Existing Relationship Between Poverty and Crime

Introduction

One of the key factors noted regarding its contribution to crime is poverty with security analysts arguing that the existing relationship and crime is somewhat evident. Lawrence (2000) explains that increased exposure to debt creates a situation where individuals tend to find it much more comfortable in their engagement in crime considering that this paves the way for their ability to meet economic obligations. In slum areas, the crime rates tend to go higher when compared to suburbs, which acts as a clear indication of the fact that poverty is a leading factor contributing to increased crime rates. When exposed to poverty, people find themselves in a situation where it becomes hard or challenging for them to meet some of the set out economic expectation including meeting some of their basic needs. From that perspective, this research paper will seek to highlight the existing relationship between poverty and crime with the focus being on evaluating how poverty acts as a contributing factor to increased crime rates.

Background of the Issue

Crime is one of the leading social issues affecting the majority of the countries around the world with most of the people finding themselves in situations where they have been victims of crime in one way or the other. Mehlum, Miguel, & Torvik (2009) argue that increased cases of crime in the communities instill some form of fear among the people resulting in a situation where it becomes hard for them to engage in economic activities such as businesses. Security analysts argue that although it may be somewhat challenging in finding a lasting solution to the issue of crime, it is important to evaluate some of the key contributing factors that the society may be able to control in a bid to reducing crime rates.

Poverty has been identified as a leading factor contributing to a crime taking into account the fact that most of the societies that find themselves in a situation where poverty rates are much higher the crime rates tend to be much higher when compared to ‘rich' social institutions. According to statistics from the World Bank, an increased number of people are facing the risk of poverty considering that the cost of living is rising at a rapid rate. In such cases, most of these people find themselves living way below the poverty line. Thus, this creates a high possibility that these people will engage in different forms of crime as part of ensuring that they meet some of their set out economic objectives. Ultimately, this seeks to highlight the overall relationship occurring between poverty and crime whereby poverty acts as a contributing factor to increased crime rates.

Poverty as a Characteristic of the Economic Situation

Poverty can be viewed from multiple perspectives in a bid to understanding how it contributes to an increase in crime rates. One of the critical aspects that can help to understand the issue of poverty is the fact that poverty arises as a characteristic of the economic situation where people tend to find themselves in a case where it becomes hard or challenging for them to meet their financial expectations. For example, every individual is expected to create that positive avenue from which to ensure that they meet some of their basic needs including housing, clothing, and food. However, poverty creates a situation where people find it hard or challenging to meet these economic expectations, thus, creating a high likelihood that these individuals would engage in crime.

The existence of poverty exposes people to a situation or scenario where it becomes some challenging for them to meet a specific range of their economic obligations. For example in the issue of housing, most people find themselves in a situation where it becomes hard for them to afford decent housing due to the existence of poverty. On the other hand, poverty can be viewed as a relative element to living standards whereby people facing or experiencing poverty tend to have a lower living standard when compared to the ‘rich' people in the society. That can be seen from the fact that most of the poor people live in ghettos and slums, which are congested and lack some of the essential amenities. From that perspective, it is clear that poverty creates some form of desperation among the people, which may lead them towards engaging in crime as a way of improving their economic livelihoods.

Exposure to such situations becomes exceptionally challenging for adolescents and young adults especially in cases where some of their friends or peers come from the ‘rich' neighborhood. Ultimately, this creates a high demand for these individuals to engage in different forms of crime as part of ensuring that they would be able to meet or match some of the set out economic goals and objectives. The long-term outcome of such situations is that the society is exposed to increased crime rates with most of the perpetrators of these crimes being teenagers and young adults. Pare & Felson (2011) indicate that dealing with crime requires concerted efforts from which to ensure that the people do not find themselves in situations where they are exposed to the harsh realities of poverty. In such cases, it may become somewhat tricky in determining or reducing the possibilities of these people engaging in crime.

Poverty as a Determinant of Stereotyping People’s Thoughts

Alternatively, it is essential to take note of the fact that increased exposure to poverty creates some form of stereotypic approach regarding the way people think especially on the issue of building their economic positioning. In such cases, most of the people facing severe effects of poverty tend to believe that the only way that they would be able to deal with poverty is through engagement in crime. Fourchard (2005) argues that most of the people facing poverty tend to have what would be considered as stereotypic thinking revolving around the fact that they tend to believe that poverty can only be dealt with through crime. Consequently, this results in a situation where most of the societies facing essential effects of poverty tend to have a high number of crimes especially serious crimes such as homicides.

Poverty tends to have a significant psychological influence on how the people think to take into account that it becomes hard for the people to control or determine their economic positioning solely due to the existence of crime. The stereotypic thoughts that influence people towards engaging in crime arise from the fact that other people in the society tend to create what would describe as sidelining of the poor people. Thus, this means that the poor find themselves facing increased challenge or issues in their bid to dealing with poverty, as it becomes hard for them to find relevant employment that would help support their economic positioning. The long-term effect that this would have is that it creates the psychological influence for these people to engage in crime as part of building the prospective avenues that would allow them to propel their economic positions.

