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Advanced Higher Modern Studies
Study Theme 2: Law and Order
Samantha Kennedy
015976789
Clydebank High School
‘Crime and Poverty are inextricably linked’
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Contents
Page
Introduction
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Aim one:
To what extent are crime and poverty inextricably linked?
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Aim two:
To what extent do other factors such as biology, gender and
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ethnicity affect crime?
Aim three:
Does the level of middle class crime show that crime and
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poverty are not inextricably linked?
Conclusion
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Bibliography
25
Appendices
28
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Crime and Poverty are inextricably linked
"The root causes of crime are poverty and degradation and until we address
drink, drugs and poverty we won't go forward."
This is the view of Kenny
MacAskill (Shadow Justice Secretary) in December 2006 when he was talking
about the Labour Government as they unveiled their new aims to tackle the high
re-offending rate in Scotland. To an extent, Kenny MacAskill is right, poverty is
linked to crime to a great extent and there is evidence from various sources to
support this.
There are other factors which influence crime one of which is biology. Many
studies have been conducted by various sociologists such as Lombroso, Jacobs
and Sheldon who looked at genetics, adoptions, twins and the human brain and
connected them with committing crime. Furthermore, sociologists have found a
link between gender and crime and have found that males are more likely to be
both a perpetrator and a victim. They have also been able to find a possible
cause for this – the XYY chromosome. In addition, the link between ethnicity and
crime will be examined by looking at victimisation rates as well as UK prison
population rates.
As well as poverty being blamed for the cause of crime, evidence from sources
such as the British and Scottish Crime Surveys along with statistics from the
Violence Reduction Unit Glasgow also suggest that poverty plays a part in
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victimisation. With regards to middle class crime, there is little evidence available
making it harder for comparisons to be made. It could be argued that the reason
for this lack of evidence is due to white collar crime simply not being reported to
the police with the companies who fall victim to this crime covering up in order
to protect their reputations. On the other hand, there are not many reports on
crime levels in middle class areas.
This dissertation aims to examine the hypothesis that:
‘Crime and poverty are inextricably linked.’
In order to test this hypothesis, research was conducted under three aims which
form the chapter headings. These are:
- Does the evidence support the view that crime and poverty are linked?
- To what extent do other factors such as gender, ethnic group and biology
affect crime?
- Does the level of middle class crime prove that social deprivation and crime are
not inextricably linked?
To conclude, after conducting research into the link between poverty and crime,
it became apparent that poverty is a large influential factor on crime affecting
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both the chance of becoming a victim as well as being a perpetrator. However,
there are other influencing factors which were also studied. Whilst each of those
factors – biology, gender and ethnic group – were all found to have a significant
impact on criminal activity and victimisation, poverty has been found to be the
largest, single contributing factor.
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Does the evidence show that crime and poverty are inextricably linked?
The link between poverty and crime has been examined by sociologists and
criminologists for many years and has been found to be fairly strong. Academic
reports and theories have been derived from this research and support the view
that poverty is the largest influencing factor of crime ahead of gender, biology
and ethnicity among others.
Firstly, poverty affects the condition a person lives in. If someone is living under
the poverty line, they may live in a rundown council or housing associations
estate in the poorer areas of the country. It is in these areas where the police
centre their resources to prevent crime.1 In Roger Houchin’s report titled: ‘Social
Exclusion and Imprisonment in Scotland,’ he stated that in a sample of 6,007
prisoners, half maintain their home address was within the poorest 155 council
wards in Scotland. 35 of these wards are within the Glasgow City Council area
and include Pollok and Easterhouse. This is a stark comparison to Edinburgh City
Council which accounted for only 10 of these wards.2 Due to the fact that
poverty determines where a person lives and that areas of high crime are similar
to areas of high poverty, it shows clearly that poverty and crime are inextricably
linked.
1
2
Interview with Inspector Ricky Mason, Strathclyde Police
http://www.sps.gov.uk/multimediagallery/C1D3FBFB-E123-4643-8D83-AB0F622E7755.pdf (page 15)
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Social Learning Theory also links poverty and crime. Some adolescents will
commit crimes to secure a place within a group of people or gain respect from
their friends. While this can happen anywhere, with the majority of Scottish
inmates coming from deprived areas (59.7% of prisoners give their home
address as a deprived area in Glasgow3). The adolescents living in these areas
are more likely to have criminal role models. Robert Akers Social Learning Theory
states that: ‘Juveniles learn to engage in crime the same way they learn to
engage in conforming behaviour: through association with others.’ This means
that a young person can learn about crime purely by watching others around him
or her or by observing crime in the media. As this could happen in an area that it
stricken with poverty or one which is affluent, it could be argued that poverty is
not the biggest influence on crime.
As well as those convicted of crime coming from these areas, the majority of
victims are living in these areas too. Those with an income of £10,000 or less per
annum are 1.6 times more likely to be a mugged and 1.3 times more likely to be
burgled than those with an income of £30,000 or more per annum.4 This relates
to the area that these people are living in – areas described as ‘Group H’.
