Is Poverty a Cause of Crime - Thesis Example

?Is poverty a cause of crime? Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Research method 4 Data collection 5 Review of literature 5 Measures of poverty 6 Causes of crime 7 Data presentation 9 Poverty and crime outlook 9 Causes of poverty 10 Data analysis Comparative trend and analysis. 13 Perspectives on poverty 16 Perspectives on crimes 17 Findings 20 Conclusion 22 References 23 List of figures Fig.1. HHS Poverty Guidelines 7 Fig. 2 2009 Poverty Rate 10 Fig. 3 Major causes of poverty 11 Fig. 4 Crime rates of top rich countries in the world 14 Fig. 5 World Top Ten Poor Countries with lowest reported crime 14 Fig. 6. Poverty in the United States 16 Fig. 7 United States Crime Rates 1960 – 2009 17 Fig. 7. Ratio of police to population in the United States 18 Fig .8. Variables related to commission of crime 19 Abstract The relationship of poverty to crime is undertaken in the study. A validation of the statement that poverty alone leads to the commission of a crime is presented as purpose of the research. Findings of the study will be significant for the future plans of the government in addressing causes of crimes and to put efforts in its reduction. Method of research used is exploratory; gathering and collection of data is done through secondary sources of reliable published data. Findings show that there are other contributory factors, aside from poverty, which when taken together become indicators of crime. Causes of poverty and crime are also ascertained to establish related facts. Your name Subject Professor’s name Date Is poverty a cause of crime? Introduction: Setting of the study is the United States; the goal is to find out if poverty is the cause of crime commitment in this country. This study begins with the hypothesis that crime is tied up with poverty. In this context, it is argued that someone who is poor is a most likely candidate to become a criminal. To validate this statement, a thorough research is undertaken using published data, studies, news and articles that will form a valid foundation for a research analysis and conclusion. However, the scope of the study will be limited to the raw data available pertinent to the United States. Research method. In an effort to specify the relationship between crime and poverty through evidence-based information, study seeks to study the pattern of crime in the U.S., the community’s perception of crime and the relationship (if any) to poverty. My research methodology requires gathering of relevant data from specified documents and compiling databases in order to arrive at a complete understanding of crime and poverty. Specifically, study will be concerned on the following factors: Are crimes patterns changing; what are the trends, and are there contributing factors for this change? The study will use both qualitative and quantitative data collection tools, but is more premised on qualitative position that recognizes the importance of setting the research within the particulars of social, economic and historical context. Data collection Data collection will consist of gathering of data from secondary sources coming from books, published website statistical data, peer reviewed journals, news articles and internet sources. Review of literature Definitions of poverty and crime. For purposes of this study, a definition of poverty and crime is outlined. What is a Crime? A crime is an act committed in violation of the law commanding or forbidding it and for which a punishment is imposed upon conviction Legal definition of the word states crime is a wrongdoing classified by the State or Congress either as a Felony or Misdemeanor (Lectlaw.com). A felony is a serious crime punishable by at least one year in prison. During the term of sentence, a person charged with felony loses certain rights such as right to vote and hold public office. A convicted person is also not allowed to make contracts, get married, suing or keeping professional licenses. A misdemeanor is a crime for which punishment is usually a fine and/or jail sentence of up to one year, but repeated offenses become a felony. Measures of poverty. Poverty is defined as a state of condition of having little or no money, goods or means of support. Several studies provided different measures on how poor a family or a person is. According Boyes & Melvin (2002, p.441) a family is poor if its income falls below a certain level and it is defined in an absolute sense: The U.S. uses poverty level, the World Banks uses per capita GNP, and economists use economic security index. The poverty level in U.S. for 2011 was set at $22,350 (total yearly income) for a family of four. (ASPE.hhs.gov.) The World Bank uses per capita GNP of $755 or less as its criterion of a low-income country. In this definition poverty becomes a relative concept, because the poverty level in U.S. would represent a substantial increase in the living standard of most of the poor people in the world. Economists use “economic security index” to track down the joint occurrence of risks to economic well being. These are major loss in income, a major out of pocket medical expenses, and inadequate wealth to shield these two risks. Hacker, et. Al, 2010, said that if the available income of a household is reduced by at least 25%, either because there is a decrease in income or an increase of medical spending, they are considered insecure if they do not have adequate safety net of “liquid financial wealth”. According to Hacker, the economic security index in the United States increased by 30% from 1985 to 2007 and could have possibly increased to 50% today. A poverty level has been set for purposes of qualifying for certain eligibility for financial programs of the government.. Taken from ASPE. Hhs.gov. following data shows the HHS 2011 poverty guideline Fig. 1. HHS Poverty Guidelines. 