Essay on The Relationship between Unemployment and Crime

Desperate times lead to desperate measures. A man loses his job and has no money to feed his family. One might assume left with no other means the man might resort to stealing. The United States is currently in the midst of a recession so severe some speculate will last longer than the Great Depression. Various indicators of the economic health such as the unemployment rate and home foreclosures have reached their worst records in decades over the last several months. Given the state of the financial crisis law enforcement agencies have warned of increased criminal activity. Despite the economic turmoil and high levels of unemployment, crime rates have fallen significantly across the United States. The U.S. Department of Labor (2011)†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"If the labor marker for less-skilled men deteriorates, then you see them committing more crimes, but if there’s nothing to stead you don’t see as much crime† he said (Gould, Weinberg, Mustard, 20 02, p.49). As crime patterns have defied expectations it appears the truth is obscured by many factors. Many economists and criminologists continue to debate this topic while several theories are proposed. According to Moyer (2009) in the years of the Great Depression after the stock market crash of 1929 crime plummeted. The decrease in crime could have been linked to more people spending time at home. A home full of people does not make a good target for robbery. The Roaring Twenties, a time of perceived economic prosperity, was plagued by Prohibition and crime syndicates thus crime increased. During the 1960s, despite an expanding economy and a surge in jobs for inner-city residents, homicides rose (MacDonald, 2010). According to Police Employment (2011) crime increased again during the recession of the 1980s which was at the peak of the crack epidemic. This poses one to ask the question was the increased crime related to drug addition rather than the economy. Others speculate th at an increase in the number of people incarcerated had a large effect on crime in the last decade and continues to affect today’sShow MoreRelatedRelationship Between Unemployment and Crime Rate Among Youth in Nigeria1764 Words   |  8 PagesCHAPTER ONE 1.1 INTRODUCTION Economic growth is fundamental for sustainable development. It is not possible, for a developing country, to ameliorate the quality of life of its growing population without economic growth. The relationship between government expenditure and economic growth has continued to generate series of debate among scholars. Government performs two functions- protection (and security) and provisions of certain public goods (Abdullah, 2000) and (Al-Yousif, 2000). 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