Houchin describes this as areas with high numbers of poor families – many of
which are single parent families, problems with high unemployment and
3
http://www.sps.gov.uk/multimediagallery/C1D3FBFB-E123-4643-8D83-AB0F622E7755.pdf
4
Powerpoint!!! FIND ORIGINAL SOURCE
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overcrowding. These problems can also turn people to crime. Robert K Merton
(1938) and Robert Agnew (1992) describe this as Strain Theory. This theory
states that when someone cannot provide their families with the basic necessities
needed to live, they may turn to crime to find ways of meeting their needs. The
crime turned to varies depending on the person, opportunities available and the
size of the need. Due to the figures showing many prisoners giving deprived
areas where this is a problem as their home address, it could be argued that
strain is one of the biggest reasons behind crime in Scotland.
In a Telegraph news article titled ‘Labour has divided Britain into ‘two nations’ in
poverty and crime5’ it stated that a report conducted for the Conservatives in
2009 – Crime and the Poor - had found that the top twenty deprived areas in the
country were also within the top six percent for crime. The article goes on to
give more findings from the report. It also shows that those who are
unemployed are twice as likely to be the victim of a violent crime as those who
are employed. Chris Grayling – the shadow Home Secretary was quoted in the
report saying that ‘Crime and the Poor confirms that those at the ‘bottom of the
pile’ are at the biggest risk of committing crime.’ This clearly shows that poverty
is an influential factor in crime.
5
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/6068804/Labour-has-dividedBritain-into-two-nations-in-poverty-and-crime-say-Tories.html
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Poverty and its relation to crime is not a new problem. An Independent article
titled: ‘Poverty ‘pushing young into crime’.’6 The article from 1993 reports on a
study conducted on young offenders and citing poverty, unemployment and
family breakdown as the reasons for young people turning to crime. Of the 1,389
young people on a probation scheme that were being studied, it was found that
around 66% of the group were unemployed and only a mere 10% had an
income of more than £100 a week. This led to 72% of these young offenders
being classed as living in poverty. The chief probation officer for Inner London at
the time of the report was quoted saying that 'there must be a coherent policy
aimed at improving the social circumstances which lead individuals to commit
offences.’ This report clearly shows that there is a link between poverty and
crime for teenagers as well as for adults.
The United Nations published the ‘World Youth Report’ in 2003 and in the
Juvenile Delinquency chapter7, it was stated that: ‘Young people who are at risk
of becoming delinquent often live in difficult circumstances.’ A list of difficult
circumstances followed with poverty being second on the list. The report also
shows poverty affecting crime indirectly. In countries such America where
parents have to supply many resources for school, it is thought that those whose
parents cannot afford to buy them the basics needed may turn to a youth
6
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poverty-pushing-young-into-crime-1473256.html
7
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/ch07.pdf
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criminal group in order to try and raise their status and self esteem. This can be
true for any other country in the world. It can therefore be seen that poverty and
crime are linked.
Poverty only relates to some crimes. In an area with high poverty and
unemployment rates, you are less likely to find a white collar criminal. White
collar crimes consist of fraud and embezzlement and are more likely to result in a
profit for the criminal. This so-called ‘victimless’ crime is often conducted by
entrepreneurs, business people, professionals, organised criminal gangs and
public officials and cost the UK £636m in the first six months of 2009.8 With
white collar criminals being described as ‘theft, fraud, embezzlement, or some
other non-violent lawbreaking act perpetrated by a salaried employee or senior
manager of a company or organization’9 it is unlikely that these criminals will be
living in an area of high poverty or would continue to do so after committing a
crime of this nature. As this is a type of crime that does not relate to poverty, it
shows that crime and poverty are not inextricably linked and that crime can
happen in any area.
As Roger Houchin reported on link between poverty and crime in great detail in
his paper ‘Social Exclusion and Imprisonment in Scotland.’ he stated that: ‘Just
8
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/31/fraud-recession-kpmg-report
9
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?lextype=3&search=white%20
collar%20crime
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as it is a fact of life if you are born in the most deprived parts of the country that
there is a greatly increased probability that you will remain poor and that you will
have poor health and will die young, so it is an analogous fact that you have an
increased probability of spending time in prison.’ Houchin believes that simply
being born and brought up in a deprived area will increase the chance of
spending time in prison in the same way that it increases your chances of before
the age of sixty and suffering from ill health. The evidence given in the report
with almost 60% of prisoners in the report giving their address as a deprived
area in Glasgow shows that there is a correlation between poverty and crime.
In conclusion, Roger Houchins ‘Social Exclusion and Imprisonment in Scotland’
clearly shows that there is a link between poverty and crime with the correlation
between prisoner home addresses and areas of high poverty. This is further
supported by Robert Akers Social Learning Theory and Strain Theory which was
developed by Robert K Merton and Robert Agnew showing that committing a
crime relates to the area a person lives in. Along with the information derived
from the interview with Inspector Ricky Mason and the Telegraph news article, it
can be stated that there is poverty has a great impact of crime levels.
