Term Paper on "Unequal Socioeconomic Conditions in American Cities Lead"

Term Paper 5 pages (1766 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Unequal socioeconomic conditions in American cities lead to violent crime (Judith and Peter Blau, 1982). These researchers suggested associations between violent crime rates and social factors such as; population size, ethnicity, income, educational level. Thus, the degree of inequality in socioeconomic status (SES) may be related to criminal behavior. Additionally, people from a low SES background are vulnerable to negative events in their lives such as single parenting, social isolation, and unemployment. Although social inequality offers diversity, social inequality is an issue that causes harm in a growing society, it results in turmoil at the same time.

Social status also alters the way we perceive things and limits available opportunities. Being assigned a particular social class based on the amount of money you have, the location and size of your home, your health, and how educated you are contributes to problems in society. The position that is held Although, crime is often associated with low socioeconomic status, there is great difficulty in proving that criminal behavior is related to social economic status (SES). However there is a substantial body of evidence that supports various components of inequality are related to higher crime rates. Inequality in socioeconomic status between races is associated with higher crime rates. Levels of all types of violent crime are associated with the level of inequality between blacks and whites. This supports the suggestion that inequality among races may lead to an increase violent behavior. However, the influence of race itself is small compared to the effect of inequality among races.

Race is many times associated with the neighborhoods where minorities live. General income inequality in the community as a whole is associated with higher criminal behavior. Conversely, high-poverty neighborhoods are more likely to be physically deteriorated and to have more crime and street violence, greater availability of illegal drugs, and more negative peer influences and negative adult role models (McLoyd 1998; National Research Council 1995). There is evidence to support that higher rates of crime occur in inner city minority housing projects. Additionally, from 1980 to 1990, nearly 19% of residents of low-status suburbs were minorities. Research has indicated that even after controlling for family income and years of schooling, minorities were still three times as likely as whites to live in low-status rather than high-status suburbs. One possible explanation is that minorities choose to live in less advantaged suburbs because there is a strong preference to live near other minorities and in proximity to the central city. These characteristics of high-poverty neighborhoods may have deleterious consequences for the cognitive functioning, socialization, physical health, emotional functioning, and academic achievement of children and adolescents, which results in higher rates of criminal behavior (Ellen and Turner 1997). However, Blau and Blau (1982) argue that the general level of inequality in a community (considering all races together) directly influences only those crimes which involve relatives, friends, and regular associates.

Drug use is associated with a higher level of criminal behavior and subsequent incarceration.

Many drug users turn to criminal behavior, but have not yet been caught. Drug use is reportedly higher among lower SES. Although treatment programs are available in lower SES communities, drug use continues to be a major contributor of criminal behavior in these communities.

There are various ways of examining whether or not a person's position in the social world will contribute to the amount of crime that occurs. Pertaining to youth crime, there are many different opinions and correlations as to why youth commit crime. The most popular notion and stereotype that is held is that the lower class youth commit more criminal activity than that of the middle and upper classes; however, it is extremely difficult to prove either due to the lack of factual information. Recent changes in the structure of families, and the consequences for the family incomes of children and adolescents, have eroded the support that many adolescents receive as they grow up. As single-parent families spread during the past four decades, the proportion of children in such families rose from 10% in 1965 to 27% in 2001 (Ellwood and Jencks 2002). Single-parent families are associated with lower SES and higher rates of crimianl behavior among youth.

A prison record and current employment are also two important dimensions of socioeconomic status (Bonczar, 2003). Prior incarceration has adverse effects on future socioeconomic status. Incarceration and the time spent in prison destabilize marriages and reduce the standard of living of the free partner and their children. Marriage and the greater economic security that usually accompanies marriage are less likely for unmarried men who have served time. Thus, parents that have served time in prison are more likely to propagate the same behavior in their children directly and indirectly through broken marriages. Therefore leading to a cycle of low socioeconomic status and criminal behavior.

Inequality in socioeconomic status is strongly associated with levels of divorce, which in turn are strongly associated with all forms of violent crime. The growth in single-parent families was a major reason for the increase in the proportion of lower SES from about 15% in 1970 to 23% in 1993 (Proctor and Dalaker 2002).

Employment is also related to criminal behavior. The higher the likelihood that a job seeker from the relevant group has a criminal record, the more likely of unemployment. Changes in the family have affected two-parent families as well. Higher rates of participation in the labor force by mothers in two-parent families have helped to maintain family incomes, but they have also created stress for families and difficulties in caring for and supervising children and adolescents. Although the strong correlation between single-parent families and low income, it is difficult to distinguish their effects. Both factors seem to influence criminal behavior among adolescents (National Research Council 1995). The more minorities are jailed and released back on the streets, the more reluctant are employers to hire them. Minorities, as a result, have lower chances of employment, good wages and advancement. Therefore, minoroties have greater incentives to commit crime, which eventually leads to more of them being incarcerated or ex-convicts.

Policy approaches to reduce the adverse impacts of incarceration

Economic stress may diminish the emotional well-being of parents, which has direct and indirect negative effects on children. Adolescents growing up in families under economic stress or with a single parent may be poorly supervised and often gain autonomy too early (Dornbusch et al. 1985) leading to increased criminal behavior. Unsupervised adolescents are more likely to engage in criminal behavior (Richardson et al., 1993). Low family income has been associated with early sexual activity, cigarette smoking, adolescent pregnancy, and delinquency (National Research Council 1995; Blum et al. 2000.

The main settings that influence the way children and adolescents grow up include families, neighborhoods, and schools. The quality of these settings, and whether they are supportive and nurturing or dangerous and destructive, has a profound influence on adolescents' chances for leading successful adult lives, or engaging in criminal behavior. Blau and Blau suggest that negative social situations such as marriage breakdowns are associated with lower SES and are related indirectly to higher incidences of rape and robbery.

The following are important determinants of criminal behavior:

1. Being convicted and serving time has negative effects on future employment and earnings prospects via several channels

2. Black men are disproportionately incarcerated and disproportionately serve more time in prison, especially among the poorest educated

3. Incarceration rates have risen over the past 30 years for black men at all educational levels, both absolutely and relative to white men, again, especially among the poorest educated

4. Therefore, incarceration is a major contributor to black men's relatively poor and declining labor market performance, perhaps the most important one.

Although some investigators have suggested a positive relationship between the percentage of the population living in poverty, and crime rates, there is evidence to support a lack of a positive association.

Blau and Blau suggest that poverty is not the cause of greater criminal behavior, but the frustration with inequality that actually lies behind apparent links between poverty and crime. These researchers conclude that there is good evidence supporting their model of the causes of crime compared to competing models:

As they predict, once levels of inequality are taken into account other factors such as poverty, community, and racial composition are revealed to have little or no independent effect on crime

It is inequality between races which is associated most strongly with high rates of violent crime. Hence it is the most unacceptable form of ascribed inequality which creates the greatest general levels of animosity and aggression which can spill out as violence against strangers. By contrast, general inequality across all groups (which effectively means inequality within the white majority) tends to directly cause violence only between close associates, with a possible indirect effect on violence against strangers via its influence on other negative social relations.

Levels of violent crime do appear to be associated with an independent measure of the level of aggression and frustration within the community… READ MORE

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