Does social deprivation cause crime?

Started by Livewire July 18th, 2012 9:37 AM
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Livewire

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Sunnyshore City
Seen December 3rd, 2022
Posted August 2nd, 2019
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13.8 Years
Since the advent of modern social science, sociologists and criminologists have been preoccupied with finding the answer to what is the root cause of criminal (or deviant) behaviour and, therefore, what are the best ways to prevent it. Many theories have been put forward on the subject. Some of them have since been completely discredited — like Lombroso’s theory that you can determine a person’s propensity toward criminal behaviour by measuring certain physiological traits such as head size. But much of the focus and research into the causes of crime has centred around the impact of social deprivation or poverty on those who commit it. Poverty is a huge problem worldwide, the US census in 2010 recorded that 15.1% of people in the US live in poverty, and for those aged under 18’s the rate was even higher at 22%.[1] While the numbers in absolute poverty have been dropping there were still 1.4billion people on less than $1.25 per day as of 2005. Oxfam records that 1 in 5 in the UK live below the poverty line, and this is mostly children, pensioners or disabled people.[3] The interest in poverty in relation to crime stems mainly from the factual reality that there is a significant, proven correlation between the two. However, in this debate the proposition needs to show there is more than just a correlation, but that a major cause of crime lies in social deprivation. Also, ‘crime’ needs to be defined carefully, as it is a term which covers a very wide variety of activities and behaviours which are very difficult to address together (for example, burglary, incitement to racial hatred, insider trading, paedophilic abuse, driving over the speed limit and murder).

Thoughts? If crime springs from poverty, inequality, and desperation, how do we combat the source of crime, and crime itself?

NarutoActor

The rocks cry out to me

Age 29
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Brooklyn/Marlboro
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Posted March 22nd, 2016
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well I see that more as a de jure truth rather than a de facto truth, meaning its more of a stimulus to crime not the cause.

If you read Plato's republic, then the reason for crime, is stupidity. If more people saught higher education, then less people would break the law; for they fully understand the ramifications.
~There are those people who understand hex, F the rest

Livewire

Male
Sunnyshore City
Seen December 3rd, 2022
Posted August 2nd, 2019
14,091 posts
13.8 Years
well I see that more as a de jure truth rather than a de facto truth, meaning its more of a stimulus to crime not the cause.

If you read Plato's republic, then the reason for crime, is stupidity. If more people saught higher education, then less people would break the law; for they fully understand the ramifications.

...what.


It's hard to get a higher education when your socio-economic status says otherwise. Poverty breeds crime, we know this.