{"id":156546,"date":"2023-06-26T09:24:19","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T07:24:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=156546"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:51","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:51","slug":"from-drug-deals-to-violent-robbery-ex-con-tells-his-life-story-in-lecture-criminal-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/06\/26\/from-drug-deals-to-violent-robbery-ex-con-tells-his-life-story-in-lecture-criminal-career\/","title":{"rendered":"From drug deals to violent robbery: ex-con tells his life story in lecture Criminal career"},"content":{"rendered":"

Criminology students learn why someone would commit crimes, with an ex-convict as guest lecturer. \u201cRobberies were crazy. Violence was a part of it, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cIn one of our robberies, we had to tie people up. That wasn\u2019t fun, man. We didn\u2019t want to hurt them at all, we just wanted the money!\u201d Guest lecturer Martin Miles of Team Enkelband, a reintegration agency for ex-convicts, sits on a desk in a lecture hall in the Theil building. In front of him, over a hundred criminology students are listening intently.<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\t

Lecture:<\/strong> Criminal career (Wednesday, 13:00 in the Theil building, CB-2)<\/p>\n

Lecturer: <\/strong>Abdessamad Bouabid<\/p>\n

Subject: <\/strong>The first part covers theories on criminal life courses, after which guest lecturer Martin Miles talks about his criminal past (the lecture lasts four hours \u2013 a long session, but absolutely worth the time).<\/p>\n

Audience: <\/strong>Over a hundred curious second-year Criminology students.<\/p>\n

Reason to attend:<\/strong> You are introduced to the world of crime. With an ex-convict as a guest lecturer telling his La Casa de Papel<\/em> life story, who wouldn\u2019t want to grab a seat and listen?<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

Drug dealer<\/h2>

The ex-convict recounts colourful stories from his criminal career. Miles was born and raised in the \u2018Katendrecht of old\u2019: a deprived and crime-ridden port area. Miles\u2019 close friend\u2019s grandmother was a drug trafficker. After entering secondary school, Miles started working on the side as a dealer. \u201cEvery morning before going to school, I dealt cocaine in Slinge\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Over the years, Miles built a reputation. His clients were scattered \u2018from Groningen to Den Bosch\u2019. \u201cTogether with friends, I travelled back and forth by train to sell drugs\u201d, he remembers. Business was good on the train as well. \u201cBetween Rotterdam and Den Bosch alone, I would sell at least 10 grams of cocaine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Committing robberies<\/h2>

At fifteen, Miles worked as a \u2018delivery boy\u2019 \u2013 a drug courier \u2013 for a drug empire. \u201cI was paid reasonably well, about 1,500 euros a month, but my boss obviously made millions. His customers were also super rich\u201d, he says. This gave rise to the idea of robbing his boss\u2019s customers. He earned thousands of euros each robbery, which he committed with a few friends. \u201cRobberies were crazy. Violence was a part of it, of course\u201d, he recalls. \u201cBut we didn\u2019t kill anyone or anything, we just wanted the money and nothing else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

After robbing all the customers, he and his friends came up with a new way to earn \u2018easy money\u2019: robbing people coming out of casinos. \u201cThat was wild, man\u201d, he marvels. \u201cWe followed people who had won big in casinos and robbed them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many robberies did you commit in total?\u201d a student asks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know, man!\u201d, Miles replies. \u201cBut it was a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Until then, Miles had managed to stay out of the limelight. His criminal record was spotless until a friend betrayed him. \u201cHe committed a robbery and got arrested. During the interrogation, he mentioned my name\u201d, Miles remembers. As a result, he was arrested and, at nineteen, received an eight-year prison sentence.<\/p>\n

Social pressure<\/h2>

Miles is an example of an \u2018adolescence-limited offender\u2019, a concept that lecturer Abdessamad Bouabid introduced in the first part of the lecture. This is someone whose criminal career builds rapidly in early adolescence and ends when they become an adult.<\/p>\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

\u201cAccording to various researchers, there are two reasons why such a person commits crimes: a maturity gap and social mimicry\u201d, explains lecturer Bouabid. A maturity gap means that there is a gap between biological and sociological maturity. \u201cPhysically, you\u2019re an adult, but your social environment still treats you like a child. You\u2019re given more and more responsibilities, but you don\u2019t have access to privileges like driving a car or drinking alcohol. This creates tension, and tension leads to crime.\u201d With social mimicry, peer pressure is strong. \u201cYou copy your friends to be accepted into the group.\u201d Especially among teenagers who grew up in a criminal environment, this leads to criminal behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Also a nice lecture <\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t