MovieChat Forums > The First 48 (2004) Discussion > Could watching true crime shows make you...

Could watching true crime shows make you a more successful criminal?


If you watch "The First 48" and other true crime shows like "Forensic Files" and "The FBI Files" and "The Homicide Hunter", etc... do you feel like after watching these shows that if you wanted to get away with a serious crime like murder you would be educated well enough about police procedures and evidence and so forth that you'd be able to be a lot more successful in pulling off a major crime if you had time to plan it out?

I was watching an episode of "American Greed" and learned something just the other day. There was a commodities broker who lost all his money, so he decided to start robbing banks. He had done a lot of online research and found most bank robbers are caught AFTER the robbery by people who describe what they were wearing and/or the vehicle they were driving. So he would stake out each location and look for an alternative escape route and park his car well away from the area. After the robbery he would walk out, cross the parking lot and then take the alternative route (like through a fence or across a field behind the bank) and he would ditch the hat and glasses and coveralls as he walked to his car which was parked blocks away.

He was very successful at avoiding being caught until he got really sloppy and left fingerprints on one of his robbery notes. That was another smart thing he did, however: he hand wrote the notes while wearing gloves, and he wore gloves during the robbery. Then he'd leave the robbery note at the scene, that way if he got stopped after leaving the bank, he never had the robbery note on him.

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[deleted]

maybe, it can help you avoid doing stupid things, but you can never really protect against any and everything.

I doubt most criminals watch these shows to try and perfect their methods, although I'm sure these shows leave enough out that anyone watching them wouldn't gain much of use...

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You're absolutely right. I made the same striking observation years ago.

Watching such true crime shows will make you a more successful criminal. Certainly taught me not to say a word to the police (if I ever turn to the dark side) during interrogations and immediately demand a lawyer. Half, heck even more than half of the crimes were solved only because of the criminal's loud mouth that incriminated himself. I remember watching one of the TF48 episodes where a gang of 4 was about to be released free because there was a lack of evidence and 3 of them denied any involvement and refused to talk, until the 4th and final member caved in to interrogation pressure tactics and put himself and his entire gang behind bars. They could've all been a free men right now if it wasn't for that 1 loud mouth that turned 0 years into 20 years.

I also watch The American Greed and remember exactly the episode that you're talking about. That bank robber only got caught because he became careless and lazy. If someone tried to repeat his journey with a more careful approach, he could be almost unstoppable.

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