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What extent do other factors such as biology, ethnic group and gender affect
crime?
There are many factors that are believed to influence crime. As well as poverty,
sociologists have linked biology, ethnic group and gender to the likelihood of
committing crime and becoming a victim of crime.
There have been various studies on the link between gender and crime. Marsh
noted that ‘In areas where women have similar opportunities to men, they
appear to break less laws’.10 Sociologists have linked this to the view that ‘female
behaviour is more closely watched and strictly controlled within the family.’11
There is evidence to support these links. Buckle and Farrington conducted an
observational study in 1984 and they found that twice as many men shoplift
compared to women12 (2.8% of men compared to 1.4% of women). However,
this differs from statistics the Crisis Counseling for Alleged Shoplifters (CCAS)
released in March 2008 who stated that 14,389 girls aged 12-20 were cautioned
for shoplifting compared to 11,542 boys.13
Whilst the Buckle and Farrington
study supports the Abbot and Wallace quotation, the CCAS statistics do not.
10
Sociology in Focus: Crime 1986
11
Abbott and Wallace – An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspectives.
12
http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&uid=1984-28947-001
13
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/37454
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Instead they seem to support the view that women are just as likely to commit
this type of crime as men.
There is also the quotation from Gottfredson and Hirschi who said: ‘Men are
always and everywhere more likely than women to commit criminal acts.’14
Stereotypically, women are seen as the primary care-giver in the household and
have many responsibilities which take up their time whereas men are out
working. This gives women a smaller opportunity to commit crime in comparison
to men. With prison statistics from 2001 showing that 81% of known offenders
are male, it is clear that men do commit more offences than women.
It is also apparent that gender plays a role in victimisation. According to national
statistics, around 5% of men and fewer than 3% of women over the age of 16
were victims of crime in the year prior to a survey conducted by the government
in 2002/3. In the age 16-24 age group, the gap is much larger with 15% of
males being a victim of violent crime in comparison to 7% of females 15. This
shows that gender plays a role in victimisation with men being worse off than
women. Although this is the case, 39% of women say that the fear of crime
affects their quality of life and 90% of young women take some ‘form of
avoidance’ when going out. This avoidance varied from avoiding certain streets
14
Gottfredson and Hirschi – 1990:145
15
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=442
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or in some cases carrying a weapon.16 Again, this links to the stereotype of
women having too many responsibilities and not having time to go out therefore
the chance of becoming a victim is significantly less than that of a man.
Biology also plays a part with regards to crime. Studies carried out on male
prisoners have found that a large proportion have the abnormal XYY gene. This
gene has been linked by Jacobs (1965) to having violent tendencies compared to
those with the normal XY gene. The study found that 15 per 1,000 male
prisoners had this gene compared to only 1 per 1,000 males in the general
population. The gene was linked to behavioral problems and learning difficulties
and those with the gene tend to be more aggressive than others with normal
chromosomes.17
Many sociologists have also conducted twin and adoption studies. This includes
Mednick in the Netherlands. In adoption studies, they have found that an
adoptee whose biological parents have a criminal conviction and have spent time
in prison and adoptive parents with no convictions are more likely to follow their
biological parents into crime. This has been the case even if they have been
brought up away from any criminal influences. The link was found to be at its
strongest between father and son. Criminal adoptive parents were also looked at.
16
Investigating Crime and Deviance – Stephen Moore
17
http://www.gig.org.uk/docs/translations/english/25-xyyt.pdf
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If a child with biological parents with no criminal convictions was brought up with
criminal adoptive parents they are not very likely to go on to commit crimes
themselves. This clearly shows that there is a link between biology and criminal
tendencies.
Furthermore, there is a link between ethnicity and crime. According to an Open
University publication, black ethnic groups made up 2.8% of the general UK
population and 15.8% of the prison population in 2005.18 The percentage of
arrests and cautions were also above the percentage of the population whereas
for whites they were lower than the population percentage. The Asian ethnic
group was also over represented in prison with 5.4% compared to making up
4.7% of the population.
Victimisation rates for ethnic minorities are also higher than the national
average. A Home Office Report by Marian FitzGerald and Chris Hale found that
‘Ethnic minorities are more likely to be victims of crimes and serious threats than
whites. The main reasons for this are their age structure, their socio-economic
characteristics and the type of area they live in.19’ Their report states that Afro18
http://books.google.com/books?id=6BLNahUnMG4C&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=black+ethnic+groups+
made+up+13.5%25+of+the+prison+population&source=bl&ots=juz3xDDyC&sig=AkiEodwnZUBk0B21IhaaIiHsinw&hl=en&ei=i1KdS57cC4OQjAf57ZCbDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&c
t=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=black%20ethnic%20groups%20made%20up%20
13.5%25%20of%20the%20prison%20population&f=false
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Caribbean, Indian and Pakistani groups are more likely to be a victim of various
crimes including theft (vehicle and household). An interview with Will Linden
from the Violence Reduction Unit in Glasgow also confirmed this. In the
interview, he said that the reason for a higher number of victimisation and
perpetration may be influenced by their young population. This links into the
peak age of offending being 14 for girls and 18 for boys20. It was also noted that
within the Glasgow area, the crimes are not racially motivated. Instead it is
simply the case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In conclusion, poverty is not the only influence on crime. The factors studied in
this aim all have strong links to both victimisation and offending. With gender,
there is the clear link with the victimisation rates of boys in the 16-24 age group
being twice as likely to be a victim of violent crime. The link between biology and
crime has also been proven with the adoption studies and the XYY gene. Finally,
ethnicity also impacts crime with the younger population being pinpointed as a
reason for increased victimisation and imprisonment rates. Whilst all of these
factors are important and play a huge part in crime, poverty is still the biggest
single contributing factor.
