Many citizens look upon the poor as a socially lower group in many respects. One association that is often made is that between crime and poverty. Scholars disagree about how much poverty affects crime rates, if it does at all. While many poor people turn to crime, and many people with criminal records have trouble escaping poverty, the two aren’t hopelessly linked.
Do a little research and see if you can find any strong correlations between poverty and crime in America.
Discuss the issue and then respond to the postings of two of your classmates.
The correlation that I found between poverty and crime are these: The Social structure theory view that disadvantage of economic class position is a primary cause of crime. This theory includes three perspectives: social disorganization, strain theory, and cultural deviance theory. Social disorganization focuses on the breakdown of institutions such as the family, school, and employment in inner city neighborhoods. Thus, making these organizations unable to perform their purpose. Strain theory focuses crime as a function of the conflict between people’s goals and the means available to obtain them. For example: many/most people in the United States desire material possession, money, and power; but not everybody accomplishes it. This creates frustration, anger, and resentment on those who can’t obtain these things and choose an alternative way to obtain these things. Cultural deviance theory combines both strain and social disorganization theories and creates a unique lower class culture that is against the social norms. This lower class subculture expresses their disagreement by criminal behavior and this tradition is pass from one generation to another. by Melvin Pereira
Melvin: I see where you are trying to go with this, but I am leaning more towards the social learning theory. Poverty causes localization of poor individuals in a small and condensed area. For example, local housing projects such as the “Pork n Beans” are comprised solely of families who live below the poverty level. This localization causes an individual to be exposed to crime at an early age, and they will eventually become accustom to crime, and the acceptance of it as a way of life. If you have the chance, check out: Crime Causation: Sociological Theories - Social Learning Theory http://law.jrank.org/pages/815/Crime-Causation-Sociological-Theories-Social-learning-theory.html#ixzz0epvFlGKh You will see that according to social learning theory, juveniles learn to engage in crime in the same way they learn to engage in conforming behavior: through association with or exposure to others. Primary or intimate groups like the family and peer group have an especially large impact on what we learn. In fact, association with delinquent friends is the best predictor of delinquency other than prior delinquency. It just so happens that the dropout rate in areas of poverty is higher than any other area. A study commissioned by the Black Alliance for Educational Options was able to correlate the dropout rate to poverty and incarceration. The study showed that Students who fail to graduate from high school face a very bleak future. Because the basic skills conveyed in high school and higher education are essential for success in today’s economy, students who do not receive these skills are likely to suffer with significantly reduced earnings and employment prospects. Students who fail to graduate high school are also significantly more likely to become single parents and have children at young ages. And students who do not graduate high school are significantly more likely to rely upon public assistance or be in prison. Approximately 40 percent of the residents in Michigan who received welfare and 70 percent of convicts entering prison were high school dropouts. As a result, what I am seeing is that poverty increases the likelihood of living in a bad neighborhood where unethical behavior is accepted or the norm. With the projects having a higher rate of dropouts than in middle class neighborhoods, poverty also seems to increase the likelihood of a person dropping out of school. Dropping out of school increases the likelihood of a person committing a crime due to the inability of the dropout to find legitimate employment, or if they are able to find employment, they will be paid an extremely low wage that more than likely will not be enough to support the family. Desmond
Based on the research that I did, I concluded that there is some type of correlation between poverty and crime in America. Many scholars argue that poverty does not have a causal relationship to crime because there are countries in which poverty is very high but the crime rate is relatively low. Yet, in this country it would be hard to argue that there is not a relationship between crime and poverty. Poor people make up the overwhelming majority of those behind bars as 53% of those in prison earned less than $10,000 per year before incarceration, (http://capaassociation.org/newsletter_N009/Articles/PovertyCrime.htm). Sociologist and criminal justice scholars have found a direct correlation between poverty and crime. One economic theory of crime assumes that people weigh the consequences of committing crime. They resort to crime only if the cost or consequences are outweighed by the potential benefits to be gained. The logical conclusion to this theory is that people living in poverty are far more likely to commit property crimes such as burglary, larceny, or theft. I truly believe that much of the crime committed in this country does have to do with the fact that those committing it belong to this poverty that we are discussing, at least most of them. Yet, it may not always be the case. We may know of a lot of people that were brought up in low income homes and are not criminals. They survived the poverty and made other good choices in life. It really is a balance between both.
When researching statistical numbers between poverty and crime, I found out that, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage 2008 Report, 13.2 percent of all persons lived in poverty in 2008. In 1993 the poverty rate was 15.1 percent but between 1993 and 2000, the poverty rate fell, reaching 11.3 percent in 2000. Serious crimes also declined during much of the 1990s and the early years of the 21st century. In 2007, violent and property crime rates were at the lowest levels recorded since 1973. Even in the middle of a recession, murder rates fell 10 percent nationally and 19 percent in New York City alone. The general idea is that there is a strong link between poverty and crime and I believe that poverty and environment, but also individual choices are some of the reasons why someone would engage in criminal behavior. Following the Rational Choice Deterrence theory, crime is a choice influenced by its costs and benefits. Obviously, not all poor people commit crimes but many do. Poverty is widespread and during times of recession, many families who were making ends meet are evicted from their homes and will live on the streets or move in with relatives to areas of urban decay, neighborhoods that fell into disrepair and abandonment, within vacant buildings, derelict vehicles scattered around, graffiti, drug and gangs activities, and consequently, high levels of crime. In the lower class areas, poverty may cause a person to commit crime if they truly want something but cannot afford it. They will steal, have someone else steal it for them, and commit other crimes besides theft. They will also measure costs and benefits of crime either by direct experiences with punishment or punishment avoidance, or indirectly by observing whether others who offend are punished or avoid punishment. It is important to remember though, that crime can happen anywhere, and to anyone, not only around those who are poor. Helena
In this issue, where scholars disagree that there is a link between poverty and crime, I disagree to a certain extent because the numbers are off in my opinion. The article I found was titled “Poverty in America: Beyond welfare reform”, posted on Jun 2002 by Lichter, Daniel T, Crowley, Martha L. Here it states that the poor have a higher arrest rate than the nonpoor. In the article, one of the views is that the poor have access to good legal representation and are targeted more than others. I agree that the high rate of crimes committed by the poor is because they commit more crimes but also because they caught more often (they are the target). It also states that poor children are more likely to be “raised by a single mom, they lack supervision, and are socialized to deviant subcultures” (such as gangs and organized crime). If we stop to think about what each reason means, we get the likelihood of a child being abused and possibly sexually abused by others and not having anyone to tell, teen pregnancy (no prenatal care), no education, lack of nutrition, bad health, violent crimes (because of gang activity), drug abuse and over all, the lost of another child to the system. All of those factors are linked to those in today's prison population.
