Interconnection of Social Problems: Crime Punishment and Poverty

Crime, Punishment and Poverty
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The overlap of social problems affects the lives of society. Correlation between poverty and crime exists because socioeconomic class of individuals influences their probability of committing crime. The current increase in criminal justice sanctions have linked punishment in contributing to racial and ethnic discrimination. This paper seeks to demonstrate the interconnection of social problems that are caused by poverty, punishment, and crime (Wheelock & Uggen, 2006).
Criminal sanctions and victimization work to form a system of disadvantage that perpetuates stratification and poverty. The latest patterns of criminal justice policy manifested by increases in all types of criminal justice sanctions have changed consideration to the role of punishment in contributing to ethnic and racial inequality. Furthermore, the recent patterns of criminal punishment are attributed to the worsening of ethnic and racial inequality in several social institutions. Young African American men with low levels of education are argued to be highly vulnerable to the harmful effects of victimization and criminal punishment (Wheelock & Uggen, 2006).
Research has shown that White Americans who mostly relate crime with people of color tend to support disciplinary criminal justice policies. When people believe that those who commit crime are similar to them, they are more willingly to reflect on the fundamental penalties of the crime and respond with sympathy and leniency. However, when people recognize a racial gap among themselves and those who commit crime, they are less considerate and react with anger. Moreover, White Americans are supportive of harsh punishment to African Americans than their counterparts, hence fueling racial and ethnic inequality (Ghandnoosh, 2014).
Punishment impacts individuals convicted of felonies, as well as their families, peer groups, neighborhoods, and racial group. Federal and state laws stipulate that persons convicted of criminal acts should be forbidden from entirely participating in politics, family life, labor markets, and education institutions. Released prisoners face the difficulties of improving their lives after reentering the society. Families are forced to devise other ways of meeting their needs after conviction of a family member, especially father who is the provider of the family (Wheelock & Uggen, 2006).
Men account for the highest percentage of those incarcerated in prison and local jails. The social impact of male incarceration is depicted by gross unevenness of community and family connection. Women are tasked with the responsibility of raising children, while men tackle the option of detachment through incarceration. Furthermore, the influence of the penal system on social and economic disadvantage can be observed in the economic and family lives of the individuals who were previously incarcerated (Ghandnoosh, 2014).
African Americans are incarcerated approximately seven times as often as Whites. The high rate of imprisonment can be attributed to the constant racial ...