The Wire Paper

“The Wire” was a television program that aired on HBO from 2002 – 2008. It has received 2 Emmy nominations and is a critically acclaimed program that had received very positive reviews when it was still on the air. The characters on the program, both criminal and judicial, are all well-developed, rounded characters that help to display a realistic view of life in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the criminals on the program is a man named Omar Little. Barack Obama stated that Omar Little was his favorite character on the program: “He is not my favorite person, but he’s a fascinating character– a gay gangster who only robs drug dealers and then gives back. But he’s the toughest, baddest guy on the show, and he’s gay. He’s a fascinating character” (Goldman, 2009, p. 1). After watching several episodes of The Wire, it is easy to see why people like this character, even though he is a known criminal who has committed robbery and murder several times. Omar Little is a homsexual, black male, who is seen spending time with boyfriends, yet, he goes against the gay stereotype of being sensitive, and kind, and is one of the most dangerous criminals in Baltimore. He isn’t afraid to pull the trigger of his gun, and he participates in robberies of dangerous drug lords as well as getting involved in inter-gang rivalries. He displays a passion for poetry, and for Greek mythology (shown in Season 2). For a character like Omar Little to be understood, it is important to realize that he is not a good person, he is not a role model. His criminal behavior is daunting and appalling and should not be praised. However, it is the way he commits his crimes, his strict moral code, his way of speaking, and his incredible display of intelligence that leads the audience to ask the question: “Why is Omar Little a criminal?”.

To answer that question, it is important to analyze the different theories of crime that help us understand how and why people commit a crime. The Developmental Life Course theory and the Rational Choice Deterrent Theory are both theories that we can apply to Omar Little. The Developmental Life Course Theory or Age-Graded Life-Course theory is one possible explanation as to why Omar is a criminal. The Age-Graded Life Course Theory is a theory created by Rob Sampson and John Laub. Sampson and Laub created the theory after analyzing data collected by earlier criminologists in the 1940’s (Sampson and Laub 1992 p. 17). The data required a weekly monitoring of many young children until they become adults. Sampson and Laub found out that some of the troubled boys that were first analyzed, eventually ended up in trouble with the law for the majority of their lives, while others lived very conventional lives and had no legal problems. This variation lead Sampson and Laub to ask why some of the troubled kids turned out well and others didn’t. They came up with this theory, and explained that “the causal relationship between early delinquent offending and later adult deviant behavior is not simply and only a product of individual characteristics, but that social events may also change some individuals while others continue to commit offenses” (Sampson and Laub 1992 p. 5). In a DVD-released prequel to The Wire, Omar Little is shown a little kid with his older brother Anthony. Even as a young child, Omar is seen showing the same intelligence and moral code as he displays in Seasons 1 – 5. However, Omar was taught by his brother how to commit robbery and was put into the criminal world at a very young age. Throughout his development as a child to an adolescent, to an adult, he was raised in the criminal world. His parents were not involved in raising him, and due to the financial struggles his family faced, and the life choices that his brother made, he was put into a position where he believed that crime was an accessible, and legitimate means to provide for himself and his brother.

However, simply looking at the Age-Graded Life Course and attributing it to why Omar chooses to live the life of a criminal, isn’t enough to explain Omar’s choices and decisions to rob and murder. The Rational Choice Deterrent Theory is another theory that helps to explain the character of Omar Little. Rational Choice Deterrent Theory is a theory developed from many other earlier versions of the rational choice theory model, which was mostly contributed to by Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham (Kozey, February 9, 2011). In order to understand why people engage in deviant and/or scandalous acts, many researchers have begun to focus on the element of personal choice (Kozey, February 9th, 2011). An understanding of personal choice is commonly based in a conception of rationality or rational choice. The essential points of this theory are: (1) The human being is a rational actor, (2) Rationality involves an end/means calculation which that actor calculates themselves, (3) People freely choose their own behavior, non-deviant or deviant, based on the rational calculations that they make, (4) The central element of calculation involves a cost benefit analysis: Pleasure versus Pain, (5) Choice, with all other conditions equal, will be directed towards the maximization of individual pleasure, and (6) The Swiftness, Severity, and Certainty of punishment are the key elements in understanding a law's ability to control human behavior (Keel, 2008, p. 2).

The Rational Choice Deterrent Theory can be used to explain why Omar Little is a criminal. Omar Little chooses to commit certain crimes over others based off of rational calculations. It would be unfair to claim that Omar can get another job and completely abandon the criminal lifestyle, or “the game”, but there have been opportunities for him to leave, and he chooses not to do so until the beginning of Season 5 after he makes a considerable amount of money from a robbery.

