fact or fiction
Is it fact or merely fiction? Fact or Fiction explores the myths and beliefs we hold about copycat killers, eyewitnesses testimony, what makes a murderer and more.
How Criminals Are Making Money During the Pandemic
As the ongoing crisis drags on, criminals continue to profit when people are most vulnerable. The pandemic has shown good people trying to contribute, but it has also opened doors for people who prey on others’ misfortunes. In the past, criminal activity accelerated after a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina in 2005. When people lose everything and are desperate for relief, scam artists flood into town and target unfortunate victims for money. Although the internet is the method most criminals use to steal your money, physical thefts, false phone calls and mail theft are also rising. The following sections describe the ways that criminals are profiting from the pandemic.
By Lewis Robinson5 years ago in Criminal
Drugs, Girls, Crime, Prison, University & Near Deaths (DGCPUND) Part 3
READ PART 1 & 2 BEFORE THIS... I must have underestimated the impact of the criminal record. I thought due to the sales experience I had just picked up opportunities would come by easily. That was not the case unfortunately. I attended several interviews, non commission based roles most of which found the 1 criminal record under my name a high risk. They would inform me a week later that I didn't get the job, that they had found "more suited employees with relevant work experience". I didn't want to go back to commission work. I needed some stability and relaxation in my life. That job was taking up most of my energy, I wanted a guaranteed income weekly instead of unpredictability. In sales you couldn't afford having a bad day, so when I would get into an argument with my mum or a girl I was seeing at the time, my performance would degrade. Meaning I made less when I wasn't positive or had to deal with shit in life. Instead, I found myself unemployed chilling with one of my closest friends doing pretty much nothing. We would drive around the area listening to music and get high. Linking up with the boys in the night and getting back home in the early hours of the morning. Yes...it was fun at times but I needed to get my life back on track. He would be selling some weed on the side and worked full time. I was out of work recording songs with a budget studio at my mothers house. Dreaming about mansions, luxuries and girls, wondering if I would make it one day. Just dreaming, not really heading towards it. Maybe I should have saved some of the money I had made from sales. I had spent nearly all of it on weed, food and gambling. A bad habit I had carried with me from childhood. Risking my income with the hopes of doubling my money. That rarely was the case, more times I would lose to greed. Wanting to win unrealistic amounts and not understanding the psychology behind it. The house always wins no matter what. I rarely prayed or looked to god for answers. Something I use to do in prison. I found myself at a very low point in life again and if it wasn't for my close friends, girls and boys, I would have completely gone off the rails. They supported me a lot mentally. The assistant owner of the company invited me to her house again. She was staying in Canary Wharf and her fiancé was at work. I told myself nothing sexual this time I didn't want that on my conscience. Besides, I needed her more for finding employment than anything else. We ate the food she ordered and spoke about finding me a job. She said I was always welcome to go back to the sales role, but I had other plans. A few months passed and my mental state was degrading. I was in my room one day listening to an instrumental and trying to write a song. All of a sudden I heard a deep voice in my head. I couldn't make out the words but it was scary as fuck. Was I going crazy? What the fuck was that? I felt really scared and my heart was beating incredibly fast. I could barely breathe. I left the room and told my mum I wasn't feeling well. "Did you smoke weed again? That is going to give you a heart attack!" she shouted. That made things much worse and I begged her to call an ambulance. It wasn't the weed, I had smoked that shit for over a decade. This was something else. "Please mum call the ambulance I don't feel well...hurry please" I screamed. She looked really worried but told me to calm down. She got me a glass of water with sugar cubes. "Drink this your blood pressure has fallen" she said as she passed me the glass. I was starting to fade out it was very unusual. I tried drinking the water but it wasn't helping. Fucking hell I am going to die! I couldn't stand or sit properly. I felt really dizzy and my chest was hurting. I could feel my heart beating really fast. When the ambulance arrived they ran an ECG of my heart. A device with wires and stickers they use to scan your heart beat. The guy looked scared and told me that we had to go into hospital. "Your heart is beating incredibly fast but the rhythm seems normal. We have to go in for further checks" he said somewhat confused. I am going to die, I know it. This guy don't even know anything! Just hurry...please. On the way to the hospital on the ambulance I felt even worse. I was struggling to take in any air. He asked my worried mother if we had any history of heart disease in the family. "No...no one has had any heart attacks or any issues before" she replied nervously. I had my phone in my pocket and it was ringing, I could feel it vibrating. Fuck whoever it was...I didn't want to answer. When we arrived to the hospital the nurse saw me straight away. She measured my heart beat and circled a red box on her sheet. That made me panic even more. Was I really going to die? Please god not yet I ain't even lived. I kept praying in my head and asking him to keep me alive. At that moment I felt like that was it.
By Ali Elyas Shahali5 years ago in Criminal
The black-eyed children of Cannock Chase
The locals of Cannock Chase in Staffordshire, England, know the area for its beauty and its scenic bike trails and hiking trails. However, the English and serious ghost hunters know Cannock Chase for something far more sinister. During the 1960s, an evil monster prowled the area seeking young female victims.
By Marc Hoover5 years ago in Criminal
Drugs, Girls, Crime, Prison, University & Near Deaths (DGCPUND) Part 2
READ PART 1 BEFORE THIS... The day had arrived and I was to meet my mother and sister on a visit. I saw them seated as I walked across the room to give them a hug. It was sad to see them there. It would have been nice to spend some quality family time outside, something my mother always wanted. I took my seat and opened a pack of KitKat and started eating. They both looked confused waiting for me to break the news to them. "I need to stay here another 2 months" I said calmly. "What?!?" my mother replied hysterically. This was not something she wanted to hear. "What the fuck did you do Ali?" my sister asked. I was trying to avoid eye contact. I was extremely ashamed to be in there. This was not what my mother ever expected when she moved us to the UK. It was hard trying to rationalise everything. "I spoke to my solicitor he said I would get 1 year or 2 years maximum. In this country you only do half of the sentence. I'm hoping I will get 1 year and be out in 3 months" I explained. My mother had now turned away and was facing another table. She looked really down, it was hard to see. "I stood by the door and my friends robbed somewhere, someone got stabbed, we are just waiting for them to find out who done it" I continued. My sister hugged her from the side to comfort her. "I always told you your friends were bad, now look...you got yourself in here" she said. I didn't want to hear that at that time. I knew my mistakes already. I just wanted to learn how to be a man end of the day, that's why I moved out to begin with. I had to teach myself the hardest lessons in life. The visit ended and we said our goodbyes. I returned to my cell and watched some TV. Gym wasn't being provided for us yet. The guards explained that the rota would begin once we got on our permanent wings. The next week or so flew by with not much happening. The boy from my area moved to another wing, I remained for an extra day and was assigned a wing called Raven. This was where I would have had to spend the remainder of my time at Feltham. This wing was slightly cleaner than the other one. When we walked in we were approached by a group of boys who asked us some questions. They wanted to get to know us better. They were cleaners or worked on servery. I was placed in a cell with a boy from Peckham, South London on my right. He was trouble, constantly getting into fights. His TV would be removed all the time and he spent a lot of time on Basic. There are 3 levels in prison: Basic, Standard and Enhanced. Depending on your behaviour you are placed in these groups. Basic is when you get your TV removed and are under strict supervision. You are let out your cell much less and at intervals when others are not present. Standard is what everyone is on when they first enter. Enhanced is mainly for the workers and the well behaved individuals. They are even allowed a PlayStation 2 with games & DVDs, of course these items need to be sent in from the outside. Me and this boy would talk the entire day, he was an entertaining character. He felt like everyone was against him and would be getting into fist fights every other day. The guards knew what kind of person he was, they would escort him in and out the cell. "Why you always fighting" I would ask him. "I got bare pagans in here bro, these man are haters" he would say. Yes he did have some enemies, but I think he just got a thrill from fighting. The fights would rarely last more than 10 seconds, the guards would get involved rapidly. We built a close relationship me and this guy, we would joke until the early hours of the morning. A few of my other friends from the outside entered that wing, I was well occupied. I knew a lot of people and was eating good food. Gym also started and the two sessions a week were doing us justice. I got close to a boy from Barking in his early 20s. He had a double cell. His cellmate had left and there was a space free. I decided to move in with him. We would play cards, smoke tobacco and joke until the early hours of the morning. This really passed the time. He was super addicted to nicotine. I would catch him waking up to spark one up. What a fucking weirdo I would think. After about a month of being locked up together, his behaviour would irritate me. He would take too long on the toilet. Smoke way too much and watch boring programs about antics and auctions. We had a fight one day in the cell. I wrestled him to the ground and punched him a few times. After the fight we both went to bed without saying a word to each other. It was very tense for a few days, I didn't like the atmosphere. The guards opened his cell and he moved to another wing, a request he had put in before I even came there. One of his friends was in the prison and he went to double up with him. I had a whole double cell to myself. A couple of the boys wanted to bang up with me. One day the cell door opened randomly. "You have a visitor" said one of the guards. It was one of my co-defendants. What a thrill to see him there. I had no idea he was sorting out his move to my wing. Time would fly by now, I thought to myself. We found new ways to entertain ourselves. The 2 months passed quickly.