Melvin, I agree with what you stated that many/most people in the United States desire material possessions and money and not everyone accomplishes getting it. Yet, why don’t these people that create the resentment on themselves, instead in trying to better themselves to obtain what they want in an educated way they end up choosing the alternative way as you say. This is something that is real hard for me to comprehend. You can’t go by what other’s have and you don’t have. You have what you have because you work hard for it and that’s the way it should be. Unfortunately that's not reality in today's world.
Melvin I agree with the fact that "Most/many people in the United States desire material possession, money, and power", and I think that is a problem we have in society today. In the article I read, it stated that 80% of crimes committed by the poor are on the poor themselves. So the poor steal from the poor, the poor commit violent acts on the poor.
I found no correlation between poverty and crime. What I found was a misinformed population that because of media redlines have a perception that crime and poverty are correlate.
Most of individuals think that criminality is a direct product of poverty, the truth is if criminality was a product of poverty how to explain the fact of "filthy rich folks" committee crimes. The difference is that white collar crimes are not consider by many as a big deal, it is not perceive the same way as theft, robbery and others because it is not into your face all times even though every time somebody commits a insurance fraud or medicare fraud, we all pay for it.
In New York in the era of Mayor Giuliani, the program Zero Tolerance was implemented crimes was reduce significantly without having nothing to do with the financial situation of its citizens. The fact of people is poor does not have nothing to do with being dishonest.
It is easy to blame the ones that are in disadvantage already but reality is that people are growing up without any moral values, faith, basic education, or empathy ... there is not longer families but instead just people having children just because they forgot to use protection.
Helena referring to what you stated, “The general idea is that there is a strong link between poverty and crime and I believe that poverty and environment, but also individual choices are some of the reasons why someone would engage in criminal behavior.” This is exactly what I think as well. I stated before that not due to the poverty level that a person lives in they will make the choice of committing crime. They have the choice to better themselves and get out of the poverty they live in. It will not necessarily be always the case that due to the environment they live in they will always commit crime, but statistics do show that many of them do.
I agree with this statement "It just so happens that the dropout rate in areas of poverty is higher than any other area." There is link between the drop out rate and low income neighborhoods. There are many reasons as to why that is and one could be because some may be under the mentality that "this is it" and they may lack encouragement and are forgotten.
In a class I took last semester we researched on the link between education and prison. We found that the prison population has an average of no more than an 8th grade education. We also found that prison's are built based on the idea that poverty is high in many areas. It is like a set up for failure. If you notice, prison's are built in rural areas where you cannot even spell the name right. They are built in those areas to increse revenue. So what I see is that they are gaining from someone else's disadvantaged upbringing.
I believe in prevention. Rather than building more jails, and more abortion clinics, they should build more parks, create better after school care programs that can be accessed at a little to no cost, and educate pre-teens on sex, contraception choices, and parenting.
I agree with Desmond based on my own life experinces back in Brazil. People grown accustom to things that they see and live in their everyday life. If you are exposed to crime at an early age,eventually you will accept as a way of life.
I do not agree with my friend Melvin(JOE)...not everybody in the U.S. desires material possessions. There is a great majority that just want to live their lifes with the basic that everyone deserves: shelter,security, food,education.
If his last statement is correct: This lower class subculture expresses their disagreement by criminal behavior and this tradition is pass from one generation to another
What is the Maddoff's, Alan Stanford, and many others that are in federal prison excuse????
Even though statistics may show that poor neighborhoods may have a high crime rate, I tend to agree with the scholars that poverty is not the cause. Crimes in America exist in all areas, urban and rural, and by all types of people. But, there are other factors that influence crime in poor neighborhoods such as unemployment, poor housing conditions, education level, and being victims of crimes themselves.
Poverty does not breed crime, but crime itself makes the neighborhood poorer. It is a never-ending cycle. However, not all crimes are committed by the impoverished. Even in the most affluent neighborhoods you will see violent crimes committed by wealthy or upper middle class. There are many poor people living in poverty that do not choose to live a life of crime. Many outside forces such as gangs and drug dealers take their opportunity on the poverty-stricken areas to capitalize on the poverty of others. They introduce drug dealing to the young youth there to show them that there is a way to make money easily (taking advantage that these poor teens do not have all the things they otherwise could have). Along with drug dealing, theft and murder will come in. The children in these areas are then exposed to these criminal behavior and don’t have much of a good role model. Thus, when you are exposed to criminal behavior, it doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, you will be more likely to engage in criminal acts.
Children develop their values and social cultures from their environment where they are raised. Their emotions are shaped by the quality of care and attention they get when they are babies up until they are about 10 yrs old. Absence of strong family values and morals usually lead teens and adults to commit crimes more than poverty itself. To say that poor people commit more crimes than those in a better economic status is a fallacy as we should take into account that crimes are also committed by the non-poverty society. We cannot rely solely on statistics as crimes committed by the non-poor are understated because these people have better lawyers and sometimes can get away with it. Many go unreported.
Poverty does not have nothing to do with poor people but has a lot to do with dishonest people. The rich are under represented in our judicial system just because when they get caught, most of times they get off because they can hired good lawyers, the poor can not!!!
