Introduction
In many societies, there is a direct relationship between prevailing economic conditions and crime prevalence rates. There have been a lot of debates on whether limited employment opportunities motivate people to engage in crime. The general belief is that when more people have consistent sources of income, crime rates are likely to reduce. This is because the ability of people in a society to access meaningful work opportunities determines their social status within that society. This paper will discuss the relationship between crime and the economy and how these two phenomena affect social stability.
Poverty and Crime
There are different types of crimes which are committed in the society. There are various factors which motivate people to commit crimes. Individuals who abet or participate in different unlawful activities, do so for personal gain. Modern, free market economies place a high premium on personal advancement and material wealth. In many parts of the world, economies are controlled by the elite, who own big enterprises that generate a lot of profits. There are many people in these economies who do not have adequate sources of income, to satisfy their basic needs. They are poor and deprived, which makes them lack food and shelter. Deprived people are easily tempted to try out criminal activities to earn a living (Week 10 Presentation, 2013, p. 3). Many people who commit violent crimes are driven by poverty and lack of employment necessary for them to live comfortably.
Many people arrested and convicted for different forms of crime are poor people who are unemployed. A study carried out in the U.S. in 2002, showed that many convicted criminals claimed that their inability to get gainful employment was the main reason that motivated them to commit crimes (Bessant and Watts, 2007, p. 82). The study revealed that almost half of the surveyed convicts did not have a good education, compared to their age-mates in the general population. Many people from low socio-economic backgrounds are tempted to engage in crime because they lack required skills and qualifications to get them employed. Criminals who were deprived in their childhood are likely to get involved in violent crimes because they are psychologically affected by their low economic status. The survey also revealed that some of these convicts had taken long without being employed.
Many people who commit vicious crimes live in low income residential areas. In these areas, different criminal activities thrive without interruption because some people who reside there feel that it is the only way to earn a living. It is worth noting that some of the most common victims of violent crime are low income earners. This is because, they live in close proximity to dangerous criminals. These criminals are not afraid to commit murder, burglaries, drug trafficking and armed robberies. People who live in low income neighbourhoods are at a higher risk of becoming victims of crime compared to those living in middle income and affluent neighbourhoods. Bessant and Watts reveal that harsh socio-economic conditions encourage young people to choose crime as the only means to escape their predicament (p. 97). They do not have viable options to generate income to sustain themselves.
Incentive Factor
There are other factors which contribute to high crime rates. It has been noted that the lack of steady incomes tempt some people to commit crimes. However, there are situations where people still engage in crime even when unemployment rates are low. This is because, some people choose to take part in criminal activities because they are more lucrative than legal economic activities. Therefore, these individuals are not pushed into crime due to poverty or unemployment. They are encouraged to run large criminal enterprises to take advantage of existing loopholes in law enforcement. It is worth noting that some criminal enterprises are run by wealthy individuals who have good incomes. These individuals collaborate with corrupt government officials to ensure their illegal activities are not investigated (Davis, 2013, p. 3). They take part in complex crimes which involve many participants willing to benefit from crime proceeds. Some of the most common crimes they commit include tax evasion, racketeering and extortion.
Weak Law Enforcement
Criminals are quick to note any laxity or incompetence by law enforcement officers to maintain law and order. Therefore, they target poorly secured locations which have valuable items to steal because the incentive for such an action is high. Such criminals target individual or company assets such as jewelery, money in form of cash, art collections and sensitive company data. They target poorly secured banks, high- end retail stores, unsecured homes, government facilities and company premises. They use sophisticated systems to intrude into their target locations after compromising security systems used to protect such locations. At times, they work in cahoots legitimate businesses owners, who purchase stolen merchandise from them. Therefore, legitimate business owners create a market for stolen goods. Davis (2013) argues this symbiotic relationship creates an environment in which criminal activities thrive (p. 7). This encourages criminals to take advantage of weak enforcement systems to benefit themselves.
Davis (2013) argues people who are unemployed have more time to plan criminal activities than those who are employed (p. 17). They are motivated to try out crimes which are less risky with huge financial rewards to uplift their status. For instance, electronic fraudsters do a lot of research on their targets before striking. They mainly target websites linked with electronic financial systems of large corporate organizations. They obtain funds illegally from these firms through a series of electronic attacks which paralyse crucial functions in these organizations. A good number of internet fraudsters are people who are well educated and come from middle class economic backgrounds. Therefore, these fraudsters are not interested in getting employed or doing legitimate businesses. They get pleasure from using their skills to defraud legitimate firms (Cavender, 2010, p. 252).
The rise of corporate crime in many places across the world shows that unemployment is not the only cause of crime. White collar criminal activities have been attributed to the ability of senior, influential employees to fleece large organizations without detection. Many executives are involved in embezzle funds which have been set aside for various projects in the organization. They are also involved in various malpractices which cause their organizations to lose huge sums of money.. Their activities are well orchestrated and it is difficult for common law enforcement officers to detect the malpractices (Cavender, 2010, p. 257)..
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many factors which motivate people to commit crimes. The relationship between crime and economy is complex and needs a deeper analysis to understand it. It is necessary to improve law enforcement to deter criminal activities.
References
Bessant, J. & Watts, R. (2007). Sociology Australia. Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwind.
Cavender, G. (2010). Enron’s perp walk: Status degradation ceremonies as narrative. Crime Media Culture 6 (3), 251-266.
Davis, H. (2013). Making sense of disaster. Towards a contextual, phase-based understanding of organizationally based acute civilian disasters. British Journal of Criminology 1, 1-23.
Week 10 Presentation (2013). Crime and Society.