Reasons For The Increased Crime Rate In The City - Essay Example

Mayor Slay Re: REASONS FOR THE INCREASED CRIME RATE IN THE The of St. Louis has been on the news due to its increased crimerates starting from the 1960s throughout 1990s although in 2011 there were declines in the crime rate. However, the rates of property and violent crime have increased in the city despite the decreasing crime rate. This has led the city to be ranked one of the most dangerous cities in the United States. Generally, violent and murder crimes have been on the rise in many states in the United States St. Louis city included. In 2014, the statistics showed that St. Louis violent crime rates increased by 5.3 percent as the overall property and crime rate declined. For example, at the end of 2014 the city of St. Louis had 159 homicides as compared to 120 in the previous year. I believe this rise in crime in St. Louis is due to some factors as discussed below: Ferguson effect I believe the Ferguson effect has contributed to the increased crime rate in St. Louis, and this is after the killing of a young Michael Brown by a white police officer. This shooting happened in 2014, and many people have linked this event to the increased crime in the city based on timing perspective. Though, according to Byers (par 1), explains that there is no clear proof of Ferguson effect in St. Louis increase in crime. Personally, I think that this Ferguson effect had some impacts on the increased crime rates as the public entered the streets to protest against the misconduct of the police. The crime rate increased dramatically in 2014, but it accelerated after the Ferguson shooting and also subsequent protest by the public. However, before the shooting the nonviolent property crime rates were low in 2013 by 15 percent. In addition, this figure grew by 27 percent providing a strong proof that the Ferguson hypothesis of increased crime rate in St. Louis was true. In another perspective, this Ferguson effect appeared to demoralize the police in their normal duties and became reluctant in fighting crimes. Access to weapons The increase in access to weapons in many parts of the United States has been said to accelerate the rate of criminal activities. In the city of St. Louis, guns have flooded the city, and illegal gun market has also increased that threatened the security of the city. These guns are used in the violent crimes and property crimes by the offenders. For example, murder cases have increased in St. Louis than in the other cities as many of the people can access illegal weapons that they use in carrying out some criminal activities. As one of the victim (Michael Shelton) interviewed by the New York Times article, says that, “it’s nothing to get a firearm (Erick, par 3).” I agree with him that access to weapons in the City is not a problem. The cases of 159 homicides are a good evidence of the use of illegal weapons that cause the increase in criminal activities in the city. Therefore, if illegal weapons flood a given population it threatens the security of the area as people are tempted to commit crimes. Race and Class inequality In America, the inequalities that exist in the area pertaining race and class have led to the increased incarceration among the blacks. The blacks are thought to have low levels of education standards leading to little access to economic opportunities hence living in poor conditions. This may lead the black men in engaging in criminal activities to earn their living. These factors can be proved by the racial disparity in the state imprisonment whereby the blacks make up the largest number of the prisoners. For example, the study by Blumstein found that the arrest rates in cases of homicides were high among the blacks than the whites (Pettit and Western, p 152). The racial inequality in criminal activities is often claimed by the victims of the crime as they report the race of the offender. In the United States, the blacks are more likely to be jobless than the whites and this subject them to poverty hence driving them to commit crimes. War on cops There is existing war on cops in St. Louis over the years based on racial discrimination by the police. The killings by the police have been linked to the increasing crimes due to the protest that the public conduct in condemning the police for their killings of the blacks. The case of Michael Brown is a good evidence to show that the police shot him on racial grounds and thus the public have developed negative sentiments about the cops. I agree with the Newsmax.com article that there is war on cops in US as violent crime spike across the United States. This war also makes the police scale back in exercising their mandate and duty fearing the complaints of the public. Although many have denied this correlation, I believe it has a stake in the skyrocketing of crime in St. Louis since the people have realized that they abuse the blacks and thus make the police cautious when fighting crimes. Therefore, these sentiments by the public can be linked to the increased crime in St. Louis as it bars the police efforts in fighting crime. Recommendations The problem crime in St. Louis needs immediate attention to avoid the situation from worsening. One thing I would recommend for the city is to work hand in hand with the Federal government and strengthen their policies on crimes. The City should come up with strict laws governing crimes such as violent and property crimes and ensure legal actions are taken for the offenders. These policies should be extended to ensure the security of the people is given the first priority. However, the city should also come up with a strategy to disarm and control gun possession. Disarmament exercise should be conducted by the police to ensure that the people have no illegal weapons and also put measures to prevent illegal gun market. The city should also ensure it eliminates all the inequalities existing among the people based on class and race. This involves ensuring both blacks and whites get equal treatment especially before the law and also increase economical opportunities for all. This is because the court has been seen to favor the whites and disadvantage the blacks as they make up the big population of prisoners. Education awareness, especially among the blacks, should be encouraged as it can help in reducing the rates of crime. The lack of education among the blacks contributes to their involvement in crimes and also leading to poverty that make them prone to crime. Moreover, welfare programs aimed at fighting poverty among the people can help in minimizing criminal activities among the citizens. The children born from the poor families face life challenges and due to lack of the proper care they end up engaging in criminal activities in order to survive. Lastly, the police need to be honest in their work and arrest the offenders of any offense regardless of their race. This will help gain public confidence in them and also respect the governance of the city as well as the court decisions in criminal cases. Therefore, the city should observe those recommendations to reduce crimes rate in the city. Sources Pettit, B, and B Western. "Mass Imprisonment and the Life Course: Race and Class Inequality in U.s. Incarceration." Sage Urban Studies Abstracts. 33.2 (2005). Print. Erik Eckholm. 2015. Rise in Murders Has St. Louis Debating why. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/11/us/st-louis-puzzles-over-stubbornly-high-murder-rate.html?_r=0 Ashley Gold. 2015. Why has the murder rate in some US cities suddenly spiked? Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32995911 Byers C. 2015. A”Ferguson effect” on crime rates? St. Louis criminologist finds no clear proof. Retrieved from http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/a-ferguson-effect-on-crime-rates-st-louis-criminologist-finds/article_18fec298-eb63-5ad6-ba0e-f96521608456.html WWW.Newsmax.com. 2015. “Sudden Spike in violent Crime Across US Raises alarm.” Retrieved from http://www.newsmax.com/US/crime-violent-homicide-cities/2015/06/04/id/648724/ Read More