Reducing Crime by Introducing Employment

Reducing Crime by Introducing Employment
Cities are often crowded by people who hail from low financial backgrounds. These people often do not have basic needs prompting them to engage in crime to buy life essentials like food and clothes. A 2022 report by Safe Home shows that the local agencies reported 3.9 million crime cases to the FBI in the USA (SafeHome.org, 2022). The poor people in society are the suspects in most of these criminal cases. Every federal and local government would want to reduce such crime incidences or eradicate them. This can be done by introducing employment opportunities and welfare support programs for the poor people in society. These programs foster peace and reduce the crime rate in major cities globally because unemployment, poverty, and government negligence of the low class are the major causes of the rise in crime rates.
Unemployment is a major contributor to the rise of the crime rate globally. People need jobs to earn income that helps them afford basic needs. When they cannot secure a job, some people may opt to engage in crime to get money to buy essential life needs. According to Omboi (2020), most youths who do not have legal ways to earn income in urban centers turn to crime. They steal people's money, electronics like phones and laptops, and other belongings they can resell to get money. Others steal cars and dismantle them before selling them to garage owners as spare parts. Another section of youths may opt to engage in crime as a way to protest to the governments and private sectors about unemployment, while "unemployed youth are the main target for terrorist group and political violence" (Omboi, 2020, p 80). Providing employment opportunities to such youths will help them make ethical decisions that foster peace and reduce crime rates. They will have legal sources of income that will help them pay for essential bills, thus drawing them away from crime.
Poverty is another major contributor to the increased crime rate in cities. It refers to the state of having little income or few material possessions and can have diverse economic, social and political effects. People will opt to engage in crime to get resources to ensure they continue to survive (Blattman et al., 2017). For example, a street family living in New York City will steal from people to get money to buy food for their homeless families. Such a homeless family may also steal and use the money to buy a home in the most remote places to settle their families. In such cases, welfare programs play a key role. An example of what welfare programs do is settle the homeless families by giving them a home and piece of land they can comfortably stay at. Governments agents and private parties can contribute to the initiation and execution of such welfare programs targeting the poor members of the society. This will ensure that members from these families do not engage in crime, thus fostering peace and reducing community crime rates.
The low-class society members in many states complain of neglect by the federal government. When campaigning to be elected into the leadership, most people mobilize the poor society members to vote for them, citing that they will introduce reforms to help them get out of poverty. However, they forget their promises once elected, and most of the development reforms implemented by these leaders often target the working and the upper class. The low class remains in their abject poverty, unemployment, and discrimination. Muggah et al. (2018) assert that many of the society members "are already raised in households struggling with poverty, debt, discrimination and limited educational and employment opportunities" (p. 11). This leaves the low class, who are often poor members of the society, without any development programs to help them live comfortable lives. The neglected people's easy way out of poverty and to get money to buy essential goods and services is to engage in criminal activities like robbery. The federal and local governments can develop welfare programs like settlement schemes for the homeless. They can also set aside unskilled labor jobs for those who did not attend schools for lack of fees and sponsor students from these classes willing to continue their education. If federal governments could develop such welfare programs and provide employment opportunities for these people as they promise when campaigning for election, the crime rate would decrease, fostering peace in the society.
In conclusion, crime rates and peaceful coexistence in society are highly dependent on the employment rate and availability of welfare programs. The poor and low-class members form the largest proportion of the people engaging in crime and disrupting the peace. Providing employment opportunities keeps criminals busy, diverting their minds from crime. It also provides them with income sources to fund their basic needs. In the same way, providing welfare support keeps the homeless and the less fortunate comfortable and empowers them. This fosters societal peace and reduces crime rates.
References
2022 crime rates in U.S. cities report. SafeHome.org. (2022, February 15). Retrieved March 3, 2022, from https://www(dot)safehome(dot)org/resources/crime-statistics-by-state/
Blattman, C., Jamison, J. C., & Sheridan, M. (2017). Reducing Crime and Violence: Experimental Evidence from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Liberia. American Economic Review, 107(4), 1165–1206. doi:10.1257/aer.20150503
Muggah, R., Garzón, J. C., & Suárez, M. (2018). Mano Dura: The costs and benefits of repressive criminal justice for young people in Latin America.
Omboi, G. (2020). Influence of Youth Unemployment on Crime Rates in Mathare Constituency, Nairobi City County, Kenya. Kenyatta University.