Literature Review on Poverty and Crime
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LITERATURE<br />
REVIEW ON<br />
POVERTY<br />
AND CRIME<br />
SAMPLE
<strong>Poverty</strong>asasocialc<strong>on</strong>textofcrime<br />
<strong>Crime</strong>isamuldimensi<strong>on</strong>alsocialdevia<strong>on</strong>thathasitsowngeneral,special,<strong>and</strong>individual<br />
sources.Differentformsofcrimehavespecificorindividualc<strong>on</strong>di<strong>on</strong>s<strong>and</strong>causes.However,<br />
crimeinvesga<strong>on</strong>sindifferentsocial<strong>and</strong>culturalenvir<strong>on</strong>mentsshowthatcertainsocial,<br />
ec<strong>on</strong>omic<strong>and</strong>policalc<strong>on</strong>di<strong>on</strong>sareparcularlyc<strong>on</strong>ducivetoitsdissemina<strong>on</strong>.Social<br />
inequalies,greatsocialdifferences,poverty,unemployment,wars,culturalbackwardness,<br />
c<strong>on</strong>stantpolical<strong>and</strong>ec<strong>on</strong>omiccrises,corupt<strong>and</strong>criminalizedpower,instu<strong>on</strong>aldisorganiza<strong>on</strong>,etc.,arec<strong>on</strong>ducivetothesocialmilieufrom<br />
whichittrapscrime<strong>and</strong>mostother<br />
socialdevia<strong>on</strong>s.Socialinequaliesattheendofthe20thcenturyhavereachedunhindered<br />
propor<strong>on</strong>s.Halfofthehumanbeingsliveinpoverty,morethanathirdliveinmiserablec<strong>on</strong>di<strong>on</strong>s,800mili<strong>on</strong>peoplesufferfrom<br />
malnutri<strong>on</strong>,nearly<strong>on</strong>ebili<strong>on</strong>areiliterate,<strong>on</strong>e<br />
bili<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong>nodrinkingwater,<strong>and</strong>twobili<strong>on</strong>slhavenoelectricity.Thetwenethcentury<br />
hasbeeninc<strong>on</strong>stantsocial<strong>and</strong>policalviolencewiththeculmina<strong>on</strong>ofcriminals<strong>and</strong>wars<br />
notrecordedinthehistoryofciviliza<strong>on</strong>.Onlywarsoverthepastcenturybroughtabout191<br />
mili<strong>on</strong>livesintheglobe,mostlyinnocent<strong>and</strong>helplesscivilians.Throughoutthelastfew<br />
years,violenceinvariousforms(throughaggressi<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong>self-aggressi<strong>on</strong>)takes1,6mili<strong>on</strong><br />
people.Halfofthatnumberistakenbysuicide,whichbytwo<strong>and</strong>ahalfmesexceedsthe<br />
numberofvicmsofwars.<br />
Oneoftoday'smostdevelopedsociologicalc<strong>on</strong>ceptsofcrimefactorsisthec<strong>on</strong>cep<strong>on</strong>of<br />
structuralviolence,whichessenalyrepresentsapartofthetheoryoftheemergenceof<br />
aggressivemanifesta<strong>on</strong>offrustra<strong>on</strong>butinsists<strong>on</strong>socialstructureastheirprimarysource.<br />
Structuralviolenceimpliesanythreattohumanresourcesbyanec<strong>on</strong>omicorpolicalstructure(Galtung,1969).Inequalityinaccesstopolical<strong>and</strong>anyotherpower,educa<strong>on</strong>,health<br />
care<strong>and</strong>legalprotec<strong>on</strong>aretypicalformsofstructuralviolencethatisusualyinvisible<strong>and</strong><br />
arisefrom theverysocialstructure;itpredeterminestheposi<strong>on</strong>ofpeopleaccordingto<br />
theirec<strong>on</strong>omic,ethnic,polical,culturalorpolicalcharacteriscs.Duetothel<strong>on</strong>gtradi<strong>on</strong><br />
<strong>and</strong>relavestability,structuralinequalityismanifested<strong>and</strong>seenasa"normal"orderof<br />
things,ra<strong>on</strong>alizedbypowerfulculturaldefini<strong>on</strong>stransmiedfrom genera<strong>on</strong>togenera-<br />
<strong>on</strong>,whichenablesthem tosurvive(Gramberg,2000).Likedirect,structuralviolencealso<br />
producespeople'ssuffering<strong>and</strong>suffering,<strong>on</strong>lyslower<strong>and</strong>morewidespread:povertyis<br />
str<strong>on</strong>glycorelatedwithhighinfantmortalityrates,infecousdiseases<strong>and</strong>ashortaverage<br />
lifeexpectancy.Thelinkbetweenstructural<strong>and</strong>direct(behavioral)violenceisposive<strong>and</strong><br />
powerful:thosewhoarechr<strong>on</strong>icalyvicmsofstructuralviolenceturntodirectviolence;<br />
Violenceistheresp<strong>on</strong>seofpeoplewhofeelhumiliated<strong>and</strong>rejected,inferior<strong>and</strong>inadequate,<br />
<strong>and</strong>structuralviolenceisjustintensifyingsuchfeelings.