19
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/r39.pdf
20
Interview with Will Linden appendix __
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Does the level of crime in middle class areas prove that social deprivation and
crime are not inextricably linked?
As well as crime occurring in areas of high poverty, it can also be found in middle
class areas and committed by those considered as middle class. The crimes
committed include white collar crime. This was first defined by Edward
Sutherland in 1949 who said it was: ‘a crime committed by a person of
respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation.’ Under the
name of white collar crime there are many branches. This includes: fraud,
bribery, embezzlement, insider trading, computer theft, identity theft and
forgery. This type of crime is seen as hard to detect. In many cases big
companies may be the victim and in order to keep their reputation fully intact
they will not report any suspicions. However, in the past few years there have
been some big cases in the media. This includes the collapse of Barings Bank in
1995 due to rouge trader Nick Leeson21, fraud committed by BAE systems who
have recently been fined £30 million22 and 60% of people surveyed in a BBC
investigation in England and Wales admitting to exaggerating an insurance claim,
paying cash to avoid tax and kept money when they have been given too much
change.23 Crimes of this type as stated by Edward Sutherland were committed by
21
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3102800.stm
22
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8546488.stm
23
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3102800.stm
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‘a person of high social status’ which would relate to classes A, B and C1 from
the British National Readership Survey (NRS). The people that ‘belong’ in these
classes are in high or intermediate level management, administrative or
professional jobs (classes A and B) or Supervisory, clerical and junior
management, administrative or professional jobs (Class C1).24 Middle class crime
is not attached to area as much as crime in lower classes. In lower class areas,
the crime tends to take place in residential areas, but this is not the case for
middle class crime. With white collar crime being accountable for the majority of
middle class crime, it does not physically take place in the area where they live.
Instead crimes of this nature are carried out in the workplace or online. This
shows that middle class crime exists as well as crime in lower classes.
Middle class crime is seen as ‘victimless’ due to the fact no-one is physically
harmed. While this is the case, the victims of the crime are financially harmed.
When money is stolen directly or indirectly from a company or the government
the loss has to be covered. For the government, this can take the form of higher
income tax, council tax and can come out of the pension fund. This affects both
the middle class and the working class, but it could be argued that it affects the
working class more. The middle class will have a higher disposable income and
will therefore be able to afford an increase in tax. They are also more likely to
http://www.ipsosmori.com/DownloadPublication/1285_MediaCT_thoughtpiece_Social_Grade_July09_V3_WEB.pdf
24
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have a private pension as well as a state pension meaning they will not suffer
from a smaller pension. The working class will find it harder to cope with an
increase in taxes and are less likely to have a private pension and will opt to
keep their monthly income to cover their monthly bills. The private sector also
has to cover losses. This comes in the form of increased prices which puts up the
basic cost of living. Whilst those who are middle class will be able to afford these
increases, those in poverty may not be able to. This shows that working class are
more affected by crime than the middle class.
Those living in a socially deprived area are more likely to be victims than those
living in a middle class area. The Strathclyde Police Force website allows the
public to access details on crime rates in the region. The statistics from 2009
show that in the Clydebank subdivision of L division, there were a total of 83
Serious Assaults whereas in the bigger area of East Dunbartonshire (taking in
Milngavie, Bearsden, Kirkintilloch and Bishopbriggs amongst others) there were
81 Serious Assaults. With the population of East Dunbartonshire estimated to
have been 105,460 in 2006
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and the Clydebank population estimated at around
55,000 it is clear that social deprivation is linked to crime.
25
http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/Web%20Site/Live/EDWebLive.nsf/40841fd2fca11fe280256a5b0047a5ff/5
67a23a2cbcb8c65802576230037379b/$FILE/East%20Dunbartonshire%20Area%20Profile%202008.pdf
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As well as these patterns occurring locally, they also occur nationally. Crime is a
much bigger problem within the Strathclyde Police region than it is in the Lothian
and Borders region. This shows a link to poverty as Strathclyde Police takes in
areas such as Clydebank, Calton and Drumchapel which are all greatly affected
by poverty. On the other hand, Lothian and Borders takes in some of the most
affluent areas in Scotland including Morningside and Comley Bank. For instance,
in Strathclyde police there were 4361 instances of drug supply whereas in
Lothian and Borders there were 2,12826 in 2009. This clearly shows that there is
a link between crime and poverty.