You make a valid point in that poor people and not unduly afflicted with criminal behavior. Certainly, as Jackie and Melvin mention, people from impoverished areas commit crimes against those in the same area. It is difficult to imagine white collar crime in the same light as common theft....we don't see comon theft on TV. When we see drug abuse on TV, we see poor people in crack houses getting high and killing each other.
You make good reference to the issue and thank you for citing stress (ANOMIE) and the strain theory. I think it is hghly applicable to this discussion.
You paint a picture very well. That disorganized and neglected scene causes apathy amongst the residents. When people lose hope in the society that they see others benefit from, it must be tremendously painful....
Jackie, I understand when you state that people cannot go by what others have. However, humankind and crime had grown together, since the beginning of times. The Bible tells us that the first criminal act occurred when Kane killed his brother Abel and after that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments to live by. Any act done against the law is considered a crime and we can go back to the first tribes when stealing one egg, or even worse, the chicken, was considered a crime. Nothing compared with the crimes we experience today. It looks like the more advanced society is, the worse are the crimes people commit. As per having what the others have in our society, how about going back to parents going above and beyond to buy their kids all the material things they “demand” to have, just because “so and so has it and I have to have it too”. This is the well-known uncontrolled materialism reinforced by so many adults. So when the kid grows up and still wants what the other has, but there are no parents around to fulfill his/her wishes, he might do whatever it takes to have what he wants. Helena
You make good reference to the issue of expectations and how learning bad stuff and learning conformity with social norms are strong indicators of future behavior amongst youths.
I think you are on target when you mention the issue of abuse. I think that th government should do much more for those single parent families. I wonder if people in the higher income brackets or those who are "rich" should be made to contribute more to help those less fortunate?
While I agree with your logic, I tend to view the issue a little differently. I think that when people give their kids material things, they must be in a position to do so (except in the case of criminlaity). That being said, the child should be learning certain values. Not all parents who "spoil" their kids have careless intentions.
Claudia, I understand your point but even though criminality might not be “a direct product of poverty” I do not think we can totally discard the factor “poverty in association with crime”. I found this article about an experiment that was done in Lowell, Massachusetts, trying to proof the broken window theory from James Q. Wilson, a political scientist at Harvard, and George L. Kelling, a criminologist. This theory implies that a community in disarray sends a message of chaos and lack of command, increases fear, weakens community controls, and invites criminal behavior. Usually, low-income or poor people reside in less prosperous and unorganized communities. This theory also believes that stopping minor offenses and restoring the order can prevent serious crimes. What happened in Lowell was that researchers and police identified 34 crime hot spots and cleaned only half of them. They removed trash from the sidewalks, fixed streetlights, secured abandoned buildings, arrested more people from misdemeanors, and dispersed loiterers. Homeless and residents with mental disorders were taken care of. After that, researchers from Harvard and Suffolk University watched and recorded criminal incidents in each of the hot spots and saw a 20 percent drop in calls to police from the parts of town that received extra attention, which was considered as a strong scientific evidence that disorderly conditions bring up bad behavior, and that fixing them can help prevent crime. Helena
Claudia: I agree with Claudia in that poverty does not equal crime. In her example of how the Zero Tolerance program implemented by NY former Mayor Giuliani showed that making changes in the poverty-stricken neighborhood reduced crime, even though it did not change their economic situation. She also hits the point in that it is more than one’s income level. It is people growing up without any morale, values, basic education and faith. These factors are more prevalent in low income families struggling to survive. But, in the end, rich or poor, crimes do not discriminate.
I see how the learning theory affects poverty. We know that there are many factors that will make somebody commit crime. I believe that the environment, their neighborhood and their friends affects the poor as well.
Dr. Kalam, I understand your opinion but you also mentioned that “they must be in a position to do so”, or in other words, parents that spoil kids are probably economically sound and do not go above their means. By reading the credit card statistics on credit card debt and delinquencies in this country, we can clearly doubt this argument. I agree to the fact that parents usually try to do their best for their kids, after all, this is their mission, but I also believe that material things are definitely not the most important proof of love a parent could give to his/her kids and, because they lack quality time they try to cover it with what money can buy, with dreadful consequences. Helena
First of all I am glad what is considered poverty was discussed in class, and a better explanation was provided. Many are under the wrong impression what poverty is; when you are not able to afford food or medical care you are considered to be in poverty not just because you cannot afford that new Mercedes. As criminal justice students we understand crime statics for the most part are not accurate, because of under reporting to begin with. And crimes that are unsolved you are unable to determine who the offender. Just because a crime is committed against an affluent person or a person in poverty or what are considered those types of neighborhoods does not mean the offender is of the same social stature. Also because about 16 million Americans are considered to live in poverty, the fact one person has to live this way is sad, but is still an under representation of the total U.S. population. The main type of crime that is committed is non violent person crimes and violent crimes are committed much less. While overall more crimes are going to be committed in other areas it seems to me more violent acts are committed person then in other areas. There are several factors that come into play such as logistics most areas that are considered in poverty are in urban areas and allow easy access for person crimes to be committed. The lighting, security and broken window theory come into play. The overall conditions of these areas allow more crime to occur also the rundown look also in studies has shown attracts crime. Are society seems focuses on money a broken light or graffiti is going to be repaired much quicker in key Biscayne then in an area that is less affluent and citizens voices are not heard as loudly. True politicians are suppose to care about the people that they represent while some do there is also a new type of practice where you care about political donations. When you are struggling to put a meal on the table it would be easy to assume you cannot afford wealthy contributions and in districts where the representative doesn’t understand they are a public servant not all voices are heard equally. Also when you have less it is easier to notice when something is missing. Some people with insurance never make reports just calling their insurance company when something is stolen or just replace it without ever reporting it. If the only way you ever have of replacing the item is having the police recover it you will be much more likely to report the crime. Many drug dealers are considered wealthy they live in big houses and have fancy cars, but the way they pay for those things is thought criminal enterprise while they are not considered to be in poverty it also needs to be looked at without crime and the financial rewards would they be considered at that level. Also we know it is harder for convicted felons to get a job over people that are free of criminal history. Unable to work and already branded with a label survival comes into play and acts are committed. Also not being able to finance the proper defense or truly understand the legal system people in poverty are convicted more. While crime does exist in all areas. I seem it’s to hard to argue that if you live in a so called rich area you far less have a chance to be victim of a violent crime as in a poor one. While the chance still exists. How many shootings are reported in housing projects compared to Key Biscayne. While no one wants to be a victim of crime if you had to choose it is obvious you would prefer to be the victim of a non violent act to violent. http://www.cato.org/testimony/ct-wc67.html http://capaassociation.org/newsletter_N009/Articles/PovertyCrime.htm
I also agree that poverty does not equal crime. But, living in a poor neighborhood affects people's behavior, future performance, and conduct. People get used to live like everyone else, with no aspiration, because they see that there is no reason for fighting for a better life.