2011 HHS Poverty Guidelines Persons in Family 48 Contiguous States and D.C. Alaska Hawaii 1 $10,890 $13,600 $12,540 2  14,710  18,380  16,930 3  18,530  23,160  21,320 4  22,350  27,940  25,710 5  26,170  32,720  30,100 6  29,990  37,500  34,490 7  33,810  42,280  38,880 8  37,630  47,060  43,270 For each additional person, add    3,820    4,780    4,390 SOURCE: ASPE.hhs.gov. It will be noted that as the number of persons in the family increases the poverty guideline increases as well. The poverty guidelines differ also in the states, as it has a separate poverty guideline for Hawaii, a different guideline for Alaska, and different one for 48 continuous states and D.C. in the United States. So it is explained here, that people or families are classified into poverty if their income is less than the poverty threshold. Thus, if their income is less than half of the poverty threshold, they are below 50% of poverty line. Causes of crime Several studies presented evidences for relations of crimes to different factors. The study of Lawrence (2011) suggested that economists, sociologists and psychologists have come up with their own theories why crimes are committed. Lawrence said that sociologists look at social activities and codes; the psychologists study the offender’s mental condition, and the economists look at the impact of poverty on the crime rate. When it comes to social factors, studies of Junes, 2005 and Lowensten, 2004 showed that criminal behavior is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Junes has based this conclusion from evidences gathered from number of twins, family, adoption studies and laboratory studies. Furthermore, a confirmation has been provided that there is more often an interaction between genes and environment that predicts criminal behavior. So, if the individual with criminal genetic factor is exposed to the environment, study shows that there are chances for the person to engage in criminal or anti-social behavior. Lowensten’s article gives more importance to genes as an aspect for criminality because he believes there are genes that are linked to impulsiveness and aggressiveness. Researchers, however, have certainly come far in their progression, to the point where there is a large consensus of the fact that genes do influence behavior to a certain extent. Although not as widely publicized, it is the belief of the author that these same researchers also believe that environmental factors account for what cannot be explained by genes. Therefore it seems obvious to reach the conclusion that an individual's antisocial or criminal behavior can be the result of both their genetic background and the environment in which they were raised. In Psychology, Lawrence refers to psychologists’ belief that the status of mental condition prompts someone to commit crime. This relates to the theory of Sigmund Freud who believed that criminals had disturbed personalities because they were not given proper control in childhood, and is due to lack of proper conditioning. What seems to be appropriate in this study is the theory of economics of criminality, because when a person feels hunger, pain and scarcity, we know that people break laws to survive. A good example here is the case of the prisoners wherein it is perceived that they belong to the lower ladder of society. In the research done by Alex Harris, et al, prisoners pay debt to society, in that 80 percent of prisoners under probation and 30 percent sentenced to jail are often obliged to pay fines or fees. These people often find it difficult to pay these fines that often times takes years to pay after leaving prison so that they are tempted to commit crime again to pay them. These writers posed the solution that if the government wants these prisoners to reenter society as responsible citizens, that it would be counterproductive to impose on them so much post release debt. However, it seem strange that in a 2010 NY Times news entitled “Crime Rates Fell Despite Economy”, the US crime rates fell significantly across United States. The report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation showed that there was an overall decline of crimes in 2008 as compared to 2006; violent crimes declined by 5.5 percent, and property crimes by 4.9 percent.(Savage, Charlie 2010) Data presentation Poverty and crime outlook From the CIA World Factbook, following data has been gathered. United States as of 2011 has a population of 313,232,044. It has 99% literacy rate, and a GDP per capita of $47,000, and a GDP purchasing power of $14.66 trillion (2010 est.). U.S. ranks second in the world comparison in GDP. As of this time, US have a labor force of 154.9 million and 4th in comparison to the world. The county has an unemployment rate of 9.7% ranking it as 106 in world comparison. Likewise, US have a population of below poverty line of 12% as of 2004 estimate or roughly 37 million. Fig. 2. 2009 Poverty Rate In 2009, this level has gone up to 44 million as census data showed (Morelos. 2010). This means 44 million people in U.S. lived below poverty line in 2009, which is $22,000 for a family of four. See Fig 2 at left. Source: Morelos, 2010 In the study done by NPR and thru a joint survey done with Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and Kaiser Family Foundation, findings showed that respondents believed US definition of poverty level is too low. The government said that a family of four with an income of $17,029 is not poor, and this is contested by 64% of respondents by claiming a family of four with income of $20,000 is poor while 42% say a family of four with an income of $25,000 is poor. A contrasting finding is shown by respondents living below poverty level who mentioned problems about food, money for rent and transportation; while those who live above poverty level cited same problems. Causes of poverty Several studies show causes of poverty. Boyes & Melvin (2002 , p. 451) cited conditions wherein people can experience poverty temporarily and indicated that approximately 25 percent of All Americans fall below the poverty line at some time in their lives, nearly 45 percent of the spells of poverty last less than a year, while nearly 50 percent of those in poverty remain there for at least ten years. These authors said that highest incidences of poverty occur among those who are under 21 or over 65 years; and that incidence of poverty is much higher among African Americana and Hispanics than it is among whites. As noted from these studies, , a poor person may be poor because of age, lack of a job, lack of education of place of residence. As to causes of poverty, result of NPR survey showed that Americans refer to drug abuse as the number one cause. Shown below are perceived causes of poverty by respondents in the survey. On the question posed to respondents on the perceived major causes of poverty, following responses are shown (See fig. 3) Fig. 3 Major causes of poverty   200%+ Read More