In terms of victimisation, it is hard to define whether one class is more likely to
become a victim of crime than others. As said in an email from Bill Aitken, List
MSP for Glasgow, ‘those that are better off may be more likely to be burgled,
whether as those that are on a low income or no income at all may be more
likely to live in a deprived area where drugs are more prevalent and so therefore
may be more likely to fall victim to drug related crime.’27 For instance, in the
Drumchapel area of Glasgow, there were a total of 497 drug possession offences
in 2008 whereas in East Dunbartonshire there were 289 offences. Relating to an
earlier point, the area of East Dunbartonshire has a large population whereas the
26
http://www.lbp.police.uk/publications/2009/Force_Stats_08091_v1.1.pdf
27
Email from Bill Aitken – appendix __
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population of Drumchapel in 2004 was only around 13,00028. On the other hand
there is the risk of becoming a victim of burglary. In East Dunbartonshire in 2008
there were 252 cases of domestic housebreaking compared to 171 cases in
Drumchapel. These figures show that certain types of crime are linked to
poverty.
Furthermore, those living in social housing are more likely to be affected by
crime than those who live in private housing. For those living in social housing
whether its council or housing association owned, they are up to two times more
likely to be a victim of crime than those living in private housing. This could be
down to those with a higher disposable income being able to afford to take
security measures around their homes – burglar alarms, security lights and
additional locks. These additional measures make it harder for crimes such as
house breaking to take place. Those with a higher disposable income can also
take precautions to protect themselves when they are out. This can include
taking taxis or cars when out as opposed to using trains or busses. Using taxis
and cars means that you are less likely to become a victim of crime as you are
only with people that you know and trust. As those living in social housing being
more likely to be affected by crime, it can be argued that crime and poverty are
inextricably linked.
28
http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/25A36BCB-72FE-4F02-8AD877EDAE36219D/0/DrumchapeletcdemographicsSept06.pdf
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As well as committing and becoming the victim of crime, those with a low
income, also feel at risk from crime. This relates to poverty as those with a low
income tend to live in deprived areas. In this case, low income is defined as less
than £10,000 per annum. People that were interviewed in this category were
more likely 4.2 times more likely to feel unsafe walking home after dark as well
as being 1.2 times more likely to be burgled or 1.4 times more likely to be
mugged compared to those earning £30,000 or over per annum.
Crime is not always attached to an area. In a presentation from Will Linden from
the Violence Reduction Unit in Glasgow, crime hotspot maps were shown and it
became apparent that the majority of violent crimes were found to be in the city
centre area of Glasgow. The city centre of Glasgow is not a large residential area
and is instead mostly for entertainment. This shows that crime – particularly in
the Glasgow area is not attached either to the middle class or the lower classes
showing that it does not relate to poverty.
In conclusion, crime can happen no matter where you live or which class you
‘belong’ to. This aim has clearly shown that different areas experience different
types and levels of crime. The areas shown to be most affected are those
considered to be deprived which clearly shows that crime and poverty are
inextricably linked.
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Conclusion
To conclude, the above shows that there is a clear link between poverty and
crime. However, in saying this, we must be careful.
As found, this link is
particularly strong in some areas of crime – notably drugs and assault which is
largely due to the area where an individual lives and this is determined by
income – and not as strong in others – white collar crime which research showed
was mainly conducted by those considered middle class and living in middle class
areas.
Reports by Roger Houchin, the United Nations, the Telegraph and Independent
newspapers have all fully supported this view whereas reports from the Daily
Express and statistics.gov.uk do not. Some sociological theories have also been
found to support the view that ‘crime and poverty are inextricably linked’. These
include Merton and Agnews Strain theory and Akers Social Learning Theory. The
analysis of these theories showed that poverty is the largest, single influence on
crime.
As also found, there are other influencing factors on crime. Whilst only three –
gender, biology and ethnicity – were studied in this dissertation there are many
others which have also been found to have an impact both on victimisation and
in offending. With the information found relating to biology, it shows that there
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may not be a choice in whether you become an offender later in life. It shows
that it may be something that an individual can simply not control. Gender and
ethnicity are different. Instead of being linked to offending, it is more linked to
victimisation with men and boys being more likely to be victims of crime along
with those from an ethnic minority background. Whilst each of these has an
influence on crime, poverty is still the largest factor.
However, you have the problem that is white collar crime. This began surfacing
when the internet became more common, although the majority of people in the
country are now connected to the internet; it is still linked to those considered
middle class crime as opposed to one committed by those in living in poverty.
In summary, there are many factors which influence crime with some being
more influential than others however, poverty is the largest of these and with
crime being a huge problem in areas of poverty it can be argued that crime and
poverty are inextricably linked.