Jackie, I agree with what you are saying and even though 53 percent of people in prison were making 10,000 a year or less. I think that number is higher. Many people that were committed crimes like drug dealing or fraud. May have money or fake companies because of their criminal enterprises. If they did not have these funds they would be living well below the 10,000 mark. Poor areas are also an easy target for crime. It is rare you’re going to find a gated community with security, a crime watch, closed circuit TV’s things that are shown to reduce property crime.
I disagree with your statement that crimes committed in this country are committed by those in the poverty level. The statistics of crimes committed by white-collar, higher income people may get understated and less publicized than of those in the poverty or low income groups. The non-poverty group can afford better lawyers and in most cases, do less time in prison. If we are just looking at statistics, then who’s to say that these statistics could be wrong.
I do see that you mention that not all people that grow up in poverty commit crimes. That it is a matter of choices in life. In my opinion, the person in a poverty-stricken neighborhood who steals to get money to buy a car is no different than one in a wealthy neighborhood who commits fraud to satisfy his greed for more wealth. It is a matter of choice.
Jeffrey, I think that crime and poverty are hopelessly linked because most people in jail are poor. There tens of thousands of poor people that go to jail every year without speaking to a lawyer. According to the U.S. Supreme Court every person charged with a crime is entitled to legal representation, provided by the government, if necessary. For a lot of poor individuals this promise of legal representation is never fulfilled. According to the article I read, http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-08-29-cover-indigents_x.htm, it stated that, "There's a real disconnect in this country between what people perceive is the state of indigent defense and what it is," says David Carroll, the group's research director. "I attribute that to shows like Law & Order, where the defendant says, 'I want a lawyer,' and all of a sudden Legal Aid appears in the cell. That's what people think." This why I think crime and poverty are linked.
According to a recent study by the General Accounting Office (GAO) there is a correlation between economic growth, poverty and crime. They refer to studies which point out a higher rate of property crimes in areas with high unemployment. They do not say that people in poverty commit more crime but they do point out that people under these circumstances are more susceptible to this type of behavior. To go even further they mention the domino effect of these two intersecting variables. The study brings it to the national picture by saying that areas with high poverty rates often experience the slowest economic growth - and that's in good times.
If you take a good look at the underlying message of the report the news is not so good for these areas. Basically, the high poverty rate causes people to be less motivated and stunts the areas productivity levels. This can potentially affect revenues from all sectors of the economy. If the economy slows too much or shrinks, jobs are lost, further depressing the economy and causing more unemployment. With strain theory in mind, people become so desperate that even those who might not have considered crime now feel forced to commit it.
Desmond, I agree with your points on juveniles. You tend to mirror what you see it is hard to grow up with crime going all around you and not thank it is the norm. Professor McGhee’s book talks about growing up in a poor area. The drug dealers were idolized they had money and powers and were easy targets to be models because of the power and material things for kids to look up. He also talked about the challenge of walking to school and having the area on your walk to be detoured because of a murder scene or fight breaking out for drug territory. Many fear if there will be a pop quiz when going to school in middle school. It is hard to imagine what it must be like just wondering if your going to make it to school that day. It is clearly not an easier road. Studies continue to show lack of education is contributor to crime rates. It starts with just getting kids to school and trying to educate what they see is wrong. They can achieve the same type of car as the dealer with hard work and dedication, but it is a hard point to sell if you think they will be blind and just try to ignore what they see on that walk to school.
In poverty we find a lack of family bonds, low IQ’s and lack of parenting skills. After doing some research involving children and crime, I found some statistics from the CDF (Childrens Defense Fund) that caught my eye. A total of 13.3 million children, or 1 in 6 children in America live in poverty. Of these children, almost half live in extreme poverty. Child poverty has increased between the year 2000 and 2007 by 1.7 million. Seven out of ten poor children are in working families where someone works fulltime year around. Black and Latino children are more likely to be poor that White children. Approximately 1 in 3 children and more than 1 in 4 Latino children are poor compared to 1 in 10 white children. Children who live in a single-parent families are at higher risk of poverty. I think that poverty alone does not create crime but the disadvantages that come with poverty. Because of the many essentials poor children lack such as health benefits, food security, a good home and family environment and education they turn to crime. Poverty is not the only reason why people turn to crime but it has a huge effect on the involvement of youth in serious criminal activity such as stealing with a weapon, stealing a car, assaulting others or selling drugs. Families that do not have enough funds to maintain a household usually have two or three part-time jobs and the parent involvement is not present. Many people with criminal records have trouble escaping poverty because it is made difficult for them to get a decent job. once a background check is done and they find their criminal records they are not given the opportunity to pursue because of the results. Unfortunately these people are being neglected because of their past committed crimes therefore causing them to return to their bad habits. Many of these people are profiled as untrustworthy and their credibility is not valid.
