Introduction
Race and ethnicity have remained among the most integral discussions in American society since time immemorial. While these concepts depict a correlation between minority groups and the poignant salient aspect of racial conflicts, the penal code is at the forefront of the disproportionate promotion of inequalities in crime prevention. Furthermore, unfair treatment has become synonymous with the minority groups who see themselves as misjudged by a supposedly impartial criminal justice system. Besides, Walker et al. (2018) expound on how correctional programs, victimization, and unconscious bias by the police have become commonplace among the racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S. This paper explores structure in society, income inequality, and wealth concerning race and ethnicity. Also, it proposes ways of addressing these issues in place of crime prevention.
Social Structure, Income Inequality, and Wealth Distribution
Although social structure entails unalterable collective circumstances of individuals, it forms a basis from which issues facing various groups of people are tackled. Also, it is a concept with unreal objectivity whose meaning depends on personal thoughts on the classification of race. In unraveling the mystery of defining race, García (2020) argues that it is an emotional topic that encompasses a variety of emotions such as discomfort, anger, fear, defensiveness, and insecurity (p. 205). Further, he asserts that physical appearance, especially in America, is socially constructed as it forms the basis for one’s origin. Therefore, groups of people define themselves or have specific labels assigned to them by others. Also, he sees race as a category of people whose biological traits are considered important based on shared traits and common ancestry (García, 2020). Besides, ethnicity is portrayed through people’s differences resulting from cultural customs such as religion, language, traditions, and food that are learned. Similarly, it refers to the attachment of a person to a specific group based on their ancestral origin.
While family, law, religion, class, and economy are the main characteristics of a social structure at the micro-level, stratification of class, institutions, and patterned relations among large groups forms the macro phase. As a result, research has shown that race and origin determine the economic status of an individual, and minority groups are segregated based on the aforementioned factors (American Psychological Association, 2017). Therefore, ethnicity forms the basis of a grouping and is linked to the inherent pre-determined conditions for specific people. Also, at the community level, social echelons involve the distribution of people within the local neighborhoods, the composition, and the pattern of their interactions (Walker et al., 2018). Therefore, it shows the interlink between these concepts, and as such, it forms the basis for understanding group dynamics and their formations.
Income inequality is the gap between the rich and the poor in terms of money earned or revenue. This is the disparity of earnings distribution among groups, individuals, social classes, populations, or countries (Amadeo, 2021). Some of the sources include investment earnings, real estate sales, wages, and rent. By 2015 in the U.S., 1% of Americans controlled more than 50% of the country’s wealth, while ten percent of the richest accounted for 88% of all wealth as the bottom 50% of Americans controlled one percent (Walker et al., 2018). Further, it varies due to social factors, including gender identity, age, ethnicity, or race which lead to differences between the poor and the rich; the upper, middle, and lower working classes. Conversely, income and poverty statistics for 2019 released by the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that twenty percent of the top American population represented 51.9% of the country’s earned revenues for the year. Furthermore, they took $254,449 as household income. However, the top 5%, which consists of the richest people, received 23% of the total U.S. income with an average income of $451,122 (Amadeo, 2021). This shows how wealth distribution is disproportionately distributed in America.
On the one hand, the poor bottom population took home 3.1% of the total national income, while, on the other hand, their household average revenue consisted of $15,286 (Amadeo, 2021). In addition, studies carried out in 2014 by U.S. Census Bureau on revenue revealed disparities among the groups. The Asian-Americans had an average family income of $ 74,297, non-Hispanic whites had $60,256, while Hispanics averaged $42,491, with the last group consisting of African-Americans with $35,398 (Walker et al., 2018). Consequently, class and economic segregation of minority groups who are the least earners lead to their inability to afford basic human needs.
Further, these groups have no health insurance, pension plans, or sick days from the companies or employers. This leads to continuous working without early retirement except on medical grounds due to Inequality which not only increases the cost of living but also their vulnerability and susceptibility to sickness. For instance, in 2014, over 15.5% of patients sought Emergency Response (E.R.) since they were not insured or had any medical scheme (Amadeo, 2021). In another study carried out in 2016 on the total wealth divide across the U.S., homeownership was dominated by White families. It was found that 72% lived in their houses as compared to 44% of blacks. From 1983 to 2016, the growth of Latino families’ residential ownership increased by 40%, but also were those of the white population by a 45% difference (Inequality.org, 2020). Furthermore, since the Middle and Lower-classes cannot afford the property, they can move to better neighborhoods leaving the poor groups who continue to deteriorate in wealth creation (Walker et al., 2018). This leads to youths who are not schooled, and due to the surrounding, such kids end up in crime.
