Study On Economics And Crime

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Many researchers have linked crime and poverty together as one goes along with the other. It is

widely believed that the poor commit more of the crime, at least street crime. However, it is

more linked to property crime, not violent crime (Chester, 1976). Even in rural areas where

crime is less frequent, acts of violence are of similar proportions, and those are often linked to

socio-economic conditions. The poor have a greater motivation to steal to satisfy

their means. They only resort to violence when needed to accomplish the theft, such as in an

armed robbery.

Smith and Jarjoura (1988) wrote of Shaw and McKay’s social disorganization theory,

where poverty was one of three elements linked to higher crime rates. This is especially true of

theft and related offenses. In their research, they found that where a neighborhood had

a high turnover rate and high poverty, violent crime was higher. Greene (1993) proposes that

exposure to poverty and violence creates a predisposition to violence, and he states that half of

all homicides result from interpersonal conflict with another. Positivist criminology states that

criminal motivations are beyond the criminal’s control (Vold, Bernard, & Snipes, 2002).

Arguably poverty is an influence on the criminal, but there is some inconsistency in linking

economic variables with all crime. This may be due to the difficulty of accounting for multiple

variables in research, such as divorce, unemployment, broken homes, neighborhood decay, or

other variables. Many authors suggest that individuals in poor families and communities are

more likely to steal, rob, sell drugs, and otherwise make illicit gains (Crouch, 1996).

Early studies on crime and economic conditions were conducted by Quetelet in France

nearly 200 years ago (Vold, Bernard, & Snipes, 2002). He found that there was more property

crime in wealthy communities, because there was more to steal. Similarly, there was little

property crime was low in poor communities because there was no inequality. Everyone was

equally poor. As for unemployment, there is not conclusive evidence that unemployment makes any one individual more predisposed to crime.

However, on the macro-level, an increase in unemployment is accompanied by an increase in

crime rates. Research problems in this area often deals with the multi-variate causes of crime,

such as: unemployment, poverty, divorce, broken homes, poor schools, poor housing quality,

racial and ethnic mix, residential mobility, and population turnover.

Socio-economic status and classes in society are not a reflection of crime directly.

However, the circumstances of low-class living no doubt provide the conditions that create at

risk residents who are predisposed to criminal behavior. If a person’s success is measured by

wealth, status, and material possessions, the poor may see unlawful means as the only means to

obtain those possessions. Lawful means will not allow them to own a home or get an education.

There is a link between socio-economics and rational choice (Zafirovski, 1998).

An individual looks at where they are economically, and seeks some type of economic

benefit through legal or illegal means. There may be underlying social explanations, such as

poverty, but even then the individual rationally thinks of executing the theft and calculates the

potential risks and benefits as well. A wealthy person makes a rational choice not to steal, but he

also has no motivation to do so, since his standard of living is sufficient.

Rational choice has its critics too. Boudon (2003) argues that rational choice is

legitimate but weak. There are many variables and factors to explain a person’s decision to

commit a deviant act. There are other social factors to consider, even if a person makes a

rational choice in committing crime, understanding his behavior requires an observer to see the

big picture and understand the motivations for his actions. While the decision may be rational,

the underlying circumstances of being poor will motivate many to steal. If a person is starving to

death, it is difficult to resist the urge to steal in order to eat.

Greene (1993) writes of Chicago neighborhoods plagued by poverty and violence. It is

not clear which causes the other, or if that is irrelevant. The point is the two go together. Basic

service workers have cancelled service in some neighborhoods because they are frequently

robbed and assaulted. These crimes are committed by youth who, acting under social learning

theory, learned that they could gain something by violence. As such, even crimes of violence are

motivated by the desire to steal money or property. These same youth are surveyed and indicate

that they fear they will never succeed in life through conventional means. Some blame the poor

educational system in these communities, where it is obvious that none of the students could get

jobs other than at fast food restaurants. Again, good quality teachers do not dare go to those

neighborhoods for fear. So, is poverty causing the violence, or is violence perpetuating the

poverty? Arguably, the social support and social structure is completely gone in those

neighborhoods, leaving perpetual social disorganization.

compiles studies on rural crime, also linking socio-economic conditions to

criminal behavior. Citing other research, he points out there is a positive correlation between

crime rates and socio-economic factors, such as per capita income, inequality, and

unemployment rates. However, there is a negative relationship between crime and the

percentage of the population below the poverty line. More crime occurs when legal

opportunities for gainful employment are denied. His recommendation is that rural areas should

diversify economic opportunities, such as building up industries other than just existing

agricultural activities DeFronzo (1997)

looks indirectly at the relationship between economic condition and crime. He finds a relationship exists between welfare recipients and crime. However, in those homes, there is a greater occurrence of single-family or broken homes. These families and neighborhoods may lack that social bonding or social structure that would reduce crime. The findings do not directly link poverty to crime, but they do link the collection of poverty and social disorganization commonly prevalent in poor neighborhoods to higher rates of crime.

Several theories have been used in this writing to tie-in to the socio-economics of crime. Nevertheless, there are many who are poor but still choose to live a life of high moral standards and to adhere to societal norms. As such, poverty cannot be a lone explanatory variable for crime. Solutions for reducing crime rates based on economic causation are clearly fraught with problems.

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Crouch, B. M. (1996). Looking back to see the future of corrections. The Prison Journal, 76(4).

Retrieved February 20, 2013, from Sage Criminology database.

DeFronzo, J. (1997). Welfare and homicide. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency,

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Greene, M. B. (1993). Chronic exposure to violence and poverty: Interventions that work for

youth. Crime & Delinquency, 39(1). Retrieved April 20, 2007, from Sage Criminology

database.

Smith, D. A., & Jarjoura, G. R. (1988). Social structure and criminal victimization. Journal of

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Criminology database.

Vold, G. B., Bernard, T. J., & Snipes, J. B. (2002). Theoretical Criminology (5th ed.). New

York: Oxford University Press.

Zafirovski, M. (1998). Socio-economics and rational choice theory: Specification of their

relations. Journal of Socio-Economics, 27(2). February 20, 2013 , from PsycINFO

database.