<strong>Poverty</strong>asasocialc<strong>on</strong>textofcrime<br />
Gildeterminesbehavioralviolenceasreacve,inducedbystructuralviolencethroughstress<br />
<strong>and</strong>frustra<strong>on</strong>:familyviolenceistheproductofthatprocess,sincethefamily'splacewhere<br />
"emptying"canbed<strong>on</strong>ewithoutpunivesanc<strong>on</strong>swhichotherwiseprecludesifitisd<strong>on</strong>ein<br />
othersocialsitua<strong>on</strong>s(Gil,1978).Highlyposiveagreementbetweenpovertyasabsolute<br />
depriva<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong>therateofmurderParkerexplainsbyindicangthatpovertyis"capableof<br />
producing"certainemo<strong>on</strong>alstatesthatescalateintoviolence,mostoendirectedtowards<br />
thoseclosetospouses,children,friends"(Parker,1989,p.986).Others,however,believe<br />
ththatrelavepoverty(thedegreeofinequalityinincome)isabeerdeterminantofcriminal<br />
<strong>and</strong>violentbehaviorthanabsolutepoverty:cross-na<strong>on</strong>almurderstudieshavefound<br />
posivecorela<strong>on</strong>sbetweenec<strong>on</strong>omicinequality<strong>and</strong>therateofmurder(Hansmann&<br />
Quigley,1982.Structuralviolenceprovokesbehavioralytotheextentthatitcanalsodeal<br />
withepidemiologicaldisputes(from suicidetosuicidetowars<strong>and</strong>genocide).Theques<strong>on</strong>is<br />
whichofthesetwoformsofviolenceismoreimportant<strong>and</strong>moredangerous,butitisundeniablethattheyaremutualyrelatedtoeachother.<br />
Research<strong>on</strong>therela<strong>on</strong>shipbetweentheagestructureofthepopula<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong>,forexample,<br />
therateofmurderhasshownthatstructuralchangesinthesocialsystem intermsofthe<br />
increaseinthenumberofsupportedgroups(children,unemployed<strong>and</strong>pensi<strong>on</strong>ers)leadto<br />
social<strong>and</strong>ec<strong>on</strong>omicdisrup<strong>on</strong>sthatresultinanincreaseinbothsocialpathology<strong>and</strong><br />
violence.Namely,whileinsocieescharacterizedbyaprogressiveincreaseinthepopula<strong>on</strong><br />
ofoldratesofmurder,sointhesocieesinwhichtheyoungpopula<strong>on</strong>grows,theopposite<br />
istrue:stressinthesocialsystem causedbytheincreaseoftheoldpopula<strong>on</strong>leadstothe<br />
ininternaliza<strong>on</strong>ofaggressi<strong>on</strong>,increasingtherateofsuicide,whilethegrowthoftheyouth<br />
popula<strong>on</strong>leadstotheexternaliza<strong>on</strong>ofaggressi<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong>theriseintherateofmurder.<br />
Increasingthesizeofagenera<strong>on</strong>generatesanincreaseinkilerviolencebyspreading<br />
relavedepriva<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong>strengtheningintragenarycompe<strong>on</strong>forlimitedresources.Inves-<br />
gangthetendenciesofviolentcriminalityintheNetherl<strong>and</strong>s,Nijboerexplainsthenature<br />
ofthemurders<strong>and</strong>violenceofyoungimmigrantspreciselyintermsofthestructuraltheorecsystem.Namely,youngimmigrantsmostlydothesocaledinstrumentalkilings,since<br />
