[qwerty456127]

After having a similar childhood, I concluded criminals normally avoid targeting small children - I haven't been mugged until becoming a teenager.

[SoftTalker]

Small children don't normally carry anything of much value.

[eru]

Yes, and also just as scarcely any a robber wants to become a murderer, similarly people will shy away from violence against kids.

Both for moral reasons, but also because the penalties are tougher.

(And not just the legal penalties. I would assume you also run a higher risk of a bystander rushing in and becoming hero. And of your prison mates later ganging up on you. People _love_ children, not just their own, and many would gladly give their lives for them.)

[Aeolun]

Nintendo Switch?

I’m more inclined to believe that most criminals don’t entirely lose their sense of shame.

[eru]

The Switch is cheap.

[qwerty456127]

Not as cheap as a life of a stranger in a big city.

[eru]

Yes, much, much, much cheaper than the life of a kid.

Used electronics don't sell for much these days, especially the Switch which barely hits around 300 USD new. And then you have to find a fence, and potentially deal with serial numbers being tracked (especially when it comes to violent crime against children, even lethargic police spring into action).

[ofrzeta]

Back then that might have been the case. Now they might carry a high-end iPhone.

[bobthepanda]

That can get remotely locked and declared lost, so really just a paperweight if it gets stolen.