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Bibliography
Texts
-
Sociology in Focus: Crime 1986
-
Abbott and Wallace – An Introduction to Sociology: Feminist Perspectives
-
Investigating Crime and Deviance – Stephen Moore
Websites
-
http://www.sps.gov.uk/multimediagallery/C1D3FBFB-E123-4643-8D83AB0F622E7755.pdf (page 15)
-
http://www.sps.gov.uk/multimediagallery/C1D3FBFB-E123-4643-8D83AB0F622E7755.pdf
-
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx
?lextype=3&search=white%20collar%20crime
-
http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&uid=1984-28947-001
-
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=442
-
http://www.gig.org.uk/docs/translations/english/25-xyyt.pdf
-
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs/r39.pdf
-
http://www.ipsosmori.com/DownloadPublication/1285_MediaCT_thoughtpiece_Social_Grad
e_July09_V3_WEB.pdf
26
-
http://www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/Web%20Site/Live/EDWebLive.nsf/4084
1fd2fca11fe280256a5b0047a5ff/567a23a2cbcb8c65802576230037379b/$
FILE/East%20Dunbartonshire%20Area%20Profile%202008.pdf
-
http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/25A36BCB-72FE-4F02-8AD877EDAE36219D/0/DrumchapeletcdemographicsSept06.pdf
Academic Papers/Reports
-
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/ch07.pdf
-
Gottfredson and Hirschi – 1990:145
-
http://books.google.com/books?id=6BLNahUnMG4C&pg=PA112&lpg=PA1
12&dq=black+ethnic+groups+made+up+13.5%25+of+the+prison+popu
lation&source=bl&ots=juz3xDDyC&sig=AkiEodwnZUBk0B21IhaaIiHsinw&hl=en&ei=i1KdS57cC4OQjAf57
ZCbDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAYQ6AEwAA
#v=onepage&q=black%20ethnic%20groups%20made%20up%2013.5%2
5%20of%20the%20prison%20population&f=false
BBC News
-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3102800.stm
-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8546488.stm
27
-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3102800.stm
Interviews
-
Inspector Ricky Mason, Strathclyde Police
-
Will Linden, Violence Reduction Unit
-
Bill Aitken, MSP
Newspaper Articles
-
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/60688
04/Labour-has-divided-Britain-into-two-nations-in-poverty-and-crime-sayTories.html
-
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poverty-pushing-young-intocrime-1473256.html
-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/31/fraud-recession-kpmgreport
-
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/37454
28
Appendix 1
Email and reply to Bill Aitken, Conservative List MSP for Glasgow
Mr. Aitken,
I am a sixth year pupil at Clydebank High, West Dunbartonshire studying the
Law and Order Study Theme of Advanced Higher Modern Studies. As part of the
course I am looking at various areas of crime and also writing about them for my
dissertation. However, I am struggling to find statistics on White Collar Crime
and how it affects the individual, the company and the public and also crime in
middle class areas.
Within my dissertation, I have to aims which I hope to include information on
White Collar Crime and crime in middle class areas. These aims are
- Do middle class crime levels prove that social deprivation and crime levels are
not linked?
- To what extent are the poor more likely to be victims of crime compared to
those who are better off?
After approaching a few people on this subject, I was told you have a great
interest in this area and may be able to help. Any information you are willing to
share on the topics would be of a great help.
29
Yours sincerely,
Samantha Kennedy
Clydebank High School
Dear Samantha
Thank you for your email. I would be happy to help you with your research.
Of course there is some link between social deprivation and crime, in that factors
associated with social deprivation, such as a higher incidence of drug abuse, may
make a person more likely to commit a crime. However, middle class crime
highlights that social deprivation is only but one of an array of factors that may
make a person more likely to turn to criminal activity.
In general terms it would be hard to accurately predict whether those on a low
income or no income at all are more likely to fall victim to crime than those that
are better off and vice versa. Certainly though it would be fair to say that one
might be more likely to fall victim to a certain type of crime than the other. For
example, those that are better off may be more likely to be burgled, whether as
those that are on a low income or no income at all may be more likely to live in a
deprived area where drugs are more prevalent and so therefore may be more
likely to fall victim to drug related crime
30
I hope this response was helpful. If you have any further questions do not
hesitate to contact me.
Best of luck with the rest of your dissertation.
Yours sincerely
Bill Aitken
31
Appendix 2
Email to Hazel Croall, Professor of Criminology, Glasgow Caledonian University
Ms Croall,
I am a sixth year pupil at Clydebank High School studying Advanced Higher
Modern Studies. I would first like to thank you for sharing information with us at
the SCIS Advanced Higher Conference in November. I have found this
information very valuable in writing essays under exam conditions and in my
dissertation.
The hypothesis for my dissertation is 'Crime and Poverty are inextricably linked.'
Within this I am looking at evidence to support that crime and poverty are
linked, the extent other factors (age, biology, gender) affect crime, how crime
levels in middle class areas compare with lower levels and the extent to which
the poor are more likely to be victims.
Could you help me by answering the following questions:
- To what extent are those in lower social classes to be victims of crime in
comparison to middle and upper classes?
