Violent Crimes Research Paper

This research paper will focus on how poverty is related to criminal offenses, the source of motivation for committing street crimes among the poor and conditions favoring the occurrence of street crimes. The paper also focuses on how the socioeconomic aspect of the lives of an individual affect their compulsion to commit a crime, people from different socioeconomic statuses and their propensity to commit violent crimes. Finally, the paper points out possible solutions to alleviate poverty and eventually street crimes. Offenders Background and Criminal Activity There is substantial evidence that indicates a causal relationship between poverty and criminal activity. A neighborhood, a city, or a nation with higher levels of poverty translates into higher crime levels. According to Sherman and Lawrence,crime is a product of the irrational decision-making process where the potential perpetrators weigh the risks and benefits of committing a crime.

Individuals deficient in economic resources have greater incentives to committing a crime. The benefits of committing a criminal offense outweigh the probable risks in people with a limited financial supply. Crimes that lead to economic gain rise at periods when public assistance benefits are low. In experimental studies in Texas and Georgia, some offenders received unemployment benefits upon leaving prison while the control group received counseling on job placement but no direct cash benefits. For the impoverished persons, the reward that crime yields outweigh the cost of getting caught especially considering that they have a lower opportunity cost compared to the wealthier people. Socioeconomic Aspect of Criminal Activity There is evidence that unemployment, underemployment, and low salaries lead to high criminal offending activity that includes violent crime and property crime.

Lack of stable employment and income are crucial factors that cause participation in illegal profit-seeking activities that range from burglary to drug trafficking. Employment is also a bond that connects individuals to fellow individuals and institutions in ways that reduce the likelihood to get involved in criminal activity (Cohen et al. There are other confounder characteristics other than unemployment that fuels the crime rate. Crime is higher among the working classes as they have fewer chances to achieve material success through legally acceptable means (Cohen et al. Most of the working class devise other innovative responses to achieve material success through illegal criminal acts like burglary and dealing drugs. Cohen’s Subcultural Theory "Status frustration and working-class subcultures" asserts that the working class continually strive to emulate the middle-class aspirations and values but lack the means to achieve this success.

The lack of means leaves these working class individuals in a status of frustration with a sense of personal inadequacy and failure. In an attempt to solve this frustration, these people reject socially acceptable values and acceptable patterns of behavior. The government should invest in building schools, training teachers, and providing education materials to ensure all children have access to quality education as a poverty alleviation program. Reducing the level of poverty consequently reduces violent crime rates in the streets (Ludwig et al. Creating good jobs in the United States and abroad is a better way to poverty reduction. When people are employed, they have stable and sustainable income hence can live within better living standards and out of poverty. According to Ludwig and his colleagues, unemployment and underemployment has for a long time been the core of poverty (658).

Using microfinance, the unemployed or those with low incomes can get loans to enable them to be self-sufficient and hence alleviate poverty and crime. Community residents, leaders, and the police should ensure enforcement of shared norms of behavior. The persons should also maintain the structure and strengths of social networks within a community that in turn will strengthen the relationship between residents, local organizations, and institutions within that community (Ludwig et al. Vulnerable victims of crime like the aged and young girls among others should take measures to stay safe from likely offenders. They can take actions like making sure they are in the company of capable guardians, and they do not walk alone in potential places of crime. People of low socioeconomic status have a feeling of inadequacy and frustration and in an attempt survive they form criminal gangs that commit street crimes.