does lack of employment contribute to increasing crime rates?
Crime is a vital problem in today’s communities. Crimes that could range from stealing to murder to committing tax fraud. Societal norms often label those who engage in criminal activities as wrongdoers, teaching us the belief that a morally correct life is to obey the law and learn good human values. However, beneath this surface-level judgement lies a complex web of circumstances, societal problems, and personal struggles that shape the journey of individuals towards a life of crime. From a young age, one’s mentality is shaped by the environment that one lives in. (Inc, 2022) They are taught the order of abiding by the law and living a life characterized by peace. Yet, what often escapes our consideration are the intricate and challenging situations such as finance that propel individuals toward criminality. Criminals are not born in isolation but emerge from unjust economic situations, systemic injustices, and personal hardships such as unemployment, poverty, lack of education, etc.
Lack of job opportunities (Vargas, 2023) contributes to this factor as it pressurizes victims to free themselves from financial problems, especially if they have other people to provide for. They may be burdened with costs of shelter, water and food which causes financial strain so they may resort to crime as a last option. Lack of employment opportunities can be limited due to mediocre or no education, which is not of high demand in the market as a good job requires skills taught in school. Another major connected factor is poverty. Lack of education and poverty are directly proportional. Education can help end the cycle of poverty by reducing financial burden. Families that live in poverty are often required to choose between basic needs, either to survive or spend on education. According to UNESCO, if all adults completed secondary education, 420 million could be lifted out of poverty reducing the total number of poor people by more than half globally and by almost two-thirds in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (Dpi Devsection Intern, 2017). Improved access to quality education leads to higher employment rates and ultimately decreases the likelihood of individuals turning to crime out of financial desperation.
Global unemployment significantly influences global poverty. Rising employment rates positively affected poverty the most, followed by education as the second, according to Brookings Institute (Haskins, 2017). The European Commission has formed a set of policies called European Employment Strategy that date back to 1997 and helps the creation of more and better jobs in the EU. The ILO focuses on issues such as skills development to address unemployment and poverty. In various cultures around the world, gender norms play a significant role in shaping individual responses to unemployment. For example, in cultures where traditional masculinity is linked to providing for one’s family, unemployed men can experience immense pressure much regarded as a failure which leads to increased vulnerability to engaging in criminal activities trying to gain status. It not only affects the global economy but also affects an individual’s psychology because the sudden change of standard of living is difficult to cope with as their financial condition does not support to lead a healthy life. Other factors can also affect crime rates. One of the reasons being recession. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8.8 million jobs have been lost during the start of the Great Recession of America in 2007-09 and at the peak, more than 15 million people were unemployed, however data shows that the crime rate dropped down dramatically which was also questionable to criminologists because the trend doesn’t match (Crime and the Great Recession, n.d.).
Crime and unemployment vary from country to country. For example, India had a steady decline in crime rates from 2014 to 2020 but it increased by 0.3% in 2021. As unemployment rates in India decrease (Macrotrends, 2021), crime rates also decrease (Macrotrends, 2019) and vice versa and we see this in data from the last 10 years. Although during 2020 the unemployment rate was the highest we’ve ever seen in years, due to the global pandemic everyone had to be isolated in order to not get affected but crime rates should have increased even a little bit from past patterns hence the 0.3% increase in crime rate in 2021. A decrease in unemployment may lead to economic stability thereby reducing financial strain and the urge to partake in criminal activities.
Places like the US and Brazil show similar trends to India. As the unemployment rate decreases, crime rates decrease. We see this in data from 2017 to 2021 and it is especially highlighted during the COVID-19 era of 2019-2021. However, in England, it is the opposite. As the unemployment rate decreases (United Kingdom Unemployment Rate, n.d.), crime rates increase (UK Crime Rate by Country 2023, n.d.), which tells us that it may vary due to the conditions they are provided. In countries like England and Germany offer benefit programs (Germany - Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion - European Commission, n.d.) that often help unemployed individuals given certain conditions. In the UK, there is an unemployment benefit program known as Jobseeker’s Allowance (Government Digital Service, 2012) that provides unemployed benefits given that the applicants are actively seeking work so even if they are unemployed, they are still being provided with benefits. India has a similar program as well like unemployment allowance, but it is only given to those who have lost jobs due to layovers, retrenchment, factory closures, and economic downfall, not personal reasons. Kenya is in the African continent, and it shows an impact of the change of unemployment rate. In 2019, the unemployment rate was 5.01% and shot up to 5.62% in 2020 (Kenya Unemployment Rate, 2019), and crime rates went from 3.09% to 3.58% (Kenya Crime Rate & Statistics 2004-2024, 2024) in those years indicating a positive correlation between unemployment and crime.
Globally, it is impossible to generalize the consequences of unemployment as countries show different trends due to economic conditions such as unemployment benefits, taxation etc. So, I chose countries throughout the world in different economic conditions and displaying the consequences through various trends (Worldometer, 2023). From the data above, if we exclude the unemployment benefit programs, there is a positive correlation between unemployment and crime rates. As unemployment increases, criminal activity will also increase, especially if it includes robbery or a form of theft of a possession of value which shows that the victim is desperate for money. Increased unemployment equals extreme loss for the government because there is less progression of the economy which influences the government to increase prices of cheap goods and overall reducing the global position of the economy. Increased poverty means an increase in risk of mental health problems (Poverty and Mental Health, n.d.). However, many people may disagree. Although it is evident that there is a correlation between unemployment and crime, it is not limited to one factor. There are many noneconomic factors such as family environment, and geological factors. For example, research in an urban area would not be similar to research in a rural area due to differences in society, culture and environment so we cannot depend only on one factor.
The collapse of our environment plays a big role in unemployment. When our environment worsens such as air pollution, natural disasters, pandemic diseases etc., our health deteriorates, we no longer have the health conditions to work a stable job with good income and this increases unemployment as well as poverty. War can also play a vital part in unemployment as currency rates rise and fall constantly so finding employees is not the problem here, affording them is. Some companies cannot afford that much money to be lost which is why people get unemployed and it may lead to even higher crime rates in places like India which decreases the employment rate.
The main reason people commit crime is because they don't have a stable source of profit in today’s economy. In governments with unstable economies, they should prioritize investing in education for people, especially the youth, regardless of their background increasing more job opportunities to reduce unemployment which can also improve literacy rates, can get a well-paying job, and break the cycle of poverty and overall mitigate the unemployment rate and criminal activity of a country. Job related training be encouraged irrespective of age and criminal background with the help of different skill programs from the government and NGOs and they can work for the government in different projects nationally and going abroad to earn money with the certified training they received. For example, a person who has committed a crime and jailed for a long duration can get skill training inside the facility and after release he can immediately apply for a job which makes him less likely to turn to crime again. The opportunity of getting a job will decrease the crime rates in countries like India where benefit programs only apply to certain people because now, they have a stable source of profit. They can offer unemployment benefits like health care and education to people who need it, which is a basic need for a person to be a better individual so when a person is better health-wise and education wise, they contribute to the growth of a healthy society. Progressive taxation can also be encouraged. It is a system where individuals with higher incomes pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes compared to those with lower incomes. The main aim is to distribute the tax burden equitably, not equally as people working in different sectors do not have the same income, wealth, or the ability to pay. With the good amount of money left over, people can fund their own necessities which encourages the growth of the economy. With progressive taxation, some of the taxes can be used to fund unemployment benefits and access to education so it still works out both ways.
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i actually wrote this myself for my igcses so why not post it
don't cancel me
toodles!
