CIJD Book Review | AWK

UAM Participant - Summer 2025

What I took away from "Crime Is Dumb" is that one bad decision can ruin your life. A single moment of poor judgment—especially when you know better—can have consequences that last forever.

Greed should never control your actions. Sometimes, people want things not because they truly need them, but simply out of desire. Acting on those wants without considering the consequences can lead you down a path where you lose everything. You might not lose your life in the traditional sense—not in a casket or coffin—but you can lose your childhood, your chance to grow, and your future. Instead, you become just a number in a system you never even realized you were a part of until it was too late. All it takes is one dumb decision.

Is it fair to be trapped in this system, especially when you didn’t fully understand the consequences of your actions? One day, you just wanted something; the next, you’re handcuffed, your best friend is hurt, and everything has changed—all because of your choices. That kind of experience changes you. You’re no longer a kid growing up; you’re a kid lost in a system, surrounded by people who made their mistakes later in life. They had a childhood—you didn’t.

Now, you’re stuck fighting your emotions, trying to survive, realizing this is your new reality. This is your home, your life, your childhood, and your adulthood—all taken away.

The book honestly portrays what it’s like to lose everything. When you walk through those doors, you don’t just lose your freedom—you lose your sense of self, your safety, and your identity as a child. You become just another person who made a terrible mistake. Now, you have to fall in line.

That’s what I took from this book.

The system is what it is: if you do good, you might be treated well, but nothing stops the system from being what it is.

Nothing changes the fact that one bad decision . . .

can take away

E V E R Y T H I N G!

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