Criminality is influenced by diverse social factors and reflects the social situation in a particular country. Also, critics and researchers underline that rates of criminality depend upon economic influences as drivers of antisocial behavior patterns. The relationship between economic and social characteristics and the life consequence of criminal behavior is observed for other events: life expectancy, mobility, automobile accidents, and suicide.
Economic influences on criminality are evident in differences between rich and poor. In many cases, the sex of a person makes it possible to experience various life consequences. The belief that females, who are supposedly physically weaker, are mistreated more often is also inaccurate. Aside from rape, the only individual crime for which women are victimized more than men is robbery with contact. Men are twice as likely to be the victim of an assault or a robbery and 50 percent more likely to experience some crime of theft. Men are also the victims of strangers more than females. Therefore, the idea that physically weaker people constantly fall prey to the criminal has no foundation. Neither females nor older people are particularly prone to criminal victimization. On the contrary, they are considerably less likely to be victims than their counterparts. But, the lifestyles of these community groups may explain this fact better than their actual vulnerability to criminals (Wright et al 2008; Beaver, 2008). The decrease in official statistics is accomplished by simply changing the techniques for recording complaints (Jacoby, 2004). When the same departments are faced with budget cuts and fierce competition for scarce resources with the fire department, sanitation workers, and other local agencies, indications that crime is increasing and law enforcement are imperative becomes socially advantageous (Wright et al 2008).
We live in a world where everything is connected with money. Nothing can be done without it. Everybody wants to be rich, to earn a lot, to live in luxury, not even thinking about poverty as well. Some millionaires try to help poor people by charging some new charity projects, but countries can not help everybody who struggles with poverty. General Assembly fights with poverty, and every year on the 20th of December people all over the world celebrate the day of solidarity in a struggle against poverty. In Africa lots of people starve, they haven’t got homes, they even do not know what are the living conditions, such as clean water, hot water, bathroom etc. These African countries do not have medical care in the necessary volume and many people still try to cure the patients using special herbs, poisons of wild animals etc (Jacoby, 2004).
Poverty is a type of injustice; it is the main world’s problem of today, but it is also a main cause of crime. Of course, nobody knows, when the overworld will live without material problems, when everybody will be satiated, dressed, and will earn that sums of money, which will give him everything he wants. It all resembles Utopia. However, previously meant wishes can not come true, but we can do something for people who require food, clothes, money for a worthy living. This must be the primary aim of the world’s community. But who wants to change this injustice, when people are divided into classes of rich class, middle class and poor people (Jacoby, 2004). The current situation is better than it was even 50 years ago. There are many funds to help, there are some patrons, who give their money for charity, but they are aimed at African countries or the countries of the third world. Also many volunteers go to Africa to help in health care and education. But there exist other countries which need help because people live on a salary which is lower than the living minimum.
Economic crime is a serious problem for the business world, and it has become more and more aggravating with the development of technologies and with the growing availability of internet access. The second big obstacle is the lack of education. Children in backward countries even do not study in primary schools, they do not know how to read and write. But this problem also concerns the developed countries, even the USA, where people with low levels of income can not effort high-level education, which can lead to juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, drug usage etc. Here it is harder to struggle, because the USA is a country with high incomes, and poverty is not ubiquitous as in Africa. But still there are social services, which have the lists of poor citizens, and they may help by providing grants for school and college study (Jacoby, 2004).
The possibilities of committing this type of crime have become wider as value has appeared to be of great value when compared to things. What was a virtual product that could be sold as well at the market as what was a real product and even better? Intellectual capital became a better and more important asset than for instance coal, gas or steel. And ideas and their practical applications were taken advantage of to a great extent due to the widespread use of computers and the Internet Each new technological innovation and each successful case of entrepreneurship was described in media, and nothing seemed to threaten this state of things. On the other hand, there appeared people who were against the Internet and all the innovations it brought with it. They forecasted the appearance of a new type of criminal (Jacoby, 2004). And such a phenomenon as cybercrime was as well predicted to occur. Actually, the latter appeared to be right, and the cyberspace soon encountered cybercrimes of various kinds. And as Wall believes, this does not mean that the Internet failed to live up to people’s expectations. People just are supposed to treat the Internet issues with due care and in a more realistic way to be prepared for a new threat and to be able to confront it decently and effectively. It could be important not only to consider the issues connected with cybercrime in detail, but also to examine the government’s attempts to prevent and fight it, as well as relevant legislation and possible future predictions as for the situation in the cyberspace. But before that it is necessary to define what corresponds to cybercrime as a concept and a phenomenon (Jacoby, 2004).
In sum, economic factors and socio-economic position in society have a great impact on a person and his/her behavior patterns. Individuals from antisocial families experience the highest rates of victimization for most crimes. Household larceny and motor vehicle thefts (where wealthy families are more likely to be victimized) are the two exceptions to this pattern (Jacoby, 2004). The economic factors lead to violent crime. This is true for all violent crimes except rape, where women from poor families are nine times more likely to be attacked than women from wealthy families. Another important difference among income categories is that poor individuals are much more likely to be seriously injured when robbed or assaulted than more affluent individuals. Still, economic factors dominate among all social groups despite their income level. Poverty is one of the biggest problems of the world, and the most insulting thing is that theoretically it may be knocked down, but practically it is impossible to do it in one day or one year. All the changes to fight poverty are to be constant, systematic, and thought over. But in over the unstable world, it is really difficult.
References
Beaver, K.M. (2008). Biosocial Criminology: A Primer. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co.; 1 edition.
Jacoby, J. (2004). Classics of criminology. Waveland press, Inc.
Wright, J.P. Tibbetts, S.G. Daigle, L.E. (2008). Criminals in the making: Criminality across the life course, Sage Publications, Inc.