Reducing Crime by Introducing Employment
Reducing Crime by Introducing Employment
Cities are often crowded by people who hail from low financial backgrounds. These people often do not have basic needs prompting them to engage in crime to buy life essentials like food and clothes. A 2022 report by Safe Home shows that the local agencies reported 3.9 million crime cases to the FBI in the USA (SafeHome.org, 2022). The poor people in society are the suspects in most of these criminal cases. Every federal and local government would want to reduce such crime incidences or eradicate them. This can be done by introducing employment opportunities and welfare support programs for the poor people in society. These programs foster peace and reduce the crime rate in major cities globally because unemployment, poverty, and government negligence of the low class are the major causes of the rise in crime rates.
Unemployment is a major contributor to the rise of the crime rate globally. People need jobs to earn income that helps them afford basic needs. When they cannot secure a job, some people may opt to engage in crime to get money to buy essential life needs. According to Omboi (2020), most youths who do not have legal ways to earn income in urban centers turn to crime. They steal people's money, electronics like phones and laptops, and other belongings they can resell to get money. Others steal cars and dismantle them before selling them to garage owners as spare parts. Another section of youths may opt to engage in crime as a way to protest to the governments and private sectors about unemployment, while "unemployed youth are the main target for terrorist group and political violence" (Omboi, 2020, p 80). Providing employment opportunities to such youths will help them make ethical decisions that foster peace and reduce crime rates. They will have legal sources of income that will help them pay for essential bills, thus drawing them away from crime.
Poverty is another major contributor to the increased crime rate in cities. It refers to the state of having little income or few material possessions and can have diverse economic, social and political effects. People will opt to engage in crime to get resources to ensure they continue to survive (Blattman et al., 2017). For example, a street family living in New York City will steal from people to get money to buy food for their homeless families. Such a homeless family may also steal and use the money to buy a home in the most remote places to settle their families. In such cases, welfare programs play a key role. An example of what welfare programs do is settle the homeless families by giving them a home and piece of land they can comfortably stay at. Governments agents and private parties can contribute to the initiation and execution of such welfare programs targeting the poor members of the society. This will ensure that members from these families do not engage in crime, thus fostering peace and reducing community crime rates.
The low-class society members in many states complain of neglect by the federal government. When campaigning to be elected into the leadership, most people mobilize the poor society members to vote for them, citing that they will introduce reforms to help them get out of poverty. However, they forget their promises once elected, and most of the development reforms implemented by these leaders often target the working and the upper class. The low class remains in their abject poverty, unemployment, and discrimination. Muggah et al. (2018) assert that many of the society members "are already raised in households struggling with poverty, debt, discrimination and limited educational and employment opportunities" (p. 11). This leaves the low class, who are often poor members of the society, without any development programs to help them live comfortable lives. The neglected people's easy way out of poverty and to get money to buy essential goods and services is to engage in criminal activities like robbery. The federal and local governments can develop welfare programs like settlement schemes for the homeless. They can also set aside unskilled labor jobs for those who did not attend schools for lack of fees and sponsor students from these classes willing to continue their education. If federal governments could develop such welfare programs and provide employment opportunities for these people as they promise when campaigning for election, the crime rate would decrease, fostering peace in the society.
In conclusion, crime rates and peaceful coexistence in society are highly dependent on the employment rate and availability of welfare programs. The poor and low-class members form the largest proportion of the people engaging in crime and disrupting the peace. Providing employment opportunities keeps criminals busy, diverting their minds from crime. It also provides them with income sources to fund their basic needs. In the same way, providing welfare support keeps the homeless and the less fortunate comfortable and empowers them. This fosters societal peace and reduces crime rates.
References
2022 crime rates in U.S. cities report. SafeHome.org. (2022, February 15). Retrieved March 3, 2022, from https://www(dot)safehome(dot)org/resources/crime-statistics-by-state/
Blattman, C., Jamison, J. C., & Sheridan, M. (2017). Reducing Crime and Violence: Experimental Evidence from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Liberia. American Economic Review, 107(4), 1165–1206. doi:10.1257/aer.20150503
Muggah, R., Garzón, J. C., & Suárez, M. (2018). Mano Dura: The costs and benefits of repressive criminal justice for young people in Latin America.
Omboi, G. (2020). Influence of Youth Unemployment on Crime Rates in Mathare Constituency, Nairobi City County, Kenya. Kenyatta University.
Reducing Crime by Introducing Employment
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Abstract
Many headlines today have reported a surge in crime rates in recent years. Most of these crime cases can be attributed to the high unemployment rates in low-income neighborhoods of the United States (U.S.). Various work-crime relationship theories associate criminal behavior with unemployment and abject poverty, with most suspects coming from poor societies, such as the Latino and African Americans. Engaging poor communities in active labor markets may create substantial changes in their livelihoods and minimize their potential to commit crimes. To evaluate the impacts of employment on crime, this paper analyzes current research and identifies the possibilities of employment to reduce crime. Data from previous research offer further support that employment positively affects the rate of crime. Ultimately, this study moves beyond the current literature by elaborating on the patterns of the work-crime relationships to find out the strong association between employment and crime. Employment is a key variable when analyzing crime rates because it influences the low-class population's social and economic organization/satisfaction.
