Abstract
This case study examines the self-reported life story of a prisoner who has spent much of his life in juvenile detention and adult prison. His criminal history began with pocket-picking, then breaking and entry, and then advanced to armed robbery. Social learning theory, self-control theory and rational choice theory are discussed and the inmate’s reflections on them are offered in his words with illustrations from his experience.
Highlights
In 1968 there were 262,840 robberies committed in the United States (FBI, 2018a)
This case study examines the self-reported life story of a prisoner who has spent much of his life in juvenile detention and adult prison
It is clear that social learning theory, control theory and rational-choice theory all offer propositions that are applicable to understanding Sal Ali’s entry into his life of crime and the continuance of that lifestyle up until he was given a life sentence
Summary
In 1968 there were 262,840 robberies committed in the United States (FBI, 2018a). Salahuddin (Sal) Ali, the subject of the following case analysis, was ten years old at this time and was detained twice in a juvenile detention center for two of these robberies. In 1975 when Sal was seventeen, he committed a store robbery, one of 470,500 robberies in the United States that year (FBI, 2018a). As will be reported in his article, Sal learned how to commit crimes, first breaking and entering, picking pockets (or shot playing as it was called by his friends), and robbery. The more he committed these crimes, the better at it he became. He does not consider himself either an institutionalized youth or a career-criminal, he knows people refer to him as such.
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