ASSIGNMENT 4: Final paper Investigate a Social Issue

By

June 07th , 2014
SOC 100
Instructor: Professor NAZER

In recent years, the relationship between crime and economy crises has been highly studied by economies and has sparked up interest among members of the general public, the media, policy makers, and criminal justice practitioners. Although there are many conflicting ideas on how the economy downturn affects crime rates, it is reasonable to study how crime rates have varied in the past and recent years. Taking a closer look at the current economy trend in the United States, both federal and state budgets have been affected as well as individuals. Many people have been laid off their jobs because the state cannot allocate money for them to be paid. Hence, many such people look for other means to raise money for survival including property theft and other related crimes. It is therefore convenient to say that more people are willing to commit crime in a declining economy so as to meet their daily needs, though it could be a difficult hypothesis to test. Bad economics leads to property theft and robberies as criminals steal items they cannot afford. Since 2008, there has been an increase recession in the United States as said by data from police records. However, the FBI in 2010 release records of a drop in violent crimes but not property theft and robberies. This can be seen on the media reports and even major adverts on the streets such as bus stops where a particular figure is been put up on the board as wanted. Another example can be seen in such stores as the gas station where usually a printed picture of an individual is shown as wanted. Usually, people arrested for committing robbery crimes are mostly jobless. For example, statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistic shows that, since 2010, the rate of unemployment has been reducing slowly. In May of 2014, the rate was at 6.3 percent but the number of unemployed persons remained unchanged at 9.8 million, with mostly teens and adult men being unemployed. Teens and adult men are mostly vibrant and will be willing to commit crimes for commodities they cannot afford. Mostly, not all theft or robberies are accounted for. Sometimes, large grocery stores such as Giant, Shoppers, 7-eleven or small stores like the gas stations that sell mainly food items and are victims of theft that go unaccounted for. Occasionally, some people walk into the store and carry food stuff out without paying. The only thing left of them is a picture in which case the culprit may never be found. Just recently, I walked into a gas station store on Minnesota Ave. and saw three picture of individual who were marked as wanted for robbery. Furthermore, public transport systems such as the bus and subways are other major sites for property theft. For instance, on May 30th, I was on the bus coming home from work when a boy of about 20 years old snatched a cell phone from the lady who was sitting next to him and escaped. Mostly cell phones and luggage are abducted from users of this means of transport. It is also very evident as the media has taken upon themselves to recount the stories of property theft and inform people to be careful with the people around and also to enhance collective security. Nowadays on the subway, the system has put in place an automated recording that warns individual to handle their property with care especially gadgets which are mostly reported missing. It becomes a great public concern when everyone talks about a missing item all the time. Most often, such theft go without notice because the people steal coveted goods they cannot afford such as cell phones, cigarettes, and a pack of chips or a soda.
Moreover, some people will commit crime just to go to jail or will escape and return to jail because the situation in jail is better than in the outside world. For example, on the 1st of January, a man convicted for burglary and possession of forged instrument in Kentucky returned to jail one day after escaping because he could not handle the cold. This is the reason why most people who get out of prison have a very high probability of returning to prison. This is also because many jobs will not hire people with criminal records, so they feel frustrated and would commit crimes that lead to jail term. This is seen mostly on application forms which ask for conviction status. Also, with the stress on the economy, most high profile jobs and training programs are very expensive. Hence, many people are unable to pay for such services and with the degree of unemployment rates, there is usually very little to do but commit crimes. Statistics form the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that majority of employment rate occurred on jobs such as “professional and business services, health care and social assistance, food services and drinking places, and transportation and warehousing.” These are high profile jobs which a lot of people cannot afford the training especially business and health care services. In most cases, certain individuals left unemployed will be willing to steal because they cannot afford their basic needs.

