Crime vs. Economy
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Poverty is the number one contributor of crime. It creates desperation in people and desperate people do desperate things. As the economy continues to slump, more and more people are reaching that line of desperation. When your needs out way your moral convictions, crime is a result. The most increase can be seen in the areas of property crimes such as burglary, larceny and drug use. William J. Bratton, Los Angeles Police Chief says “I see poverty as having a tremendous impact on both spirit and crime, and it is palpable,”* The pattern of crime vs. the economy has been apparent for the last 60 years. Every recession since the 50s has seen an increase in crime. Typically crime increases one year after the start of an economic down turn and it takes another year after the economy stabilizes for crime rates to drop again. We are still recovering from our current recession therefore we do not foresee a reduction in burglary rates over the next year. Burglary rates are particularly tied to the economy though the unemployment rate. Burglary rates have been known to increase by 2 percent for every 1 percent increase in the unemployment rate.** This is particularly bad now seeing that not only are we in a recession but we are seeing unemployment rate not seen since the great depression. Here in Nevada we have been hovering around 14 percent unemployment and have not dropped below 10 percent since January 2009*****. Foreclosures have affected 40 percent of the police agencies in the US. The effects are 2 fold. First more foreclosures mean fewer taxes coming in to pay for police officers and their equipment. Second foreclosed homes attract crime in the way of drugs, prostitution, copper thieves and gangs. “In Santa Ana, Calif., for instance, the police said the large number of foreclosures meant the empty houses were attracting gangs and prostitutes.” * The decrease in tax revenue impacts our schools as well. With less money for our schools and more stresses at home do to job losses, pay reductions and other economic stresses, high school students are dropping out in record numbers. Student are leaving either to find work, turning to crime or simple to remove the only source of stress they have any control over. "Far too often, today's dropouts are tomorrow's criminals. Nearly 70% of all inmates in the nation's prisons did not graduate from high school.”*** The CCSD high school drop out rate for the 2008-2009 school year was 52.7 percent. ****** |
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