Crime, Criminals, and Evil
New Jerusalem, despite long acquaintance with strange and often unexplained events, views itself as a New England town isolated from and superior to the divisive problems and crude dangers of cities—an island of civilized virtue in the countryside, carved out of the wilderness by energy, thrift, and probity, held together to this day by respect, religion, and education, a place superior both to the hive-like cities and to the ignorance and filth of rural backwaters.
Education is important in New Jerusalem mostly as the passing-on of received truth, which should be not unduly disputed, analyzed, or reinterpreted. Free inquiry decently exists only in business dealings and in the obligatory tip of the hat to the long-ago Protestant rebels in far-off Europe.
Murders, kidnappings, burglaries, disappearances, fisticuffs, and drunken and indecent behavior traditionally occur among the poor, especially the immigrant poor, not among New Jerusalem’s respectable families, who ignore or never learn of such matters. The occasional burglary of a fine home or an important shop reaps headlines; the disappearance of the Stolkowski’s youngest child doesn’t much raise an eyebrow.
Street Gangs
Made up of teenage boys who have little future and lots of time, New Jerusalem’s two main street gangs, the Rocks and the ‘Finns are ethnic Italian and Irish, respectively. They incidentally lie, cheat, and steal, but mostly they gather together to swear, boast, and gain respect. They never cause trouble in wealthy neighborhoods because they know that there the police must be unmerciful. Occasionally a new, ambitious leader arises, but an O’Bannion thug either hires him or has him beaten until he flees town. Large fights between the two gangs have been infrequent lately, because territory boundaries have been observed. That can easily change.The Evil Coven
Ancient whispers and dark rumors say that a cruel and secret group has plagued New Jerusalem since the town's beginnings. What truth there may be to these dark suggestions is unknown, but many are quick to blame any odd occurrences or misfortunes on witches even in the supposedly well lit and educated twentieth century.
Type
Illicit, Other
Location
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