Crime may be the most reliable and inevitable feature of community. Criminal behavior exists in and afflicts every nation, state and town. This book contains the accounts of law, deviance and police actions in Lovell, Wyoming and surrounding communities as originally reported in the Lovell Chronicle. Citizens consistently rate fear of becoming a victim to criminal acts as one of their highest concerns. While the consequences of crime are profound and have lasting effects, social deviance also has a lighter side. Contrary to the movies, criminal masterminds more often reveal themselves as masterfully inept and intellectually challenged. Sometimes criminal efforts are an embarrassment, sometimes crime is ridiculous, sometimes it is absurd. Sometimes, with the passage of time, we can laugh about things where we were the victim or the perpetrator. Rather than a heavy and depressing account, readers will enjoy what are often lighthearted and comical exploits. The character of a community is revealed, to a degree, by the severity of crime and deviance occurring in that community. From the reports of crime and chaos contained within this book, Lovell is likely a place where citizens enjoy the good life.
About the Author: Thomas H. Wicke is a social psychologist, receiving his Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine. He grew up, influenced both by the rural community of Pennsylvania and metropolitan life in the San Francisco/Oakland bay area of California. He earned his BS in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Wyoming during which time he met and married his wife, Laurel Peterson of Cowley. As an academic, Thomas has studied community response to disaster, resilience, crime and the impact of negative social events. He has been published in academic journals and on the White House Social Science Division website. He was honored to consult with the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of Hurricane's Katrina, Rita and the 9/11 attacks. He was a research scientist on faculty at the University of California, Irvine and has been president of several private colleges in California and Colorado. In his professional career, Thomas, has worked in several sectors as well as founding his own marketing company. In this time he invented and co-developed the world's first eco-friendly golf ball. The Dixon golf ball line has received critical acclaim alongside industry leaders like Titleist. At his core, Thomas is a student of human behavior whether it be applied to business, crime, socio-political contexts or consumer behavior. He has always been engaged in his community through religious, civic and other volunteer activities. As of the writing of this book, he and his family live in the Denver Colorado area.