Reducing Crime by Introducing Employment
Introduction
A broader view of this topic indicates that crime is a hyper-local problem with significant impacts on the large industrial composition of any nation. On average, many American cities experience a rising rate of violence and crime due to a sharp rise in unemployment. Notably, a large percentage of the population in the metropolitan areas makes up the low-class communities. Due to high unemployment rates, these locations harbor the poorest families who enjoy minimal social benefits, such as health insurance, housing, and education. Many family members in the American cities consider engaging in criminal offenses to survive. Unemployment cases have risen sharply in the last decade and led to higher cases of violent crimes in the cities. Finding a job makes it easier for these populations to desist from criminal behavior in many ways. Reliable research can help identify how a high job entry can change the possibilities of such income-related offenses.
Statement of the Problem
Recent data indicate a sharp spike in crime rates across different cities in the United States. Many low-income families in the large cities can barely acquire adequate living standards due to high unemployment rates (Houston& Bernstein, 2000). They do not get enough opportunities to engage in the active labor markets due to low educational levels and a lack of professional skills. As a result, they develop negative emotions that trigger their desire to commit crimes. For instance, cities like Detroit and Seattle are crowded with an unskilled labor force working in low-paying jobs. This group lives below the poverty line and forms the largest section of many American cities. The hunger and frustration that result from unemployment are visible in their criminal activities (Lee, 2019, p.2). When unemployed, they miss out on the informal social and economic control obtained from work. Tend to live in poverty due to the reduction in opportunities to earn a living and live a standard life. They also experience lower self-esteem because they can’t afford to pay their bills and maintain a good lifestyle (Fallesen et al., 2018, p.263). Such poor living conditions prompt them to conduct illegal income-generating activities to survive. Lack of employment opportunities forces individuals and their families to use crime to draw out their financial and social challenges. Hence, there is a strong association between unemployment and high crime rates in major cities.
Thesis Statement
There is a close relationship between employment and crime reduction. Even though employment may not be the only determinant of crime rates, it is a significant pathway out of crime (Lee, 2019, p.4). Major cities in the U.S. have reported significant crime reduction after an increased engagement of low-income communities in labor markets. Being employed brings more benefits to these communities through increased income. The low-wage sector has remained the most important opportunity for the unskilled labor force, forming a larger percentage of the low-income communities (Muggah et al., p.14). There is sufficient empirical support for improving the educational and economic opportunities for low-income populations to enable them to earn a living. It implies that increasing employment levels in the nation may help the low-class population start working and desist from crime. Empirical evidence on this issue also suggests that gaining work opportunities can help the low-class population earn wages and stay out of trouble (Modestino, 2017, p.3). Therefore, employment is a critical intervention approach to dealing with the rising crime rates in major cities. When the disadvantaged communities engage in active labor markets, there is a high opportunity to earn wages and avoid criminal activities.
Justification That Proposed Solution Solves Problem is Feasible and is the Best Solution
The first explanation of the employment-work relationship involves a rise in investment opportunities. Full employment of individuals from low-income neighborhoods may increase their minimum wages. As a result, the low-class societies may not feel neglected by the government and can easily stay away from criminal offenses. Being employed enables these people to develop stable livelihoods to afford their basic needs comfortably (Shaw, 2010, p.24). Those who get an opportunity to work are likely to shift their attention from the more dangerous criminal offenses due to an improved social/economic status. However, the viability of this concept arises from the fact that increased employment rates can create and maintain stable wages among the low-class communities. Low-class families are the most affected due to their weak school and work records. A rise in employment rates between 1990 and 1997 helped ameliorate the low-wage markets through increased pay and favorable work conditions in the low-wage sector. As a result, unemployment rates dropped sharply, leading to a 30% fall in the crime rates (Houston& Bernstein, 2000). Examining the labor markets indicates that unemployment and crime rates decrease when employment rates increase. When people start working, they spend most of their time on the job and have little time left to engage in crime. Employment of the youths from poor neighborhoods enables them to remain attached to their work and families (Wadsworth, 2001, p.50). This outcome validates the changes in their norms and deters any form of delinquent behavior. Therefore, employment is a pathway to conformity and explains the main cause of many crimes today.
Another important explanation to this question involves the ability of people to make positive transitions. Many people tend to make positive changes whenever they start working. On the contrary, they may consider making negative changes whenever they stop working (Lee, 2019, p.2). Employment programs that focus on the low-income communities can help reduce their potential to commit income-related offenses. A good example is the low-income communities, such as the Latino and African Americans, who are likely to increase their work readiness and social skills whenever they intend to join the labor markets. De...