Looking at the current economy decline in the United States, budget cuts have setbacks on various individuals and businesses. As the source of available funds continues to decline, public goods and services have suffered in terms of their funding. Many people have been laid off jobs and very few of them have sufficient funds to care for themselves. In May 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a record that indicates that the number of people who lost their jobs or people who completed temporary jobs declined by 218,000 and the number of unemployed reentrants increased by 237,000 offsetting the unemployment decrease in April. The theory of “Criminal Motivation;” economic crises or stress causes an increase in criminal behavior, shows that a bad economy is a motivation for an increase crime rate. Usually, with a bad economy, the law enforcement agencies are usually last to cut back on workers because they are convinced that crime wave will increase and therefore increase the need for these agencies. Most often, laying off workers usually includes prejudice and institutional discrimination. This means that many companies or business discriminate when a bad economy sets in. They may cut back on a particular group of worker because of their race without considering their qualification. This sometime is the main reason for homicide and violent crimes. For example, some people argue that the motive behind the mass shooting in Navy Yard on September 24 2013 was due to revenge of a setback. Even though others say it was because of related mental issues, many are convinced that the shooter was on a revenge mission of being laid off his job. Usually, the concept of crime and punishment will lead people to killing themselves after committing such crimes, which is what always happens or the criminal ends up dead in a gun fight with law enforcement officials. For example, just recently on the 23rd of May in Santa Barbara, a 22 year old boy was killed in a gun fight after going on a gun rampage. Besides the fact that economy crises increase crime rates, there are others who argue that a good economy increases crime rate. It is said that when people have more money, they buy luxurious goods and flaunt them around. It is a time when motor vehicle theft increases. Moreover, more people have money available to pay for drugs and alcohol which most often leads to violent crimes. This is not very logical because when the economy is good, more people are employed, fewer people are laid off jobs except in cases of misconduct. Furthermore, people will be able to afford a very basic need which is the cause of property theft in the first place. For example, according to the Department of Work and Pension in the UK, the first six months of 2013 showed an increase in employment rates. Also, this same period showed a decrease in crime rate of up to 7% as shown by the Office of National Statistic. At the same time in the US, the FBI released statistics showing a decline in violent crime and property theft, with a reduction of unemployment rate as compared to the previous years as shown by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Also, with many people working and funds available more funds will be made available for those who cannot afford certain services which is what does not happen with a bad economy. For instance, in the UK, in 2013 with the high employment rates, there were only a few young people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance. Hence, a bad economy will do more to increase the crime rate or the need to commit crime than a good economy will. With the increase in crime rates, there are also increasing number of people who suffer from the criminal acts. Some effects of crime are long term while others are short leaved. When the culprit of a crime is arrested and sentenced to very long jail terms, they become separated from their families. Children grow up without their parents and this may have a negative influence on them. They either grow up adopting the ways of their parents or develop mental issues from trauma. Also, violent crimes such as mass shootings often leave families without their loved once hence this brings about traumatizing experiences. On the 10th of May, my cousin was attacked by armed robbers while coming home from a soccer game with his team mates. A member of the team was shot in the head. Until today, my cousin is unable to recover from the shock. In other respects, one crime leads to another. With victims of a particular crime feeling that the offender did not get the right sentence for a crime, they will willingly commit a crime just to get in the same prison and kill the offender. This mostly can be seen in New York City and also in many movies nowadays. It is therefore important that with the tools and technologies available, we should be able to detect warning signs for increasing crime, and warn the public. Also, secretary general Ban Ki-Moon emphasizes that economist use the resources available to detect when we get hard times so people can be warned or effectively prepare for the outcome. This will help reduce the crime rate. Finally, it is eminent to say that more people will commit crime in a downturn economy. Usually, people are unable to survive with only a few pennies especially in this our world where every good or service is very costly. Hence, many are willing to go out of their way to get what they need. Even though crime is very episodic and there are alternative arguments to the concept of economy and crime, it is important to know the warning signs of crime and find ways to reduce its effects on others. Even though it is sometimes not clear why people really commit crime but, a bad economy will motivate people to commit criminal acts.

References

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