Crime Rates and Government Involvement
Aaron Tejada
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Professor Matyakubova
5/14/2020
Abstract
In this paper, the topic of crime rates and their increase will be the major cause of discussion. These reasons being mainly unemployment and drug abuse. Religious conflict and immorality also take part in this, but not as much as unemployment and drug abuse. Those without a job will do anything to make money, even if it means selling drugs on a corner and doing fraud as well at the stake of whoever is being done upon. Those who abuse drugs will do things out of the normal when under the influence, especially committing a crime for more drugs. They are addicted, so they will do what they can to keep that feeling. We also discuss the involvement of drug cartels into the mix of crime, they are a massive reason for the increase in crime when it comes to drug abuse and drugs itself. Fighting with other cartels or gangs over territory creates a lot of violence. In the end, we look at how the government gets involved in all of this, what it tries to do to reduce unemployment, or what it can do to reduce it, which also reduces crime since unemployment and crime are closely related.
Crime Rates and Government Involvement
Unemployment
In many parts of the world, crime is rapidly increasing day by day. The primary reason behind the growth rate happens to be the unemployment of many youths in the society. The cost of living continues to rise, and therefore some individuals commit crimes to fulfill their demands and needs. When teenagers meet together in one place and try to look for jobs, they will most likely start looking for places to steal from when the jobs do not work out. " Statistics of crimes in several countries prove that unemployment and crime are closely related" (Adamczyk, Freilich & Kim, 2017). Studies have shown that some property crimes are strongly associated with unemployment, but most brutal crimes like murder and rape are not strongly related to joblessness. Besides unemployment, drug abuse, religious conflicts, and immorality are also reasons of importance as to why crime continues to rise as it does. The government has to take the proper steps to ensure the unemployment issued is curbed; fixing the economy is the fastest way to eliminate crime because it creates jobs. Creating more job opportunities and better wages, should close the gap in economic inequality, and thus a crime.
In the early 1990s, the range of unemployment was low, and so was the rate of crimes. In accordance with these two graphs, this shows that both unemployment and crime are equal to each other because when the unemployment rate is high, the crime rate ends up being high as well. The graph to the right shows the rate of unemployment from 1979 to 2011, it shows two different lines separated by age group. The blue being people from 25 to 54 years old, and the red being 20 to 24 years old. The graph to the left is the crime rate from 1990 to now, as you can see the crime rate drops and rises like unemployment at basically the same times. Most people believe that the increase in unemployment plays a more significant part in crime involvement. Lacking a legitimate source of income also contributes to crimes where the individual involved is in a desperate need for more money if they are not satisfied with the job they currently have. Another reason is that there are many areas where poverty and child neglect rates are high, and there tends to be an increase in the crime rate. " Poverty is caused by a lack of employment, which leads to neglected children to indulge in criminal activities at early stages as a source of income" (Corcoran & Stark, 2018). The particular group grows old, bearing in mind that the only way to access food can be through criminal activities.
Experimental study design proves that there tends to be a link between young people who have been unemployed for some time and crime. Many young teens get into selling drugs because it is quick money. It happens to be a result of unemployment many youths have ended up following after. When there is a reduced number of unemployment cases, the rates of property crimes significantly fall. Assault and robbery are examples of crimes that relate to high unemployment standards because money was used as the primary motivator. It happens as a result of individuals earning low wages because of the lack of financial resources to promote crimes. "When the amounts of monthly happen to be less than the required utilization, crime rates eventually rise; therefore, the economic status of a particular state has a direct impact on criminal activities" (Engelen, Lander & van Essen, 2016). When individuals have a legal source of income, the criminal rates reduce where they do not have to commit crimes as they are already satisfied with their income. The prices of illegal activities lower mostly, the same occasion happens when unemployment reduces.
Drug Abuse & Cartels
The abuse of drugs and the business involved with it is another reason for the increasing crime rate. When someone is actively into drugs and addicted to them, it becomes tough to stop the habit. Drugs alter a particular area of the brain that aids controlling thinking. When sections of the brain are infected, it results in some individuals acting in violent ways when under the influence of the substance. Some people active in drug addiction do not want to be involved in crimes; peer influence is strongly connected. Most periods, the individuals addicted to drugs are often not violent but are prone to acting with bad behaviors because of the stronghold addiction their mind and body carry. The drug cartels contribute to millions of drug-related killings a year. They control much of the illegal drug trade from all over the world and will deliberately execute people for the benefit of their drug operations." Drugs and violence tend to be mostly spread between the cartels, and the reason behind it happens to be claims of owning significant parts of the city where the trade usually happens and obviously for the money " (Ha & Andresen, 2017). Gangs typically contribute to the increased drug-related crimes, as the cartels operate generally. The only difference happens to be the product they are selling in the market. Some gangs may be selling marijuana, some heroin, while others cocaine, which may contribute to these gangs fighting against each other when a particular group gains more. They may also be against a specific group, in which case the others may try to evict them from the area, causing significant chaos and violence in the community that may even hurt people who are not involved in the shootouts.
In places where individual gang members are higher in the chain of command than the rest, the rates of crime tend to be increased, and the rates of individuals abusing drugs. They control essential things in the region, and if a rival gang tries to oppose their role, they suffer the consequences, which is death. Communities involved in high drug and crime rates tend to be surrounded by multiple gang members fighting for territory ownership. The use of guns and many weapons becomes the order of the day in areas that lead to deaths and accidents. Many urban areas of the drug trade usually consist of low-income individuals because the cartels take advantage of the opportunity that there will be a lot of profits because of the addiction that will come with daily usage due to the social-economic status of the people. In particular areas, drugs and violence go hand in hand, and so the homicide rate increases because drug abuse has a significant influence on that society. " Individuals who suffer from addiction usually perform the act of crime because they are unable to afford the price of certain drugs they use often. So bad that these acts portray a bad image of the addiction disease making the few addicted to drugs believe that addicts are violent and dangerous" (James & Smith, 2017). These individuals use violence to achieve their goals; they purposely hurt people in society and commit crimes for the benefit of profits.
