Poverty and crime rates Essay

There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread† (Mahatma Gandhi). Poverty is being in a state that is extremely poor and basically inhabitable. The correlation between poverty rates and crime rates has been examined through many different perspectives and by many different people. The majority of people believe that crime rates are higher in more developed countries and lower crime rates in undeveloped countries. Personally, I believe the opposite that crime rates are higher in undeveloped countries and lower in developed countries. There are many factors that affect high crime rates in a deprived country. The factors that affect high crime rates the most are that people in a poor society can not afford what they wish, the crime rates are higher in poor countries because people are not well educated and lastly, the government of a developing country is not as strict compared to the government of a developed country. Therefore the crime rates are higher in an undeveloped country. There are many factors that affect crime rates the major one is poverty. Crime rates are higher in an undeveloped country rather than a developed country since people would tend to steal what they cannot afford. The first factor that would cause a person of a poor country to steal something is if they cannot afford what they want. For example, in Africa many people cannot even afford their personal and physical necessities. The small community of Africa cannot afford enough food to fill up their stomach for a single night and will therefore have to rob food for themselves and their family.. Another reason why people in a poor country would commit more crimes is since they cannot afford the luxuries that they desire. Even though luxuries are not a component of survival they still play an important role in self confidence. For example, Car theft is much more higher in South Africa compared to North America since the people in South Africa cannot afford the luxuries of Mercedes or Porsche and would therefore steal the expensive luxuries that they want to be equal to everyone else. Next, the people of lower income feel excluded from society since they feel that they do not â€Å"fit in† with the rest of the community. For example, if one is wearing bum company footwear and the rest of the people in the community are wearing Nike company footwear then the person whom is wearing the bum company footwear would feel excluded from the rest of the society. This would cause the person of lower income to steal the expensive footwear just so they don’t feel excluded and higher their self esteem. Another reason why people who cannot afford what they want is due to the impact of jealousy on the lower income community’s mind. For example, Kristopher Gutierrez beat one of his best friends after realizing that he had a relationship with his girlfriend Kristopher is charged for aggravated assault1. This shows that jealous rage can cause one to commit any crime for revenge. Crime rates are higher in countries with more poverty since people do not have proper education. Firstly, the education system in poor countries is more weak therefore people in those poor countries are not well educated and do not know what’s wrong and what’s right. For example, statistics show that 121 million children worldwide are out of education2. This shows that children whom are becoming uneducated by dropping out of school at such a young age are not able to realize what’s wrong and what’s right. These 121 children would not be able to pursue their future career and earn a respectable amount of money since they would not have knowledge about the opportunities that are available to them. This would cause the children to get involved into horrible thing such as theft and burglaries. Read more:  Essays About Crime Rate Increase Another reason that causes higher crime rates in a country is due to the weaker teachers in the poor country. The teachers have probably also committed crime in their life. This would cause the teachers with wrong knowledge to teach their students the same knowledge they have. For example, if a teacher has the knowledge that crime and theft is alright and acceptable this teacher would teach their students that theft and crime is acceptable then the students would go off thinking it’s okay and possibly even commit crimes. Another reason that affects higher crime rates in an uneducated country is due to the parents of the students that are also not well educated and are therefore not a good role model towards their children. The children learn these horrible things by their parents. Since each family has their own values the children consider these crimes to be acceptable. For example, the parents of a poor family would probably have to rob clothing for their children. When the children realize that their parents stole clothing for them they will follow their parents and do the same. Additionally, the government systems of poor countries are much less strict towards crimes. Such as, the police control officers don’t carry many weapons and devices since they cannot afford them. In Canada, the police officers carry many weapons around with them such as guns, knives and GPS systems compared to Africa police officers can’t carry many weapons around with them maybe only one and cannot afford to purchase GPS. This would cause the community to think that it is easy to get way with committing crimes. Also, the police would have less control over the criminal since the criminal would bribe the police officer with money and most commonly the police officer would fall into this. Another reason why a more undeveloped country with an easy going government system would commit more crimes is due to the laws and punishments which are not strict and the criminals would feel that the punishment is manageable. For example, in South African countries such as Botswana the government system is less strict compared to a developed country such as Canada. The laws in Botswana for crime is more easy going if you are caught speeding then you can bribe the officer for money although the law in Canada obviously does not allow you to bribe the officer. This proves that the laws in Botswana are much less strict in comparison to Canada. Another reason that affects crime rates in a poor country is due to the fact that people feel committing a crime is easy to deal with and the police force is less committed to their job since the officers know that they would not get in much trouble even if they do not perform their duty properly. The government is less strict. For example, the community of Botswana and Africa feel that it is easy to get away with theft. This makes theft a much more common aspect of their life since it is so easy to commit and so easy to deal with the punishments. If one commits a crime in Canada they feel guilty and very afraid of the horrible outcomes such as all of the punishments and years in prison they have to deal with. Therefore, the population of Canada would tend to commit fewer crimes in fear of the outcomes. In conclusion, the crime rates are higher in an undeveloped country and this is proven by many aspects. Firstly, since people cannot afford what they want. The people of some undeveloped countries cannot even afford the necessities for survival such as food. Also the people of an undeveloped country cannot afford the luxury that they desire they feel excluded from society which causes them to commit crimes to achieve what they desire and to â€Å"fit in† with everyone else. Secondly, in undeveloped countries the society is not well educated. The population that is suffering through poverty does not know what is wrong and what is right. Therefore commit crimes thinking it’s okay to do. The students don’t have a good role model to look up to since the teachers and parents have also committed crime in their past and the parents do not realize it’s unacceptable to commit a crime. Thirdly, since the government system is very weak and not so strict in comparison to the government system of a developed country. Due to the fact that the government system is not strict in a poor country the populations of that poor country feel that it is easy to get away with committing a crime. Also, since the police force is less committed to their duty they become bribed very easily especially with money. Additionally, since the laws and punishments of an undeveloped country are not strict the community commits crimes easily. Overall, it is proven that the crime rates are much higher in a more undeveloped country. Works Citied Bennett, William J. , John J. DiIulio, and John P. Walters. Body count: Mora; poverty–and how to win America’s war against crime an drugs. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Print. Ross, Sherwood. â€Å"OpEDNews- Page 2 of Article: Why Poverty Spreads Across America. † Opednews. com Progressive, Liberal United States and International News, Opinion, Op-Eds and Politics. N. p. , n. d. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. . Short, James F.. â€Å"Crime and Society. â€Å"Poverty, ethnicity, and violent crime. Boulder, Colo. : WestviewPress, 1997. 220-245. Print. Taylor, Blake. â€Å"Poverty & Crime – Fundamental Finance. † Fundamental Economics. N. p. ,n. d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. . Poverty vs. Crime Rates Essay By: Mariam Mirza For:Mrs. Rowley.