- How do the crime levels in deprived areas compare to those in more affluent
areas?
32
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Yours Sincerely,
Samantha Kennedy
Clydebank High School
Hello Samantha,
while it is widely assumed that crime is related to poverty it is less easy to
establish this particularly as 'absolute' as opposed to 'relative' poverty has not so
far been statistically established to be linked to crime. Most of the research
indicates that it is widening income gaps between the rich and poor (as has
happened over the last few decades) which is most strongly associated with
property crime. It's also important to state which kinds of crime are the focus of
attention - poverty is not for example likely to be related to white collar crime or
to what might be called elite crime or indeed crime within workplaces or cyber
crime as with these perpetrators need access to technology and organisations
which the very poor do not have. Crimes of poverty tend to be those which
require fewer skills or access to technology such as mugging, some forms of
violent crime, shoplifting etc which more or less anyone can do. It may also be
related to things like not paying a TV license as for women, often single parents,
a restricted budget leaves this as a low priority, before putting food on the table.
33
Some female crime has been associated with the need to feed and clothe
children.
As far as levels of crime and victimisation is concerned, the situation is also
complex -more people end up in prison from extremely deprived areas - but this
could be because those in deprived areas can provide fewer reasons, such as a
job or a stable family background to persuade sentencers NOT to imprison them
and the police and other agencies may selectively police in areas considered to
be 'high crime' areas. This can lead to a vicious circle in which people from the
most stigmatised areas find it difficult to get jobs as they are assumed to be
from problem families.
It is also difficult to map crime rates by where offenders live - we know about
crime because a victim reports it. And, as the more affluent present more
attractive targets for property crime for example, (as they have more goods to
steal, more attractive cars etc) rates of crime are likely to be highest in what are
often seen as 'rising' AND striving areas (see for example, the latest Scottish
Crime Survey, available online). The very rich may be more insulated living under
high security and often being more isolated - thieves do not all 'case the joint' or
travel far from their homes - thus you find high rates of crime in more affluent
areas near more deprived ones.
34
Nonetheless when you look at repeat victimisation (suffering from more than one
crime per annum) - this is highest in areas of deprivation, as is multiple
victimisation (suffering from more than one kind of crime) and research indicates
that the poorest are among those who suffer most persistently from a variety of
crimes (vandalism, antisocial behaviour, theft etc). In addition the poor suffer
more because they can less often replace stolen items, mend broken windows
etc, and, if they have suffered from multiple crimes, they are less likely to be
insured as insurance companies charge higher premiums according to higher
levels of crime. Also, of course, a small theft will have a much greater impact on
a poor person.
I hope that this has been helpful - you can find latest crime statistics the most
useful of which are probably the British and Scottish Victim surveys online - a
good site for some of this information along with an archive of newspaper
articles is www.cjscotland.org.uk<http://www.cjscotland.org.uk>
good luck with your dissertation
regards
Hazel Croall
35
Appendix 3
Interview with Inspector Mason – 6 November 2009
1. Which socio/economic and age groups are more likely to be involved in
criminal behaviour in this area?
The young are more likely to be involved in criminal behaviour. They tend
to commit crimes of anti social behaviour. This group takes up most of the
resources of the police force in Clydebank, and are the group which cause the
most difficulty.
2. Can you suggest reasons for this?
The reasons that may cause some of this includes: deprivation, area,
housing and drinking/ drugs, and having a lack of positive activities to take part
in.
3. What strategies are the police forces using locally/nationally to reduce crime?
There are many strategies. They include:
-
Violence reduction, public reassurance
36
-
Target licensed premises to combat underage drinking and antisocial behaviour, by sending in teenagers as test purchasers.
-
Bottle marking – the licensed shops mark their bottles to find
out where the alcohol comes from. If someone under age and
caught drinking, the police will be able to find out where the
alcohol was bought and then take action against that store, by
seizing CCTV etc.
-
Public reassurance – working with other groups i.e. youth
groups and the NHS. This way they will see where issues arrive
and in some cases why and when.
-
Specific Gangs taskforce – cross boundary teams. i.e. Clydebank
Police working with Drumchapel police to stop gang fights at the
canal
-
Campus officer to reduce fights in school and to allow pupils to
feel safe. This can also link to outside school.
-
Domestic Abuse strategy
-
Terrorism
4. Which method(s) do you think are most effective with dealing with crime and
why?
-
Liasing with partners, including the housing department,
37
-
Involving parents and sorting issues out.
5. For the Clydebank area, are there any significant ‘patterns’ of offending? If so,
what might be the reasons for this?
Anti-social behaviour is the biggest problem, as it ties up all the resources for
police in the area. Minor crime, crimes such as breach of the peace and
vandalism are the most commonly committed. E.g. In Faifley, the peak times for
crime are Mondays and Wednesdays between 5pm and 9pm. In Dalmuir, victims
of crime are usually in their 30’sand 40’s, whereas youths are responsible for 3
out of 4 assaults, with peak times for crime during summer months, between
8pm at night and 3am in the morning. Alcohol and drugs have a huge impact,
47% of perpetrators report being on drink/drugs at the time of committing the
offence.