The issue of poverty resulting from stereotypic can be seen clearly from the fact that the minority communities, which include the African American and Hispanic communities, tend to experience higher poverty levels when compared to other communities. The differentiation arises from the fact that members of these communities tend to experience a wide array of challenges in their bid to ensure that they can secure appropriate employment. Additionally, the segregation of these communities when it comes to issues such as housing also creates the need for them to engage in different forms of crime as part of building their capacities from an economic perspective. Ultimately, this acts as a clear indication that the existence of poverty will account for the increasing crime levels in the society considering that poverty tends to have a crucial influence on whether people engage in crime.

The Cycle of Poverty and Crime

Considering that poverty entails an economic situation whereby individuals do not have adequate resources to meet their basic needs, this becomes a motivating factor for the individuals to engage in criminal activities in a bid to meet their needs. According to Mehlum, Miguel, & Torvik (2001), a majority of low-income families tend to remain in poverty for as long as a three-generation period thus forming the cycle of poverty. The sequence of poverty and crime refers to a situation whereby poverty and crime are transmitted in families thereby making the future generations to experience poverty thus engage in criminal activities. The cycle of poverty and crime in the society is influenced by various factors that affect the ability of individuals to break the cycle and overcome poverty. Ludwig, Duncan, & Hirschfield (2006) mention that the key factors that mitigate the cycle of poverty in the society entail lack of education and knowledge, unemployment, and ignorance. Based on these factors, most people in the organization find themselves in situations where they cannot provide for their basic needs such as food and shelter.

The cycle poverty continues elevating criminal cases in the society where people engage in activities such as robbery and fraud in order create a platform for meeting individual needs. According to Šileika & Bekerytė (2013), studies indicate that criminal activities rates tend to increase with the increase in economic instabilities in any given region. Additionally, research suggests that majority of criminals tend to have a history of poverty cases in the family background thus explaining the vicious cycle of poverty and crime in the society. Exposure to the cycle of poverty and crime, create a situation whereby it is difficult for individuals to break the cycle. This brings about uncertainties in an individual's ability to define and determine their future based on their current situations.

Unemployment, Poverty, and Crime

Unemployment refers to a state whereby people of a working age fail to get jobs that allow them to meet their basic individual needs. Various factors contribute to the increase in the unemployment rates within a given region thereby the necessity of implementing different measures that would be necessary for overcoming the unemployment rates in the society. According to Hooghe, Vanhoutte, Hardyns, & Bircan (2010), unemployment rates among the young people leads to idleness, which in turn results in the engagement of criminal activities. Another issue brought about by unemployment in the society is the rise in poverty levels where members of a given population fail to meet their basic needs. The relationship between unemployment, poverty, and crime is evident considering that one aspect leads to another thereby making crime to be the end factor. Majority of the youths born in needy families tend to lack adequate opportunities to obtain proper employment that may help in overcoming the poverty levels thus ending up to engage in criminal activities.

Considering the relationship between unemployment, poverty, and crime, it is necessary that the government focus on dealing with all the aspects that contribute to poverty in a bid to fight crime and enhance security within a given population. The first significant step that would be necessary for overcoming the increasing criminal activities in the society entails fighting poverty. In this case, the government should focus on streamlining employment through the provision of empowerment programs that create a platform for individuals to embrace various forms of employment including self-employment. This helps in building an individual's economic position, which is critical in overcoming poverty and consequently dealing with the increasing criminal activities.

Increasing Wealth Gap

Another key factor to note is that poverty arises from the fact the wealth gap in the society is growing at a significant rate with the rich people find themselves in a situation where they are becoming richer while the poor are becoming poorer. Vieraitis (2000) views this situation as an economic injustice considering that most of the people find themselves in a position where they are categorized as either poor or rich. The ultimate effect of this is that most of the people classified as poor focus much of their attention on finding activities that would be of value towards boosting their economic positioning. Crime acts as one of these activities, as it not only offers them with an avenue for increasing their wealth but also provides them with a significant opportunity of gaining considerable ground in reducing the wealth gap.

From that perspective, it is evident that crime acts arise from the fact that the wealth gap creates some form of stereotypic understanding on what people ought to expect regarding boosting the expected economic positioning. One of the key aspects to note is that the increasing wealth gap has had notable financial burdens on the poor people considering that it becomes somewhat challenging for them to meet some of their set out financial demands. Most of these people tend to experience essential challenges in trying to boost their overall economic abilities considering that they face severe effects of poverty. The ultimate impacts of such situations are that most of the people tend to reflect much of their attention on engaging in crime as part of ensuring that they would be able to match or meet some of their economic standards to reduce the wealth gap.

Conclusion

In summary, the existing relationship between poverty and crime is evident from the position that increased poverty levels tend to act as a critical contributing factor resulting in increased poverty levels. In slum areas, the crime rates tend to go higher when compared to suburbs, which serves as a clear indication of the fact that poverty is a leading factor contributing to increased crime rates. Poverty creates a situation where people find it hard or challenging to meet these economic expectations especially in meeting economic obligations. Most people find themselves in a situation where it becomes hard for them to afford decent housing due to the existence of poverty. Poverty tends to have a significant psychological influence on how the people think to take into account that it becomes hard for the people to control or determine their economic positioning solely due to the existence of crime.

References

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