One of the things someone can do to reduce their danger of becoming a crime victim

is to simply avoid associating with criminals.

Early in life I avoided the drug scene not because I was afraid of what drugs would do to me but because I didn't want to get ripped off, beaten up or murdered.

It seems that everyone I knew that was into drugs back in the day was always having problems of one sort or another. It also seemed that people involved in other criminal activity got into extra-legal problems, too.

While I am a self-confessed outlaw, I am certainly not a criminal and have pretty much steered clear of basic dishonest bull$hit and had damned few problems.

Drugs seemed to be the worst. Druggies were always getting ripped off, beaten up, cheated and/or were snakes that cheated others. Some of them were stupid and beat themselves up with their stupidity.

I'm an old man and I remember 'cocaine wars' in the 80s and recall one idiot that thought they could step on coke with Tide and get away with it. Yeah. He was that stupid.

The first guy that got ripped off and thumped him got not only his money back, but everyone else's and left the rest of his patrons with the option of getting their payback out of his flesh. He survived a lot of pain and suffering.

I also knew someone that left Kodiak for Anchorage with the (then) princely sum of $10,000 looking to buy cocaine for resale and was found dead in Anchorage. 

The chances of being an uninvolved crime victim, while entirely possible are fairly low. Of course you have to have common sense, too. Stupidity hurts. Stupidity should hurt. Advertising you are going away for a month and are keeping $250,000 under your mattress really isn't a good idea. Neither is leaving your garage door open with a brand new expensive whatever in it. You're leaving a target of opportunity.

Still, there's a better than average chance that if you are a crime victim that you are involved in something criminal.  Cops know this and think accordingly. They also know that tip lines are chockablock full of criminals ratting each other out in a lame effort to wipe out competition.

Generally speaking, with exceptions, you reap what you sow.

The best way to fly under the radar of the criminal world is to pretty much keep your nose clean.

Update. Apparently there is a ballyhoo about some kid getting killed by the people he sold a gun to. A PRIME example of what I am talking about.

To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY