I threw a paper route in 1966. Yes, I was 13 and holding down a steady job. Other kids had to go ask their mom for money to go buy a soda. I always had money on me and would take my family to dinner on occasion. Anyway, walking with a zippered bank bag, collecting for the paper, I could have as much as $150 in that bag at one time. People knew what was in that bag, but I never felt afraid to walk around with it. Now, bank bag or no, I would not walk down those same streets.
I think parents just don't care enough to teach right from wrong. Kids grow up in an unloving household and turn to crime. Most kids now are simply a by-product of sex.
REBgp, I liked where your post said we used to eat and socialize with our neighbors. Now we hardly know who our neighbors are.