Samantha Ashcraft

Professor Kellner
Crisis Intervention & Peer Pressure
2/28/2017

Crisis Intervention and Peer Pressure take a huge part in todays

society. Back in the 1960s, citizens that witnessed crimes, were scared to
call the authorities when something illegal was going on. These citizens were
asked many questions about why they did not call police, and they just kept
repeating that they were scared. Peer Pressure is a huge part of why these
people were scared. There have been studies that show that when there are
multiple witnesses, rather than one, they are less likely to call for help. Over
the years, people have gotten better with calling for help when it is needed.
Crisis Intervention and Peer Pressure decide who people really are, and
control them by not always doing the right thing.

Deadly Chatter, an article written by Susan Horsburgh and Johnny

Dodd, reveals a story of a twenty-one-year-old named Brandon Vedas, who
had overdosed on his prescribed pills, while on an online webcam and
chatroom. Vedas, known as Ripper on his online chatroom, was dared to
take many of his prescribed drugs all while smoking pot. Trying to prove
himself, of course, he did just that. A few minutes later, he lost all
consciousness. Out of all of his friends that were sitting there watching him,
no one decided to call the police and get this man help. Instead of getting
him the help he needed, his friends proceeded to watch him sit there and
die. This all happened due to peer pressure. The peer pressure took control
of Brandon Vedas and led him to his death bed.

Thirty-Seven Who Saw Murder Didnt Call Police, an article written by

Martin Gansberg, is about a story that happened in the 1960s where 37
people witnessed a man stabbing a woman in three separate attacks, and no
one called the police. Witnesses of the first attack could have saved this
womans life, if they had called authorities right away. Instead they
continued to watch, and the killer got away with taking the victims life. After
the second attack, the victim was able to get into a hallway of an apartment
building where someone had opened their door to see what was going on
and closed the door shortly after, without helping at all. Investigators asked
this man why he didnt get her safe, or call the police. The man continued to
say that he was tired and he had gone back to bed. The witnesses were all
offered crisis intervention to help them with what they had experienced.

The Beauty of Intervention, written by James V Kulis, is an article

about why people dont help in a crisis. Kulis explains in the article, the story
of what truly happened to Kitty Genovese. James V Kulis was ten years old
when the scene of Kitty Genovese took place. He lived in a town right outside
of Kew Gardens, called Richmond Hills. He states that the third attack, Kitty
was robbed, raped, and killed, whereas in other articles, just say she was
stabbed to death brutally. SH&E Professionals came up with steps on how to
report a crime scene. These steps include: Noticing, Interpreting, Taking
responsibility, Deciding how to help, and Providing help. These steps are
believed to stop the issue of multiple people witnessing and nobody calling
for help. SH&E believe that crisis intervention is the best thing for these
witnesses.

Its so hard to believe that all the people that witness all these different
cases, never do anything about it. It always seems to lead to someones
death. The article about the man overdosing on an online webchat, with
many of his friends watching him die, just baffles me. I dont understand
how one can just sit there and watch someone else die. Especially if theyre
my friend! The other articles about Kitty Genoveses murder is just as crazy.
The witnesses of the crime may not have been her friends, but whenever you
see something happening thats illegal, you need to call for help. No matter if
its a total stranger or your mom. I think this issue is less of a problem in
todays society, rather than in the 1960s. I do believe peer pressure is still a
huge part todays society. More as in kids than in adults.

Peer Pressure and Crisis Intervention took a huge part in the 1960s,
but are still huge as of today. Citizens nowadays arent as scared to call for
help when they know something isnt right. The studies that have been
shown where it is less likely for someone to call for help if there are other
people witnessing the same incident as well, rather than if it was just
themselves witnessing the incident. As shown by these articles, Crisis
Intervention and Peer Pressure can take control of someone and lead them
down the wrong path.

Works Cited
Horsburgh, Susan, and Johnny Dodd. Deadly Chatter: Brandon Vedas OD'd on
Drugs while
Internet Pals Watched--and Egged Him on, vol. 59, Time, Inc, 2003.
Kulis, James V. "The Beauty of Intervention." Professional Safety, vol. 49, no.
9, 2004, pp. 41.