Morals
Morality tends to be a system of ideas that consist of right and wrong conduct relating to the moral standard values set by a particular society. Several theories have proven specific criminal behavior acts happen to be a failure of proper moral development in the nation. Usually, good morals are learned from teachers and parents as they are the first role model of any child in development. Morals are developed from a young age where every kid had to be valued as for the whole society where everyone was involved in promoting ethical values. Immorality helps to contribute to crimes in a society where criminals happen to be a result of not having traditional values. Some immoral children are sent away from their homes by the parents, and that eventually results in crimes. There are several cases of immoral adults, and they go to the extent of raping young girls. This act is linked with the corrupt values those men posed. Many juvenile offenders happen to be associated with low levels of moral reasoning; therefore, the likelihood of involvement in criminal activities rises, it becomes a repeated cycle of prison and crime for the youth as they get older. When there are fewer morals in society, there happens to be an increased number of crimes. The lack of good morals in a family structure eventually contributes to the high crime rate. Major crimes are part of moral breakdown, where recovering the right moral code happens to be the way that society can survive criminal activities.
Religious Conflicts
Religious differences have actively promoted the rise of crime rates in the various communities where different religions occupy. The range between Islamic and Muslim power struggles has led to outbreaks of violence affecting even the Christians. Many parts of the world have experienced terrorism acts motivated by religious hatred, thus violating spiritual codes and encouraging criminal activities among the groups. “ The rise in religious violence has become a global concern and affects many religious groups” (Ha & Andresen, 2017). Violence influenced through religious intolerance usually rises from the beliefs that a particular group happens to be superior to the rest. That kind of abuse often gets support from politics in that geographical area who may be opposing one specific religion. Muslims have the belief that Allah is greater than any other religion, and for this reason, they commit terrorism to the faith that does not support their culture. In some cases, as when the state and religion get entwined, mass criminal violence may occur. Examples of this are the conflicts in the Middle East, specifically Syria.
Income Inequality
Income inequality and crime rates happen to be primarily connected where low-income persons indulge in criminal activities to acquire more to meet satisfaction. It has a significant effect on the increase in crime in society. The country's economic growth has a crucial influence on reducing incidences of crime because of the reduced inequality of income gap and, a more productive economy brings an improving impact on the level of poverty, thus implying that alleviation of poverty reduces crime. The desire to become more productive and have a contributing force to society provides ways of approaching inequality of income. " Better wages, availability of jobs, and secure opportunities, provision of self-development initiatives programs will aid in eradicating crime that led to low-income people committing violence" (Wendel, Dhondt, Curtis & Hamilton, 2016). When inequality of income gets looked at, efforts at minimizing the income gap provides a long-term solution to crime issues, for the weak and unsecured targeted, more affluent residents.
Government Involvement & Solutions
To control the rate of the various crimes in society, the concerned government and other programs should start measures to deal with the issues that actively promote the growth of these crimes. The government has a vital role in controlling the rate of unemployment cases among youths. Trained youths should be engaged in income-generating projects that will occupy them and, at the same time, provide a source of income. Job opportunities should be created for both skilled and unskilled among the people in society to prevent the increased number of young men who quickly get involved in crime. They should be provided with high wages not to get tempted to join the illegal activities. The government ought to focus on economic growth to eliminate criminal activities through job creation. Once the economy of a country grows at a high rate, it responds directly to increasing employment. The government should consider the change in the national labor act to make sure the companies and other employers increase the wages of the employees and curbs the unemployment issue. Regulating the methods used in advertising job opportunities helps every individual to access the information evenly. Every record of the unemployed person and the skills he has should be readily available for all employing industries.
Young people should be provided with enough training and education to fit into the labor market. They should also be equipped with more important professional and practical skills that will benefit them in the future. The government should also fund various projects and initiatives started by the youths as it happens to be a way of creating jobs in the society. “ Schools and other institutions have a significant opportunity to discuss and educate the matters of criminology to young people even before completing their careers” (Wendel, Dhondt, Curtis & Hamilton, 2016). It leaves them fully equipped with proper knowledge of self-campaign in facing challenges in society. The government takes action in restricting the supply of drugs and fighting with the cartels involved.
Developing more rehabilitation centers will provide easier access to addicted individuals, where they will be able to recover through support. Private agencies, together with the government, should conduct educational programs about hate crime awareness and prevention through schools to communities that need it. Government agencies facilitate the training of teachers, members of the clergy, and business leaders that generate a secure and healthier community where crimes occur. Firm local policy and educational efforts reduce the tendency of not reporting any incidence of crimes. Governments' role in society happens to be securing the rights of every citizen and, therefore, should protect the religious group from rival attacks. Ensuring peace and harmony among faithful by a government helps promote a peaceful state, which supports the community's growth. Through its social obligation, the government enforces excellent ethical and moral value standards in society through the cultivation of a culture of ethical values.
Conclusion
The various crimes that affect our society reduce the growth and development at large. Unemployment, drug abuse, religious conflicts, and immorality happen to be significant reasons behind the growth rate of various crimes in the society. The country's economic growth has a crucial influence in reducing incidences of crimes because reducing inequality of income gap and a more prosperous economy improves the level of poverty, implying that reduction of poverty reduces crime. To control the rate of the various crimes in society, the concerned government and other programs should start measures to deal with the issues that actively promote the growth of these crimes. The government has a vital role in controlling the rate of unemployment cases among youths.
References
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