By Ali Elyas Shahali5 years ago in Criminal
The Poisonous Legacy of Locusta: A Serial Assassin...Raped to Death by Giraffes?
For many of us, history was a boring subject in school. It was replete with a bunch of names, dates, and seemingly bland events that had us fighting off slumber in class. In fact, some of my only memories of history class involve my high school teacher showing up drunk (true story!). However, don't let boring-ass textbooks fool you; History is an absolute madhouse, with freakish details that might put the average horror film to shame.
By Wade Wainio5 years ago in Criminal
Of Three Legged Dogs and Non Existent Pigeons
Station House Security is probably one of the most boring posts one can receive as a cop. It's your job to make sure that unauthorized individuals aren't allowed to walk right up to the desk officer. It's kinda like being a Walmart Greeter, but with a gun and without the shopping cart.
By Erik Tenkar5 years ago in Criminal
Drugs, Girls, Crime, Prison, University & Near Deaths (DGCPUND) Part 1
I started smoking cannabis from a young age. I remember the first time like it was yesterday. On an empty train with my friend heading back home. We both stood at the end of the carriage, heads out of the sliding windows, puffing the smoke. We coughed many times, our virgin lungs did not recognise what we were inhaling. It was becoming very popular amongst teens and most of my friends had already tried it. I didn't know it would lead to a long term addiction. We laughed for hours and ended the night throwing up, but what an experience it was. I was a 14 year old teenager with an over protective mother. A single over protective mother. I could hear her words in my head "cannabis will kill you and you will end up brainless". Wise words from an immigrant mother of two. She only brought us to the UK for a better life. Back home in Iran this place is some sort of magical island. Everyone thinks the Queen is walking around the city shaking hands. How deluded are they. In reality things are very different. This place has it's own share of struggles. Almost 70 million people cramped into a small area of land, but a land of opportunity nonetheless. Humans are valued over here. We have rights, and promised an equal chance to make something out of ourselves. In Iran you are just a number. Forced into behaving Islamic, even if you are not enlightened by Islam. From my understanding, the leaders just want us to follow the right path. A path which would lead us to heaven, as they keep preaching to us. A theological regime with the aims of controlling the people in order for them to benefit. The true definition of eternal freedom, god consciousness. Unfortunately that system does not benefit everyone. People end up hating Islam instead, as they feel like they can't think and act for themselves. They feel forced to do certain things in order to come across religious. The females all have to wear headscarf, not something they practice properly. Most times the headscarf is just about covering their hair. The men have to behave morally correct in order to represent the core principles of the clerics. Live as the prophets of Islam may have lived. I took a deep hit of the cannabis joint waiting for death to come for me. "Cannabis will kill you" still ringing in my ears. I felt a pounding sensation in my chest. Sweat was dripping down my forehead. I saw my reflection in the window of a car, I looked pale. Maybe she is right. Maybe I am going to die.
By Ali Elyas Shahali5 years ago in Criminal
What Are The Do’s And Dont’s Of A Private Detective Agency In Delhi?
A private detective is not as independent as any investigator in the government or anywhere in the world. There are probably many opinions for private investigators and many laws to follow. To be a private detective or investigator many different things need to be kept in mind and you should also know what you can and cannot do. Do not panic because this article will show you some things a private detective can and cannot do. Keep reading to get all the information.
By fida matrimonial5 years ago in Criminal
Crime Scenes and Raspberry Jam
It was my second week of field training when I got my first crime scene assigned to me. At roll call, myself and my partner were told to immediately fall out and respond to the housing project on e163 street. There were numerous buildings in the complex, each in the 10-14 story range for height. One of the first things I had noticed when I had the post earlier in the week were the number of people middle aged and younger walking with limps, canes and in wheel chairs. I mentioned my observation to a cop with a little more time on then me, and he suggested it had to do with the large number of shootings in the precinct. It was as good an answer as any, but it didn't make me feel all that much better.
By Erik Tenkar5 years ago in Criminal
