One Year in a Life of Crime

Everyday 96,000 crimes are committed in the United States.  Every year more of our nation's youth choose a criminal path instead of an honest one.  DCTV decided to go out and find some of these faceless criminals in order to discover what made them follow a life of crime and to find out what society can do to curb the growing epidemic of crime in America.

One Year in a Life of Crime follows Robert, Mike, and Freddy--three professional criminals from Newark, New Jersey.  Every day they get in their cars, drive to the suburbs, and steal $500 to $1,000 worth of merchandise.  For 12 months we documented their lives.  With hidden cameras we recorded a number of crimes as they were actually happening.  The ease with which Robert and Freddy cleaned out the silverware in a department store is astounding.  

How did these three young men break away from the rules of society and wind up outside the law?  We went into their homes to try to find out.

 
Credits:

Producer/Director:  Jon Alpert, Mary Ann DeLeo, Janet Storti
Editors: Dani Froelich, Jon Alpert, Mary Ann DeLeo, John Godfrey


Technical Details:

1989, 53 min, Color