6. Recent crime figures show a long term reduction in crime overall, do published
crime figures give an accurate picture of crime?
-
An accurate picture of crime will come at a time when accident and
emergency will report crimes to the police and increase detection rates.
38
-
Poverty has a significant effect on crime rates – people stealing to buy
drugs, as drugs are ore abundantly found in socially deprived areas.
Everyone has to work together now.
-
No. 1 in 4 of knife crime victims don’t report their crime, and Glasgow
hospitals suggest that only half of knife crime is actually reported to the
police.
-
The Violence Reduction Unit state the homicide rate for men aged 10-29
is 5.3 per 100,000. Most occur in the Strathclyde area. Poverty has an
influence, i.e. people stealing to afford drugs. Crime is more common in
socially deprived areas.
-
However, there has been a reduction in murders by about 45%.
-
Personally feels that knife crime is getting worse again. 62% of men are
offenders of knife crime, and 42% of the victims. These are the latest
figures from 06/7.
-
At 62% the homicide rate for Strathclyde is double that of London, per
head of population. The homicide rate is more than any European city,
which may be down to alcohol and deprivation etc. Violence in Scotland
costs £1.5-2 billion, and £16.8 billion in England.
-
Injury surveillance shows much more crimes than what is reported.
-
Social deprivation should be targeted from early stages. Crime needs to
be tackled from the start, beginning at primary level. Early Intervention
39
over a period of 10/15 years, in about 5 years time this can be assessed
on it’s effectiveness.
7. Have you benefitted from the Scottish Government’s pledge to increase the
number of officers?
Strathclyde ‘L’ Division were not given any additional officers, however areas
such as Drumchapel and Yoker have many. West Dunbartonshire are paying for
more police officers, the increase is going to places where more police are
needed. Clydebank has links with other agencies, such as y-sort-it etc.
8. How are serious and sexual offenders supervised in this area on release from
prison?
Serious and sexual offenders have to report their names and addresses and
other information to the police on release. They are referred to the offender
management unit who put measures in place to ensure the public are not at risk
by the offenders release back into the community, by taking measures such as
arranging surprise visits to homes etc. Offenders are referred to MAPPA and have
to attend meetings to ensure they are not committing further offences.
Offenders have to tell the police everything.
40
9. Should all offenders referred to MAPPA begin high risk?
There aren’t enough resources to do this. The police work with what they have
to the best that they can. All offenders have to report their personal information
and the success of MAPPA is better than 5 years ago. However, MAPPA only
deals with sexual offenders.
41
Appendix 4
Interview with Graham Brownlee - Senior Intelligence Analyst, Strathclyde Police.
-
Crime starts out as an incident, but an incident doesn’t always become a
crime. Whether or not an incident becomes a crime comes down to the
perception of the officer looking into the case.
-
The most common types of crimes in Clydebank include: breach of the
peace, vandalism and simple assaults, (numbers slightly higher in
problematic areas).
-
Crime is often underreported because many people don’t see the benefits
of reporting.
-
Any piece of analytical work is trying to get to the bigger picture that
shows equal representation, by trying to cover as many sources as
possible.
-
In West Dunbartonshire there are lots of different youth workers and
agencies etc, set up to help find things for the youths to do, such as find
employment or activities to do in their free time, so that they don’t
engage in crime.
-
The problems regarding crime aren’t as clear cut as they’re made out to
be.
42
-
Statistics is a good starting point for an investigation, so that officers can
see what they’re dealing with.
-
Whitecrook has Public Reassurance, which means more police officers and
community officers allocated around specific times and places, as well as
more resources and employing new tactics.
-
The police are now trying to do something which has a long-term effect
rather than just dealing with the incidence.
-
The mapping system to show crime hotspots is useful and is a good first
level indicator. However, Asda being a hotspot in Clydebank would relate
to shoplifting and not give a representative view of crime in Clydebank.
-
Trends: Breach of the peace causes fear and alarm; shouting, swearing
etc. This can be unfair, for example to those who use swearing in their
day-to-day dialogue. Vandalism is highly recorded in Clydebank, and
minor assaults only become serious when the victim requires hospital
treatment.
-
Murders are usually committed by gangs, and are related to organised
and domestic crime, due to high-scale drug debts etc. White collar crime
is minimal due to there being few large-scale business’ in Clydebank, and
is also due to embarrassment – many companies don’t want to reveal a
possible lack in their security.
-
The middle class will phone the police sooner than those of working class,
due tolerance. There are few crimes of housebreaking in Clydebank – due
43
to the value of peoples’ things being low? Shoplifting is more
opportunistic, with no plans for housebreaking.
-
Opinion: With communities coming together there would be a lot less calls
to the police due to changes in perception, i.e. People knowing their
neighbours and giving them leeway. It should be that people have ethics
and morals to avoid doing things rather than legislation preventing
everything.