Every step you take I’ll be watching you
By following his co-worker everywhere and leaving her gifts, Joe is committing an instrumental crime. Instrumental crime is one committed as a stepping stone to achieving something that a person cannot get by using other means (Youngs, Ioannou, & Eagles, 2016). In this case, Joe believes that he cannot get Mary to date him or to be close to her because she is married. Because he cannot express his feelings to her, he chooses to follow her around and leave her gifts as a way to keep himself close to her. However, this can be termed as stalking in criminal language. Factors such as low self-esteem, desperation, and irrationality may contribute to such a crime committed by Joe.
To rationalize his behavior, Joe will argue that he is not harming his co-worker in any way and that, in fact, leaving her notes and gifts is an act of kindness. He would even justify that following her around is a way to ensure she is safe.
The reason why some people commit crimes, while others do not is entirely subjective. However, culture and reasoning contribute a lot to the commitment of a crime. Some cultures view some actions as being wrong while others do not (Lauritsen, Rezey, & Heimer, 2016). Similarly, someone’s reasoning capacity and critical thinking can lead them to commit or not commit a crime. For example, if culture permits one to hit another as a way of showing control, then they are likely to do so. But if they use critical reasoning, despite the cultural norm, they would not hit another person.
If I were in Joe’s shoes, I would not behave similarly. I would first ask Mary if she was married, and if she was, I would stay away. If she was not, I would express my feelings and ask her out on a date. To me, following someone around counts s being criminal.
References
Lauritsen, J. L., Rezey, M. L., & Heimer, K. (2016). When choice of data matters: Analyses of US crime trends, 1973–2012. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 32(3), 335-355.
Youngs, D., Ioannou, M., & Eagles, J. (2016). Expressive and instrumental offending: Reconciling the paradox of specialization and versatility. International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology, 60(4), 397-422.