Inherited Wealth and How it Promotes Inequality
The concept of inherited wealth has led to various continuous debates on how it perpetuates Inequality among different races in the United States. While highlighting assistance, Walker et al. (2018) assert that it forms an important financial uplift, especially from family or friends during an emergency. He argues that people whose friends and keen have savings are advantaged as they can survive a financial crisis. Besides, due to wealth and income disparities among different groups in America, such help during a crisis is dependent on the racial or ethnic group of an individual. For instance, it has been indicated that 15.9% of African-American families are likely to help each other during a problem as compared to 6.5% of whites and 0.4% of Hispanic families (Walker et al., 2018). He further argues that inheritance has perpetuated the disparities of wealth among generations as it is transferred from one to the other. For instance, blacks have the second-lowest amount for family help of $ 278 while whites receive $589, Hispanics at $383, and $208 for original inhabitants and immigrants, respectively (Walker et al., 2018). This shows the disparities between the races, especially the ethnic minorities.
It has been argued that the media in the U.S. distorts the real picture as it focuses on the few filthy rich children who inherit businesses, fortunes, and trust funds. While analyzing the gap between African-Americans and whites, Walker et al. (2018) point out that Thomas Shapiro had pointed out how inheritance was a transmitter of Inequality. He expounds that Shapiro found out that 25% of whites had a family or relative inheritance with an average of $144,652 as compared to 5% of the African-Americans with only $41,985. Also, the U.S. Federal Reserve estimates that kids in the upper cadre receive $20,000 as compared to those in minorities who get $200 from parents. This can help the rich student to buy property, as indicated in the study, which found that 46% of whites bought houses with family help as compared to 16% of the blacks (Walker et al., 2018). This perpetuates the Inequality for ethnic minorities, even in housing where the property in a rich neighborhood is likely to increase its value as those in poor areas decreases.
Socioeconomic Inequality and Its Effects on the Prevalence of Crime
There are many instances and scenarios which amplify the assertion that social and economic disparities have a direct link to the prevalence of crime. As such, factors such as disproportional crime rates, race and class, criminal justice administration disparity, and neutral race policies form the background in which crime is perpetuated among the aforementioned groups. Walker et al. (2018) expound on the aspect of inability by minorities due to their economic status and how it affects them in daily life. For example, the lack of a cellphone impacts an individual in the justice system negatively and can lead to incarceration. The author explains that before a trial, a suspect from a middle- or upper-class neighborhood can stay in touch with the court through a telephone and is likely to afford bail and be released. On the contrary, his poor counterpart will remain in jail and be sentenced. Also, being convicted has devastating effects on individuals since they are likely not to be employed as a result of their criminal records (Walker et al., 2018). This exacerbates the disparity, which in turn promotes criminology among the groups.
Similarly, the gap between the rich and poor in the U.S. is ever-increasing resulting in classes and neighborhoods based on economic status. While there has been an increase in middle-class African-Americans and Hispanics for the last 40 years, the poor among these groups have multiplied. In addition, the decline of wealth among the poor has a drastic impact, especially the increase in the crime rate. Consequently, as they continue staying in the same environment, the children are exposed to peer influence in the neighborhoods, thus ending up in jail or correctional facilities. According to the National Survey on crime, growing up in such surroundings means that kids are likely to become perpetrators of property and violent offenses (Walker et al., 2018). As a result, the families will incur expenses, and this will affect their medical insurance remittance and lead to loss of jobs and working days, among other negative consequences.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are various remedies to the challenges resulting from socioeconomic disparities. First, a society can prevent criminal activities through the pooling of resources by members and organizing friendship networks, participating in neighborhood groups while resisting and controlling street activities by teenagers. Secondly, through the use of effective community and problem-oriented policing programs to reinforce the established mechanisms and positive organizations in the area. This will enable the people to develop resources that are beneficial to the whole society. Thirdly, the rehabilitation of victims and minors who commit a crime, it can lead to their reformation into law-abiding citizens. Consequently, the implementation of the aforementioned measures will eradicate crime in the neighborhood.
References
Amadeo, K. (2021). The true cause of income inequality in America. The Balance. Web.
American Psychological Association. (2017).Ethnic and racial minorities & socioeconomic status. APS.org. Web.
García, J. D. (2020). Race and ethnicity. In N. Brown, T. McIlwrath & L. T. Gonzalez (2nd ed.), Perspectives: An open introduction to cultural anthropology (pp.204-228). Simple Book Publishing.
Inequality Organization (2020). Racial economic inequality. Inequality.org. Web.
Walker, S., Spohn, C., & DeLone, M. (2018). The color of justice: Race, ethnicity, and crime in America (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.