This week I interviewed a criminology Professor at St. Edward’s University.This interview was informative and very interesting for me. When Professor Andresen pointed out that the most prevalent crimes in Austin are substance abuse crimes, such as underage drinking. This shocked me because when you hear the word crime you automatically think of murder or assault or theft, however alcohol abuse being the most common crime is understandable. Austin has UT and St. Edward’s University which means there are a TON of college kids which translates to underage drinking-especially with Sixth Street just down the road.
This fact makes crime a definite Wicked Problem because underage drinking doesn’t have an easy, clear cut solution. Professor Andresen said that some ways the city of Austin has tried to solve this Wicked Problem are: drinking and driving enforcement, and focusing on bars who overserve or serve to minors. However, he also said that not much is done to bars that create problematic situations. This means that the rules/guidelines for bars are being overlooked for them to gain more revenue from those that are underage drinkers. This is an issue that definitely needs to be looked into so we can find a better way to stop the abundant amount of drunk driving.