Crime: The big Lie
Criminology One of the biggest issues in America today is crime. It is a large problem that continues to erode our country economically as well as morally. Because of the vastness of the problem, many have speculated what the cause for crime may be in hopes that a solution will be found. Many believe that a bad family life, location of residence, and poverty hold a few of the answers to why an individual becomes involved in criminal activity. Crime has been a major problem addressed in every presidential campaign for about three decades. This is because the American people are sick of the ever growing problem and seem to be voting for whoever claims to do the most about it. Major criminal justice functions such as correctional facilities, the FBI, and the Judicial branch have all, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, had increasing budgets for the past 15 years. The problems persist and we still scream for more crime prevention. Why does America experience such !problems? There are many theories. The theory that holds the most validity is that many criminals have had a bad family life in one way or another. They have had few positive role models while growing up. John J. Dilulio, Jr., a scholar on crime policy, su
and how to get "involved with good things, not bad" (Smolowe 1). Above all, the programs involve adults positively interacting with the children of these communities. By giving the kids unconditional love, interacting with them in a socially correct way, and being positive role models, community leaders can help break down the assumptions many of these kids may, or will have, about authority figures. As I discussed earlier, conceptions that a child develops about authority can play a big part in whether or not they develop a defiant character. Shea 5 Steps, although small, are being taken to decrease poverty as well. One reason for the scarcity of resources in impoverished areas is because the economies there have stagnated. No new money is put back into the communities because banks in these areas, if they exist, are making very few loans to them. Instead, they have been turning the deposits of the poor communities into loans for the suburbs. This is illegal under the Communi! Ruffins, Paul "How the Big Apple cut to the core of its crime problem" The Crisis July 1997 104.1 p4 Campbell, Geoffrey A. "Putting a crimp in crime: experts differ over reasons for falling rates of serious offenses" ABA Journal May 1997 83 p24 Horvitz, Leslie Ann "Anarchy, poverty, chaos eclipse the 'City of Light.'" Insight on the News Feb 12, 1996 12.6 p19 Gilderbloom, John I. "Rebuilding inner cities" Journal of Housing and Community Development Jan-Feb 1996 53.1 p42 Urban African American adolescents and their parents: perceptions of violence within and against their communities. Linda M. Kaljee, Bonita Stanton, Izabel Ricardo, Tony L. Whitehead. Human Organization Winter 1995 54.4 p373 Clark, Charles S. "Revitalizing the cities" CQ Researcher Oct 13, 1995 5.38 p899 Campos, Geraldine "The rise of quality of life issues" Progressive Architecture Oct 1995 76.10 p41 DiIulio Jr, John J. "Comment on Douglas S. Massey's 'Getting away with murder: segregation and violent crime i! 's surrounding communities in the from of loans for the fiscal year of 1998 and beyond (Puenta, par.1). This will begin to eliminate the stagnation that the communities economies are experiencing, which may help the crime rate decrease in these areas because eventually, Shea 6 the future will not look so bleak that individuals living there feel that crime is the only way to avoid the cycle of working hard in low-paying, dead end job. Some criminologists and sociologists will tell you over and over that crime followers poverty. Douglas S. Massey, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, is convinced of this (Dilulio 4).However, it is only one part of the puzzle. Crime can not be directly linked to poverty. In the first half of this century, souther
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Approximate Word count = 1837
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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