An Analysis of Poverty and Crime from Sociology and Economics Perspective

Running head: POVERTY AND CRIME
AN ANALYSIS OF POVERTY AND CRIME FROM SOCIOLOGY AND ECONOMICS
PERSPECTIVE
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POVERTY AND CRIME1
As stated by Daly (2017), crime is perhaps one of the most important wicked problems
that the different nations of the world are facing since the traditional times and the worst part is
the fact that the rate of crimes or for that matter the criminal activities is increasing in an
exponential manner. Engelen, Lander and Van Essen (2016) are of the viewpoint that the
different kinds of crimes not only adversely affect the lives of the common people and also cause
a substantial loss of valuable property as well. Furthermore, recent researchers have revealed the
fact a direct correlation exists between the entities of crimes or for that matter the criminal
activities and poverty since it had been a substantial percentage of the crimes committed in the
entire world are being committed by the individuals living below the line of poverty (Short Jr.,
2018). More importantly, as discussed by De Giorgi (2017), the exponential increase in the crime
rate of the world had made the different scholars or for that matter the researchers to undertake a
discussion of the relationship which exists between crime and poverty from various theoretical
disciplines. In this relation, it needs to be said that the disciplines of sociology and economics are
the two major disciplines from the perspective of which the scholars and the researchers are
trying to explain the relationship that exists between poverty and crime. The essay intends to
undertake an analysis of the relationship which exists between poverty and crime through the
usage of the disciplines of sociology and economics.
Lofstrom and Raphael (2016) are of the viewpoint that a profound relationship exists
between poverty and crime and this becomes more apparent when an analysis of the different
criminal activities that had been committed over the years is being undertaken. For instance, it
had been seen that the crime rate in the regions which is being inhabited by the people living
below the line of poverty is very high in comparison to the areas wherein the people who
adequate amount of wealth reside (Farkas, 2017). As discussed by Forst (2016), this can be

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explained on the basis of the fact that the deprived of the basic rights or for that the ineffective
fulfillment of the basic psychosocial needs of the individuals because of poverty often propels
them to indulge in the kind of activities which are not being considered legal or ethical by the
society. More importantly, it had been seen that the definition of crime or for that matter criminal
activities itself is a subjective one and thus it is seen that the activities which were considered to
be completed legal or ethical at one point of time are considered to be crimes in the present times
(Baskin, 2018). Furthermore, in order to effectively understand the concept of crimes and its
relationship with poverty it is important for the individuals to understand the factors which
influence the individuals to indulge in various kinds of criminal activities or the factors that
contribute towards the same (Zehr, 2019). It is in the light of these aspects that the researcher had
decided to undertake an analysis of the relationship between crime and poverty through the usage
of the disciplines of sociology and economics so as to gain a better understanding of the
concerned relationship.
Cheong and Wu (2015) are of the viewpoint that in order to gain an effective
understanding of the relationship which exists between poverty and crime through the discipline
of sociology the individuals are required to take into account the concepts propounded by
Adolphe Quetelet. As discussed by Loseke (2017), in the earlier times one important justification
for the high crime rate of the regions with high poverty rate was the fact that poverty influenced
the individuals to indulge in different kinds of criminal activities. More importantly, in the
particular context of city of Paris in the 19th century it was seen that the crime rate was the
highest in the regions with the highest rate of poverty (Hayward, 2016). However, Adolphe
Quetelet after undertaking an analysis of the crime rates of the different regions of the city of
Paris came forward with the result that it was not true that the crime rate of all the regions in the

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city of Paris wherein the poorest people of the city lived was high (Okulicz-Kozaryn & Mazelis,
2018). Rather he found that the crime rate of only those regions which were in the vicinity of the
regions wherein the rich or for that matter the affluent people of the city dwelled. For instance,
unlike the earlier scholars or for that matter the theorists who considered poverty to be the
primary factor which influenced crime, Quetelet suggested that social deprivation was the major
factor which influenced crime (Mills, Freilich & Chermak, 2017).
According to MacLeod (2018), an important aspect of the contemporary world is the fact
that more than 90% of the wealth of the world is being held by less than 10% of the people of the
world. Weatherburn and Schnepel (2015) are of the viewpoint that this unequal distribution of
wealth among the different individuals have created a rift among the individuals on the basis of
the wealth that they hold. More importantly, it had been seen that the individuals who live below
the line of poverty had to face a substantial amount of deprivation because of the inadequate
amount of wealth that they have and this in turn often leads to the ineffective fulfillment of their
basic psychosocial needs as well. The resultant effect of this is that the individuals living below
the line of poverty often resort to the usage of activities which are considered to be illegal or for
that matter unethical from the perspective of the people of the mainland for the fulfillment of
their social expectations (Ljujic, van Prooijen & Weerman, 2017). It is precisely here that the
concept of anomie becomes important since it adequately explains the high crime rate among the
people who had to face a substantial amount of deprived or for that matter are not being able to
fulfill their social expectations. For instance, it had been seen that there are many individuals
living below the line of poverty who indulge in different kinds of criminal activities however the
justification which is being offered for the criminal activities which are being performed by them