theyareinfactnotaffordablelegalmeanstosecuretheirownexistence<strong>and</strong>useilegalacvies,mostoendealingwithdilu<strong>on</strong>ofdrugs.Forsuchanenvir<strong>on</strong>ment,itis,asarule,linked<br />
tothesubcultureofviolencesomemesimplied<strong>and</strong>commied(Nijboer,1995).Ideologicalyexceledinthetradi<strong>on</strong>ofcricalcriminology,lerealism<br />
("realisccriminology")has<br />
comeoutasaspecialc<strong>on</strong>cep<strong>on</strong>withtheambi<strong>on</strong>totreatcrimeasarealproblem,sincethe<br />
approachesthatcounted<strong>on</strong>strategiestargetedatindividualoffendershavenotyielded
<strong>Poverty</strong>asasocialc<strong>on</strong>textofcrime<br />
results,withinthetheoryoflabeling,radical<strong>and</strong>cricalcriminology,whichhavesuffered<br />
from unilateralunilateralism <strong>and</strong>whichrealistsseeasaboli<strong>on</strong>ist,impraccal<strong>and</strong>idealisc.<br />
Wiliam B<strong>on</strong>ger,<strong>on</strong>eofthefoundersoftheso-radicalorcricalcriminology,wrotethatthe<br />
capitalistec<strong>on</strong>omicsystem weakensthesocialfeelingsofpeople<strong>and</strong>theirmorality.This<br />
system inevitablydevelopsgrammacality<strong>and</strong>selfishnessaspartofitsreproduc<strong>on</strong>.The<br />
reas<strong>on</strong>forsuchfeaturesofthecapitalistsystem isthatitisgearedtowardstrade,profit<strong>and</strong><br />
produc<strong>on</strong>thatbasicalydoesnotmeettheneedsofpeople.Thatiswhythissystem<br />
smsmotherssocialinsncts<strong>and</strong>lowersmoralsensevalues.Also,thecapitalistsystem creates<br />
badmaterial<strong>and</strong>intelectualc<strong>on</strong>di<strong>on</strong>softheworkingclasslife,whichc<strong>on</strong>tributestothe<br />
lowmorallevelofthatclass.Forthisreas<strong>on</strong>,B<strong>on</strong>gerbelieves,thereareemergingphenomena<br />
suchasinequalityofexistence,poverty,ilness,unemployment,n<strong>on</strong>-educa<strong>on</strong>,poor<br />
ec<strong>on</strong>omicposi<strong>on</strong>ofawoman,poorfamilyorganiza<strong>on</strong>,alcoholism,prostu<strong>on</strong>,militarism,<br />
whichhaveagreatdealintheeologyofcrime.<br />
Regardingtheparculartypesofcriminality,whicharetypicalofcapitalism,B<strong>on</strong>gerfinds<br />
thesocio-ec<strong>on</strong>omicbasisfortheirorigins.B<strong>on</strong>geranalyzesthecausesofec<strong>on</strong>omiccrime,<br />
sexualdelicates(crimes),crimeofrevenge,infancide<strong>and</strong>policalcrime(B<strong>on</strong>ger,1916).<br />
Accordingtohim,ec<strong>on</strong>omiccrimehasadoubleorigin.Onthe<strong>on</strong>eh<strong>and</strong>,heexitsfrom the<br />
absolutepoverty<strong>and</strong>grammarthattheec<strong>on</strong>omicenvir<strong>on</strong>mentleadsto,<strong>and</strong><strong>on</strong>theother<br />
h<strong>and</strong>,itarisesbecauseofthe"ab<strong>and</strong><strong>on</strong>ment"ofmorale<strong>and</strong>pooreduca<strong>on</strong>ofchildrenfrom<br />
thepoorestclasses.Thus,forexample,professi<strong>on</strong>alcriminalswhoaremostoenrecruited<br />
frfrom agroupofsitua<strong>on</strong>aloffendersarebeingincreasinglydeprivedoftheirpovertyby<br />
beingreleasedfrom pris<strong>on</strong>.Similarthoughts<strong>and</strong>ValterHolstein(radicaltheorecianofsocial<br />
work):thecausesofcrimeshouldbesoughtinthedeficientc<strong>on</strong>di<strong>on</strong>sofsocializa<strong>on</strong>that<br />
derivefrom thesocio-ec<strong>on</strong>omicfeaturesofsociety<strong>and</strong>thede-privilegedposi<strong>on</strong>ofpeople,<br />
aboveal-theworkers'<strong>and</strong>thelowerlayers.Itisanexampleofhomelesschildren,wherethe<br />
ec<strong>on</strong>omicbedaproducesdisruptedfamilyclimate,adestrucvegheoatmosphere<strong>and</strong><br />
socialisola<strong>on</strong>.Insuchcircumstances,childrend<strong>on</strong>othaveanychanceofsocializa<strong>on</strong>but<br />
<strong>on</strong>lyforsomeform ofdissocia<strong>on</strong>.Whensuchchildrenreachschoolage,theyarealreadyso<br />
badlydamagedthattheschoolisformalyrightwhenitseparatesthem intospecialdepartments.Thischild,whengrownup,hasbeenforcedtoperishaswelastheirparents<strong>and</strong><br />
reproducethebedfrom whichtheycame,transferingtothenextgenera<strong>on</strong>.Thec<strong>on</strong>temporaryc<strong>on</strong>ceptofrealism<br />
isessenalyagreatcompromisebetweenc<strong>on</strong>flicttheories<strong>and</strong><br />
tradi<strong>on</strong>alcriminology:inordertounderst<strong>and</strong>theproblem ofcriminality,alitsdimensi<strong>on</strong>stheperpetrator,thevicm,thestate<strong>and</strong>thesociety,aswelastheirinterela<strong>on</strong>ships-
<strong>Poverty</strong>asasocialc<strong>on</strong>textofcrime<br />
mustbefulyexplored.Thisrepresentsafundamentalshiinapproach,asmostoftheearlier<br />
theorecalc<strong>on</strong>ceptsweremostlyfocused<strong>on</strong><strong>on</strong>eofthedimensi<strong>on</strong>smen<strong>on</strong>ed,<strong>and</strong>theperpetrator-socialc<strong>on</strong>trolorstate,whilethevicm<br />
wasmostoenignored.Theresearcher,<strong>on</strong><br />
thebasisofrealism,hasthetaskofexaminingaltheinterdependenciesofthemen<strong>on</strong>ed<br />
dimensi<strong>on</strong>s,butalsoofthecausesofcriminalbehavior,factorsofvulnerabilityofvicms,as<br />
welassocialc<strong>on</strong>di<strong>on</strong>saffecngthelevelofc<strong>on</strong>trol<strong>and</strong>toleranceofcriminalbehavior.<br />
Althoughgeneralyassumedthecomplex,mulfactorialcausalityofviolence,lerealism<br />
fafavorsthesource(crical)viewpointthatviolenceaswelascrimeingeneral"springs"<strong>and</strong>is<br />
fedtostructuralsocialfactors.Thecentralmediatorofstructuralfeatures<strong>and</strong>violentcriminalityisrelavedepriva<strong>on</strong>asastateofobjecveneglect<strong>and</strong>anexperienceoffrustra<strong>on</strong><br />
oftheindividualduetotheinabilitytoreachthelevelofachievementofhisreferencegroup.<br />
TaylorpointstothefactorsofincreasingviolenceinWesterncountries,whicharetheresult<br />
ofstructuraldisturbancesduetotransi<strong>on</strong>from Indo-Russiantopost-industrialsociety.The<br />
riseofglobaliza<strong>on</strong>,thetendencyofdena<strong>on</strong>aliza<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong>thestrengtheningoftheliberal<br />
markethaveledtothecrisisofana<strong>on</strong>-statewhichisincreasinglyweakenedbythepossibilityofaredeploymentplanreducinginequaliesinincome<strong>and</strong>wealth,thusguaranteeing<br />
individual<strong>and</strong>colecvesecurity.Thegenerallevelofinsecurity<strong>and</strong>fearofcompe<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong><br />
of"others"isgrowing,<strong>and</strong>thecrisisofna<strong>on</strong>alstatesgoesh<strong>and</strong>inh<strong>and</strong>withrevivalof<br />
na<strong>on</strong>alisms("returningtotribalism")<strong>and</strong>separastaspira<strong>on</strong>sbased<strong>on</strong>ethnicityrunby<br />
populistright-wingideasof"blood<strong>and</strong>affinity".Ontheotherh<strong>and</strong>,thecrisisofthetradi-<br />
<strong>on</strong>al"masculinity"hasbeentriggeredbythetransi<strong>on</strong>oftheindustrialfamilytothefamily<br />
ofthepost-industrialage(wheremanisnol<strong>on</strong>gerthe<strong>on</strong>ly"foster"ofthefamily,leadingto<br />
decomposi<strong>on</strong>ofthetradi<strong>on</strong>alrolesoftherole)<strong>and</strong>insecurityasaresultofthegrowing<br />
presencewomen'slaborforceinthelabormarket,butalsothestructureoflabordem<strong>and</strong><br />
(post-industrialmarketsfavortradi<strong>on</strong>al"female"qualies,suchasserviceacvies),which<br />
furtherreducesthechanceforyoungmen,especialythosewhohavefailedto(byacquiring<br />
technological<strong>and</strong>otherknowledge<strong>and</strong>abiliesthatareatapriceinamarketsociety)are<br />
puledoutofec<strong>on</strong>omicaly<strong>and</strong>socialymarginalizedlayers.Menbehaveaccordingtothe<br />
principleof"dismissalbydismissed",<strong>and</strong>protestacviesofthe"tradi<strong>on</strong>ofmanhood"<br />
(alcoholc<strong>on</strong>sump<strong>on</strong>,games,etc.)<strong>and</strong>,am<strong>on</strong>gotherthings,stereotypical<strong>and</strong>vulgar<br />
versi<strong>on</strong>sofmasculinityincludingfavoringthemodelofdomina<strong>on</strong>overwomen.<br />
Theassessmentoftheimportanceofec<strong>on</strong>omic<strong>and</strong>macro-socialc<strong>on</strong>di<strong>on</strong>sis<strong>on</strong>eofthe<br />
mostsensivetasksofcriminology,socialwork,socialpedagogy<strong>and</strong>otherareasdealing<br />
withcrimepreven<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong>delinquencytreatment.Thetaskissuscepble,not<strong>on</strong>lybecause
<strong>Poverty</strong>asasocialc<strong>on</strong>textofcrime<br />
ofthecomplexityofthisproblem butalsobecauseofsuchanassessmentthewholec<strong>on</strong>cept<br />
<strong>and</strong>thestr<strong>on</strong>gpointsofpreven<strong>on</strong>dependgreatly<strong>on</strong>it.Althoughtherearenumerous<br />
findingsthatratessuchasmurdersinanegavecorela<strong>on</strong>withratesofec<strong>on</strong>omicgrowth,<br />
na<strong>on</strong>alincome<strong>and</strong>percapitaincome,employment<strong>and</strong>othersocio-ec<strong>on</strong>omicindicators,<br />
therearevariousexplana<strong>on</strong>softhesecorela<strong>on</strong>sintheliterature.Ec<strong>on</strong>omicfactorsare<br />
firstinterpreteddifferently,depending<strong>on</strong>whethertheirmostimportanteffect<strong>on</strong>peopleis<br />
seendirectlyorindirectly.Onthe<strong>on</strong>eh<strong>and</strong>,itisassumedthatunemployment,lowmaterial<br />
ststatus<strong>and</strong>otherformsofec<strong>on</strong>omicdepriva<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong>socialmarginaliza<strong>on</strong>arepredominantly<br />
direct,sincetheyareinsignificantposivecorela<strong>on</strong>withimbecility,leavingthestreetintegra<strong>on</strong>,hoslity<strong>and</strong>thedeclineoftotalsocial<strong>and</strong>interpers<strong>on</strong>altolerance,weakeningsocial<br />
organiza<strong>on</strong>,socialcapitaldecline<strong>and</strong>thefalofpro-social<strong>and</strong>n<strong>on</strong>-violentvaluesauthority.<br />
Itisalsoafactthatec<strong>on</strong>omicopportuniesinevitablyhaveanimpact<strong>on</strong>thegeneralsocial<br />
climate:theincreaseinpoverty,unemployment<strong>and</strong>anomyincreasescompe<strong>on</strong>am<strong>on</strong>g<br />
people,reducessolidarity,destroyssocialcohesi<strong>on</strong><strong>and</strong>thenormavesystem.Thestateof<br />
socialdisorganiza<strong>on</strong>ischaracterizednot<strong>on</strong>lybythedissolu<strong>on</strong>ofaninformalsystem of<br />
values<strong>and</strong>obliga<strong>on</strong>s,butalsobytheweakeningoftheformalsystem,whichcreatesthe<br />
c<strong>on</strong>di<strong>on</strong>sfortheproduc<strong>on</strong>ofevengreaterdisorganiza<strong>on</strong>resulngfrom theincreasing<br />
ratesofcrime<strong>and</strong>theoverallevelofviolenceinsociety.Theriseinviolenceinthesocialenvir<strong>on</strong>menthasarecuringeffect<strong>on</strong>eachpers<strong>on</strong>individualy.<br />
References<br />
Galtung,J.(1969).Violence,peace<strong>and</strong>peaceresearch.JournalofPeaceResearch,6(3),p.167<br />
-191.<br />
Gramberg,B.V.(2000).Media<strong>on</strong>,StructuralViolence<strong>and</strong>IndustrialRela<strong>on</strong>s.VictoriaSchool<br />
ofManagement,WorkingPaperSeries,5.<br />
Gil,D.(1978).Societalviolenceinfamilies.In:J.M.Eekelaar,S.N.Katz(eds.),FamilyViolence(p.<br />
14-33).Tor<strong>on</strong>to:Buerworths.<br />
Parker,R.N.(1989).<strong>Poverty</strong>,SubcultureofViolence,<strong>and</strong>TypeofHomicide.SocialForces,67,p.<br />
983-1007.<br />
Hansmann,H.B,Quigley,J.M.(1982).Popula<strong>on</strong>heterogeneity<strong>and</strong>thesociogenesisof<br />
homicide.SocialForces,61(2),p.206-204.<br />
Nijboer,J.(1995).TrendsinViolence<strong>and</strong>HomicideintheNetherl<strong>and</strong>s.In:C.R.Block,R.L.Block<br />
(eds.),Trends,Risks<strong>and</strong>Interven<strong>on</strong>sinLethalviolence:ProceedingsoftheThirdAnnualSpring<br />
Symposium oftheHomicideResearchWorkingGroup(p.117-126).Washingt<strong>on</strong>D.C:U.S.<br />
DepartmentofJusce,OfficeofJuscePrograms,NIJ.<br />
B<strong>on</strong>ger,W.(1916),Criminality<strong>and</strong>Ec<strong>on</strong>omicC<strong>on</strong>di<strong>on</strong>s,L<strong>on</strong>d<strong>on</strong>.
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