Febuary 17th The Daily Post Question – What is the perfect crime?
Describe the perfect crime
Posted on February 17, 2011 by Scott Berkun| 20 Comments
Topic #49
This one is not from Plinky.com. It’s from the dark, twisted recesses of my own mind:
Describe the perfect crime. A crime that could take place somewhere you know, or at a company you’ve heard of, or even in the future or the past. Something where either it’d be impossible to get caught, or that somehow no one (who didn’t deserve it) would be hurt.
Bonus: by definition, is a perfect crime ever possible
My answer :
This is a really interesting question, and in fact, it is the question that has made me decide to add “The Daily post”‘s daily questions to a section of my blog.
I am a fan of the hit bbc drama “The Hustle”, a tv show that week after week shows you a perfectly executed con (therefor crime) in a drama layout. The actors suit their roles perfectly, and the programme keeps you guessing from start to finish. Always hitting the viewer with a “sucker punch” of a twist at the end. However i am now going slightly off topic, but i highly recommend you check out the back catalogue of episodes (there are a fair few), and even Stateside reads can stream it over the net.
The reason i mentioned the hustle, is that for the question at hand, i feel it is very important to mention the work of proffessional con artists.
Conmen have been around since the dawn of business, if there is money involved, there is always a possible con, and involves a very smart, quick witted, smooth talking and confident personl. It is fair to say not any “John Smith” off the street can be a conman.
Now i could narate an episode of “The Hustle” to you, as it would by far answer the question, “What is the perfect crime” but i don’t wish to be lazy with my answer, nor ruin the episodes for those interested in checking them out.
Instead i am going to put to you, the reader, my definition of what i believe to be a perfect crime!
A perfect crime is a one in which the victim (also known as the mark) does not know of the crime, till the offender is untraceable. A crime soo perfect, that when the victim realises they have been conned, or the crime has been commited. It is too late, and they have no evidence to stand against in the court of law, even if they do find the criminal!
I am a firm believer that conmen are lawbreakers and are morally corrupt individuals, but there is no hiding that it is a proffession, and an interesting and impressive one at that.
So that to me, is THE perfect crime.
If this blog has interested you, the links are on the page to check out the show, which is both entertaining and educational to the way of the conman.
Also i thought you might enjoy “Conman Lingo!”, also entertaining.
Have a nice day!