For one, Omar lives by a strict moral code that is not seen in any other character in The Wire. Even Stringer Bell, with his superior intelligence, and his idea of creating a legitimate business for the Barksdale organization, does not live by nearly a decisive and clear moral code that Omar has created for himself. Omar refuses to rob, murder, or do anything illegal to someone that is not involved in “the game”. He views woman as equals, rather then “hoes” to mess around with, which is often the case with many of the crewmembers of the Barksdale Gang. Omar also never commits a crime on Sundays, as it is a holy day. This code is how he views right from wrong. He has a solid understanding of ethics and morals. This, along with his intelligence, means that he is aware that what he is doing, criminally, is wrong. He knows that what he is doing is illegal. He is rationally aware of the choices he is making.

To further prove this point, it is important to explain why Omar chooses to rob the Barksdale crew rather than an easier target. In Season 1, Omar has made a name for himself as a stick-up man. He had robbed the Barskdale gang several times, and because of this, his boyfriend is captured, tortured, and killed. This provides more motivation for Omar to rob and murder any member of the Barskdale crew. Omar makes a rational decision to only focus his criminal activities on the Barksdale gang because he wants revenge. Although he never states this, it is seen over and over, and even commented about by his crew-members, that he is particularly obsessed with only attacking members of the Barskdale gang. The pleasure of seeing the Barskdale Gang crumble outweighs the pain of the possibility of being arrested, or worse, being murdered. Omar Little fits into the Rational Choice Deterrent Theory perfectly.

An article by Henri A Bérubé called “An Examination of Alarm System Deterrence and Rational Choice Theory: The Need to Increase Risk” discusses the idea of alarm companies, increasing the security and effectiveness of their alarms, in order to prevent burglary. If criminals feel that robbing a home is too dangerous, meaning, the cost outweighs the benefits, then that criminal will not rob that home. This is a practical idea that many people believe to be true. The Rational Choice Deterrent Theory states that people make rational decisions, that criminals always outweigh cost vs benefits. If the cost is higher then the benefits, then the criminal will not participate in that crime. Well, if this was true, then why does Omar, knowing that the Barksdale Crew put a bounty on him, and will shoot him at sight, continue to steal the drugs and money from the Barskdale stash houses (houses where the drugs and money are kept until they are sold). Berube, however, also sees the other side to this argument. He states that alarms as deterrents may not be the best course of action for alarm companies to take. Berbube claims in his article that advances in technology have resulted in a significant change in the fundamental nature of burglary. Burglary is an increasingly profitable business, to which alarm systems may no longer pose a significant risk of apprehension. This means, that burglary has become so profitable, that the benefit will always outweigh the cost. He believes that alarm systems should not be trying to become deterrents, but should become a way of helping the police catch the criminal after the act is committed. He provides valid points on both sides of this discussion, and believes that since criminals are rational beings, that they will make their own choices, regardless of their fear of going to jail.

Another article which also discusses the Rational Choice Deterrent Theory is “So 'prison works', does it? The criminal careers of 130 men released form prison under Home Secretary, Michael Howard” by Ross Burnett. This article discusses data collected from a 1992 study that was used to support the conservative government’s claim at the time that prison was working. The study was completed by collecting data for 130 male offenders lives through prison and 10 years after prison, to see if they resorted back to their criminal ways, or if they actually reformed. The study found that many of them decided to commit the same crimes that landed them in jail in the first place. The subsequent criminal careers of the majority of the sample contradict an assumption that imprisonment has a deterrent impact. The study proves the legitimacy of the Rational Choice Theory. Like Omar, these prisoners analyzed their lives, and decided that crime pays, and that the cost of their crimes did not outweigh the benefit.

Both the Developmental Life Course Theory and the Rational Choice Deterrent Theory help to explain why Omar commits to a life of crime even though he is a very unlikely criminal. Omar was taught as a young child, how to commit robbery. His brother and friends took him in as a part of their crew, and he never looked back. Although Omar is an intelligent, homosexual male who lives by a strict moral code, he still makes a rational decision to avenge his boyfriends death by robbing and murdering anyone in the Barskdale Gang, the crew that was responsible for carrying out “the hit” on his boyfriend. Omar Little is a fascinating character with a lot of depth. However, he is not unlike many other criminals. He makes rational choices to commit crimes, he chooses to rob the Barskdale House even though he knows it can cost him and his friends their lives. It is for these reasons that these theories can be applied to Omar Little.