxury items which would suggest that the criminal behaviour was motivated by something beyond survival, possibly the challenge and excitement that evading capture brought. In addition, for a young man who likely received very little positive attention as a boy, this behaviour could very well have been driven (and reinforced) by the negative attention provided by the system. In this way, the system could be faulted for failing Harris-Moore by responding to his behaviour with punishment rather than identification and treatment of the root causes.
2. What role did his mother and father (or his mother’s boyfriends) play in contributing to Harris-Moore’s criminal lifestyle?
I believe that Harris-Moore’s parents contributed significantly to his criminal lifestyle, first and foremost by raising him in an environment which promoted theft as a normal and accepted means of survival. His mother’s alcoholism likely led to a lack of any structure in his