Melvin, I would like to comment on your statement about “Social disorganization focuses on the breakdown of institutions such as the family, school, and employment in inner city neighborhoods. Thus, making these organizations unable to perform their purpose.” I agree to the fact that disorganized communities experience a higher crime rate due to the lack of social control, family, school, and employment, which leaves room for “criminal cultures” to take action. When there is no effective fight against crime and disorder, then crime will certainly materialize. Also, we all know that one of the major causes of crime is the association with other criminals or antisocial peers. Repeated criminal behavior will become chronic if not diffused and stopped. When criminal subcultures exist, then many individuals can learn to commit crime in one location and crime rates, including violence, may become very high. Helena
I have to say that I totally agree with your assessment that poverty is not the sole determining factor for crime. I really think you said it right that it is a major factor. Like I mentioned earlier from the government report I read or the data that you offer, poverty affects every segement of these people's lives. When that becomes the case the poor often face others in their communities that have chosen the wrong path. It can be a fine line for some between right and wrong or necessary and unnecessary.
Yes, modernizing the schools in low-income areas would work for the greater good of the individuals, parents, teachers, principals, communities, society and our nation as a whole. First and foremost, not providing students with a visual of (a state of the art building) an eye opener and not an eye sore reason to partake in their own education have found to be the head start for failure. By doing just a little research on A Promise Kept, A School Renewed: Locke High this particular high school in Los Angeles was performing at its lowest ever in their education history. One of the main reasons for this failures reported by students, parents, community leaders, business and educator was the appearance along. One student reported that she was ashamed to inform her peers that she attended the school. Also, stated that the teacher would careless if you showed up for class or even left the classroom during lecture. Also stated, if students were wandering the halls; no one would stop them and inquire why you were not in class. The facilitators would report being victimized and threaten for trying to do their jobs. To make a long story short, The Green Dot program was modeled and the changes were made visible throughout the school. As a results of the model and lots of hard work by teachers, students, law enforcement officers, and the U.S. Dept of Ed., and A Promise Kept campaign; the fundamental of possessing an education was restored. Finally, students showed up on time and attendance increased. This is only one of the many success stories for the gentrification of low-income areas school. Yes, and No adding more community center would reduce gang activity. Again, doing a little research on community centers I have found that the centers are not being utilized to its full potential. Being that they are boarded up, not in use with signs posted due to budget cuts this facility is closed until further notice. Even before the cuts, the hours of operations either began late or closed early. As gang researchers reported that youth gang related crimes occur during the hours of 3:00 pm right after schools are released for the day and 8:00 pm just before parents return home from work. Alike, gentrification of schools, community centers needs to be in cooperated into the Race to the Top Program. Again, providing incentives for mentoring programs, innovation scholarships, and formulating character building skills and self-improving, and family empowerment programs into the forum of the community centers would decrease gang enrollment and restore family values to the surrounding communities and the purpose of the greater good of our nation at the end of the day. On a personal note would more church activity reduce crime? I do not believe that the increase of church activities would reduce crimes because today’s churches are being represented as a business/money making organization. Again, this is my personal opinion and relation involving surrounding churches. What I would like to see is that, church goers (elders) removed the emotional gap with our younger members of society and accept the fact that these are some changing times and because we do not agree with some of their personal decisions we as akin can look beyond faults and recognized the need to assist and not dismiss. Instead of insisting that just say No, explain the reason why No represent a positive instead of a negative. Another, I believe the key and sole purpose of a church is a place to worship GOD. Seeking and building on a more personal relationship with a whole hearted felt thankfulness of t e goodness of the Highest God. As asking for forgiveness, guidance and direction while persevering on this journey called LIFE.
Elizabeth, it is very clear from your research and studies I have read while doing this response. Single parent family home children due seem to be at higher risk. Do not get me wrong my hats off to the single parent you are doing a job intended for 2. The problem is survival while the parent is at work trying to provide for their child without supervision. The street is glad to supervise children, in fact it thrives on it those in criminal enterprise always looking for new members. I agree with what desmond said yesterday, I think it falls on the person; we all have had opportunities to turn to a different life style it is our choice. It is hard though to know what the other side is if you never see it. Just because a parent has to work doesn’t mean that kid should be free to roam the streets. A responsible adult needs to care after that child. Many kids make it there job to keep pushing the line to see how far they can push it. A responsible adult needs to always b available to tell them when they crossed it. The more positive role models a child has in there life the better chance they have at success.
Helen, I agree with you on not all poor people turn to crime. I also believe that it is based on the individuals decisions on whether or not they want to continue to live the life of poverty or whether they want out and do things differently. We are all given challenges and I think its up to us to get the outcome we want. Yes, commiting crime is easy but it is illegal and the consequences are much more of a loss. I think people have become lazy and want the easy way out so they turn to selling drugs, stealing, etc. They dont want to "waste time" learning, getting high degrees for jobs, they want the quick money. It takes time and alot of EXTRA hard work if you live in poverty to get out but it can be done, nothing is impossible.
I agree with you 100 % with your statement about how logistics play a huge part. It has been stated that the more lighting, and more secure the area is, the less likely crime will be committed. Of course crime will occur anytime anywhere. however , the city needs to show that they are around when for instance a street light is out one night and fixed the next. Labeling plays a huge part in people’s life and I believe creates a low self esteem after a while. When people say to others “ you are worthless”, “you‘re good for nothing” people ,specially children, want to act on it and they begin to feel that they are no good so why try and be good if no one is there to believe in them.
I would like to mention, in reference to your question about whether church-based activities reduce crime, there are studies and even textbooks for classes that point to a reduced likelihood of committing crime when people are involved in religious activities.
There are always exceptions to the rule but, yes, I disagree with you and think that church or religion helps to reduce crime. That, however, doesn't always mean that people won't commit crimes. I do agree that many times now those who say that they work or act in the path of God are also the ones committing crimes themselves. I am pretty sure that you can find this in almost any religion. I know that if you look at the three major religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) there are plenty of examples of leaders abusing their positions and their followers faith for personal gain.
Poverty doesn't just mean that you are more likely to commit crime. It also means that you are more likely to be a victim of crime.
I would like to also add that when you are a single parent unfortunately you are doing the job that is intended for two as Joseph stated earlier. but becasue of this, the single parent needs to go the extra mile. Invlove the child in extracurricular activities after school if they are not able to pick them up at 3pm. They should not leave a child unattended or alone at home and allow the Television or the video game to do the parenting and babysitting. there are many activities that educate the child. Sports shows them discipline and also teaches them to follow rules and regulations. When this occurs and they are introduced to the real life the children will know that hard work pays off. If they practiced Monday thru saturday to win a tornament, they will achieve highly if they go above and beyond in a job, in life.
Professor, I agree with you. The rich should contribute more to the poor. Unfortunately, some of the upper class do not see humans as one race. We are separated by social class. So they may even think that their taxes cover their contribution to society. The rich do not want to compete for a job with someone who came from a broken home, or an ex-con. So in our society we have social class because someone always wants to be on top. If we struggle for economic equality and equal opportunity too much, we are considered communist. So it is difficult to say that one day, the United States will have one class. Sadly. The one thing we can do as Criminal Justice students, is become activist, become legislatures, become involved in our community so that we can expose what is going on and propose possible solutions to the problems.
In the scholarly article CRIME AND POVERTY: A SEARCH-THEORETIC APPROACH. It found that "Numerous studies document that criminal activity is positively related to unemployment and negatively related to educational attainment levels within given communities and High crime, low levels of educational attainment, long spells of unemployment, and poverty are correlated across them." In other words it did not necessarily matter what kind of education level the person had they still comitted crime, but the lower the level of education the higher chances of that person committing a felony offense (murder, arson, car theft, ect..) what mattered the most was the length of time a person was unemployed. The longer the person was left unemployed the greater the chance of committing a crime no matter what their level of education was. Jessinia Garcia-Adkinson
I don't know if I would say that the rich should contribute to the poor but I do think they are not doing very much of the heavy lifting which I think we'd both agree with. I think if the rich folks want certain things from our government then they should contribute more in taxes. They should close some of those loopholes and such for the rich. President Obama says that he's trying to do just that. I don't know that he's done anything worthwhile to get there but it sounds good in theory. Let's see what, if anything, happens.
As for the last part of your statement about how CJ students should also be activists...I agree with you. I think that we have to take it a step further as well. We need to, as activists for and in our communities, make sure that those who we serve know that they must also fight for what they want. If you don't fight or at least participate in anyway then you can't expect someone else to just give it to you.
We as a community must be more active if we want to see real change in our communities. If we don't push our representatives (federal, state or local) they will only do what the few want, not what the many need. It always been that way and it will continue to be as long as we allow it.
Elizabeth, You are correct. Looking for a job can be very frustrating for an ex-offender, due to the fact that employers have become increasingly concerned about finding out if an applicant has a criminal record and for that matter, have been conducting more and more pre-employment background. As we know, pre-screening is a strong predictor of future behavior. Employers are taken to court if they negligently hire a person with a criminal record, before performing a criminal record check, and that person harms somebody in the workplace. On the other hand, unless society wants to spend its tax dollars on building more and more jails and prisons, ex-offenders need the opportunity to rejoin the workforce. It is difficult to become a law abiding, tax-paying citizen without a job. Helena
Another interesting article on poverty and crime: Space Matters: An Analysis of Poverty, Poverty Clustering, and Violent Crime. Published in December 2004. "Examines the empirical relationship between the spatial clustering of high poverty areas and violent crime rates." It has to do with the amount of impoverished people living in one area. The more poor people that lived in a small confined area such as public housing, ghettos and ect.. the higher the chances of committing crime. It studied crime rates across 236 cities and rural areas. It found that the more spread out areas (rural and countryside) it did not matter that they were impoverished they committed less crime, even if they were unemployed, poor or had low level education. The studied citied that it found poor people that were huddle together in a few block areas in small living spaces were more likely to committ crimes, especially violent crimes. Justice Quarterly v. 21 no. 4 (December 2004) p. 817-41 Jessinia Garcia-Adkinson
What the wealthy should maybe do is contribute to fixing these "ghettos" and instead of seeing the "poor people" as a problem they can see it as an opportunity to make money. There are federal grant money out there to fix these supoosed low class neighborhoods. They give grant money to repaint, clean and fix the buildings. Maybe if these poor people see that money is being given to their neighborhoods it will boost moral, give hope and help disapate the depression that comes with living in those circumstances.
Here is an intersting segment from the article I sent you:
"The condition of poverty within the urban environment allows for joblessness and irregular employment, with most people within the area who lie "idle" for large periods of time, if not almost indefinitely. That condition, unfortunately lends itself to those children and offspring who pattern themselves after those "role models". That "modeling" continues to behaviors such as using weapons, being easily provoked, being unable to solve simple problems without becoming upset, etc. These continue by creating other types of situations such as other types of criminal activity. In most urban environments, crime is a "way of life." When assessing the family incomes of children, most who were victims came from family situations whose incomes were $7,500 or less per year (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2002).
Most people corrolate crime and poverty together. I do think that maybe 5-10% is related to being poor, but mainly the unemployement, underemployement and the majority is boredom and frustration that even if they work full time or 2 jobs it is not enough to pay for decent standard housing, food and the basic essentials (electricity and water). The impoverished neighborhoods have almost no daycare centers, parks are not as big or beautiful, recreational areas are few and far between and community center providing counseling, women reproducted health and job placement are quickly disappering.
Luis. I totally agree with you and thank you for your comment because the only way the rich can contribute to the poor would be through increasing taxes.
Dr. Kalam, that statement of crime is a way of life is so true. It is a way of life in certain areas of the city. I see it all the time. Even the dependency some people have with welfare programs which are designed to assist temporarily with the objective of personal gain and self sufficiancy. People often mistake government assistance with a "way of life". Crime is a way of life to many because it is all they know. It is what they grew up on. People may think it is silly but if your parents always had "stolen" cable, when your time comes around to move out, chances are, you will call someone to hook up your illegal cable. You tend to grown on habits that you never knew were bad and they seem to be the norm.
After reading many stunning statistics I’ve come to this conclusion… Poverty does not predetermine your propensity to be a criminal; however criminals are more likely to be living in impoverished conditions. The simple fact is that the percentage of persons living in lower to middle class represents roughly 80-90% of the population (Kacapyr & Francese), with roughly 17-20% being in the lower “working poor” class (Thompson & Hickey). That fact alone does not mean that 80-90% or (depending in which social class you believe you reside in) 17-20% of the population will be criminals. All that it states is that if you are a criminal you have a high probability of being impoverished. Not only does that apply here in the United States but also in areas where “democracy” is practiced such as the nations of the E.U. and also where class systems are a fundamental way of like such as India and Pakistan. Another factor not to be forgotten is the means available to criminals. Martha Stewarts/Bernie Madoff lawyers were of a completely different caliber than say the liquor store robber or purse snatcher. So social class does have a great influence on whether you will be put through the CJ system or be let out the back door with no more said about it.
Lili Ponce, Responding to your comments, I did not clearly state that all crimes in this country are committed by those in the poverty level. Based on the research I did it states that most crimes committed are by these people, but that’s because as we have discussed before in class the crimes that are committed by the wealthy people are unknown as they are not being reported. It could be that statistics are wrong and we are just not looking beyond what reality is. Regarding what you also mentioned and what I stated before, not all people that grow up in poverty are those that end up committing crimes. Regardless of the conditions you may live in I think that if you want to do something better with your life instead of committing crimes you will try to go for that. As you said is a matter of the choices you make in life.
To dmeade04 I agree with your comment on Melvin’s Post. Again it goes back to nature v. nurture. The area that you reside does speak volumes about what you are exposed to and what you become accustomed to. Like the Prof. said in class, just because you live in those areas does not mean you’re a criminal; however criminals do tend to reside in those areas. It’s a fine line to tip toe but it is an excellent point. There are far too many factors that go into criminality and I feel that poverty isn’t the end point.
To Lilian “lily” Coto I do agree with your opinion on that article that social class does determine “hot” spots that LE tend to focus on. Yet if that is where the majority of crime being committed then it is logical that LE focus their attention in the “problem” areas. And yes legal representation does play a significant role on whether they are tried or plead/dropped of all charges. Still if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck… areas of a city or suburb that have a high rate of crime are going to be a focal point for LE. And it just so happens that those areas are poverty stricken areas.
To Prof. Kalam on your article “The root of school violence: causes and recommendations for a plan of action” I do agree with what the article states however there are “hidden figures” that need to be accounted for. When my parents went to school if a child misbehaved they were either; a) subject to corporal punishment b) subject to parental punishment at the institution or c) where sent off to boarding school/military. So the deterrent was always present since the children knew exactly what would happen. Also many acts (today referred to as violence) were labeled as “boys will be boys” or “it’ll make a man outta you”. That attitude is clearly not present in schools today. At the very start of violence or not-the-norm like attitude police/staff are present. Also, as discussed in class, parents disciplined their children with no fear of child service or arrests by LE. So yes crime and violence rates are up, but not at the alarming rate your article portrays. With the population growing and the student:teacher ratio becoming disproportionate it is natural. Not to say the types of crimes committed are natural simply the rate at which it is increasing is…
I agree with the article Prof. Kalam. Conformity and being idle become a way of life. It also happens to the extremly wealthy heirs of multibillion dollar companies. Why work when it interferes with hanging out with friends, watching t.v. or sleeping all day and then going out all night. These people conform with having zero responsibility to society, even when it comes to their children.
I agree that it takes a lot of hard work to get out of poverty and there are those that, like you said, don’t want to waste their time learning and just want the quick money. This becomes the choices made by some of the people living in poverty who want to take the easy way out. But not all of them will resort to this and do get out through hard work and other resources available to them. They do not need to resort to crime.
In regards to the article: The root of school violence: causes and recommendations for a plan of action. It raised some good suggestions on helping in emergency situations. I feel that teachers should lock the classroom door in case a shooter tries to get in, they would be locked out in the hallway. This would have helped during the Columbine shooting when the shooters went classroom to classroom and shot at students. The schools could also have self locking hallway door that can be triggered this would keep an agressor in one area. Teachers should each have an emergency walkie talkies that connects to security and other teachers. Also an emergency button that can be pushed would be helpful.
Jessinia- The problem is when someone wants to do harm in the end you will not be able to eliminate it. The violence can be reduced. I think the self locking idea would only lead a shooter to start a fire knowing all parties are trapped. It is sad, but I remember going to school after hurricane Andrew and servicemen were in the hallways with rifles that was the last time I totally felt safe when I was in school, before I was an adult. I do not think we are at that point yet, but I think if things do not change we are closer then one might think. Kids are loved and everyone feels bad when they are targeted; they also pose little threat to an attacker. They serve as a perfect pawn for terrorist and since children are our treasure they need to be protected as such. I think every school should have police on site. In theory public high schools and middle schools do however the school officer are also responsible for elementary schools in the area and have to back up other officers, leaving schools unprotected many times. The problem is many people measure crime only as it happens not counting when it is prevented. You may never know if school police stopped an attack only when they fail to do so. The mission of a school should be to deliver a safe education and that needs to be the focus.
After researching the relationship between crime and poverty I would have to say that poverty to a “certain extent” correlates with crime. Yes, we all might agree that if you are taught as you were growing up what is right from wrong the possibilities are that you “might” not commit the crime. Then you have those that the situation becomes far more than you can handle and you do what you can at all measures; so you commit the crime. Is this the right thing? No! But many come to this conclusion out of desperation. However, crime and poverty relate due to the fact in 2007 the U.S Government Accountability release that those living in poverty where the area is abundant had fewer options in life. People who were living in poverty where more likely to have an adverse health issue, risk of behavior and lack of proper education.
I truly believe that this is true…many living in poverty are suffering from their health and especially the lack of education. What are we doing about this? We have so many living in our own backyard…I believe that at times, the U.S is always so concerned about many other countries and forget about what’s happening here within their own. (Don’t misinterpret I agree we should help others that are less fortunate…I’m all for it.) A study showed on the McClatchy Newspaper that we have 16 million Americans in “deep or in severe poverty” this is horrible! This is HERE! I just feel that we should take care of our own then go out and CONTINUE to help the rest!
I don't know if all of you noticed or not but this article has touched on a lot of what we said yesterday.
There is a paragraph toward the middle of the first page that talks about how everyone must be involved in not only forming plans for emergencies and school violence but also in dealing with issues that may face our educational institutions. It behooves all interested parties from the various levels of government all the way down to the individual citizen to participate.
If there is a serious violent incident at a school, not only do those at the school become affected but the community as a whole. Only with everyone's assistance can an adequate response be accomplished.
On the comment that you left Melvin...I understand what you mean...but what happens to the person that was not born with the "silver spoon in their mouth" as they...say and have continued a cycle of poverty? I'm sure it's twice as hard for them to get out of it...not that it's impossible...
I agree not all poor people turn to crime... I grew up with a single mother and 12 siblings, me being the youngest of the 12..we didn't have much when we were growing up, but we always made the best of what WE did have... at the end the only thing that mattered was that through all the trails we as a family faced; we did it all together.......However, I understand that many do see crime as an "escape goat" for what they do not have and try to justify it...
Dr. Kalam, I agree with you: being poor is not a pre-requisite for being a criminal but poverty victimizes their own who in return could devote their lives to criminality. Helena
I have to say that is a fine example. Though I was an only child for most of my life my family also struggled. We always had family with us and we struggled all the same even with less people than your family. It was tough but we always knew that to make things better we needed to work hard and do things the right way.
I also agree with you that some try to use the fact that they are poor as an excuse to commit crime. As I am sure you would agree the majority of those people who are struggling out there are hardworking and honest people just trying to get to a better place.
There will always be people who try to make excuses for their actions. It is those few who give a bad name to everyone who's struggling.
Maritza, You and your family are the perfect example of working together in order to overcome hard times by doing the right thing and not letting the environment or the lack of money lead you into the wrong and easiest path. Your mother gave all of you a beautiful example by sending the message to never give up when facing hardship. As you said, adversities are part of life and it feels so good to look within ourselves, at the end of the day, and realizing that there is nothing we need to justify…Helena
The root of school violence: causes and recommendations for a plan of action.
Has good alternatives on helping in emergency situations. I believe most schools have certian rules and procedures they have to follow in emergency situations anyhow. For example, some do lock down where no student is allowed to leave school premises. The Charter school I work at actually does the opposite and allows you to pick up your child if need be...I'm not sure which would be considered to be most effective. What do you think?
Thank you! My mother was an amazing women always doing what she could to make sure "WE" pushed foward! I understand why she was hard on us and why she couldn't always give us what we "wanted" but she always made sure we had what we "needed"...That's why I say no excuses...
Dr. Kalam, I put together thoughts of two of the articles you sent to us. It is very true that schools are primarily places to learn and should be treated like that. However, due to crime and violence going out of hand, one of the most important issues for school administrators now is to come up with ways to effectively implement safety measures and educate students, teachers, and parents so that all are safe and feel safe. As the second articles states, who would imagine that heinous crimes like rape, robbery, and even murder would be the types of crime practiced by juveniles against their own peers. I think that it is imperative to come up with strict prevention actions so that schools could go back to be the safe heavens they once were. Students should be taken care of, and teachers and staff should be trained to recognize, and report, kids showing signs of distress. After all, schools are were students and staff gather to learn and not to be on a constant state of panic. Helena
You are right about the fact that schools were once safe havens and now teachers and students alike are, what seems like constantly, worring about school attacks and shootings.
This is why I stress the fact that all of the community has to be involved in their schools. Without parents, students, neighbors, politicians and the community at large there will be no effective solutions. Everyone is dependent on the other when a community gets affected by school violence. It should not just be the responsibility of that school's officials but the school administration to work with police and community leaders to address needs of their schools and provide for them.
This last part sounds idealistic in a way but it is what the situation calls for. In my opinion...
Dr. Kalam, It is so true that one of the consequences of being without a job and in poverty, living in a neglected neighborhood, and not being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, is to lie idle just watching the time going by or doing illegal activities as a “way of life”. Let’s compare that scenario with our daily lives, always running here and there, fighting to accomplish our goals, being reliable parents and employees, being thankful for having a job and food on our table but working hard for all of that to happen. A drug dealer, for instance, join this business in order to make money, pay for their own habits, and to be respected in the neighborhood. They usually “work” in poor urban areas, where people have little hope to improving their own lives. Even though their job is not a safe one because it is illegal, it is a simple way of making the amount of money they need to survive. Helena
I think that the problem with the study of criminology is that it is very subjective. Data can be manipulated to support whatever theory that is being introduced. I think that we all know someone, or even ourselves, who have managed to escape or overcome the negative aspects of poverty. I also believe that we all have some sort of emotional attachment to many of the subjects we will be covering. As such, I must make to points: 1. The closest these studies or theories come to taking a position is with phrases like “studies ‘seems’ to indicate,” or non committal words. 2. There are many reasons why a person commits a crime, and I know that poverty does not have a patent on it. However, the pleasure – pain principle that is involved in almost all the reasons why a person commits a crime and a person in poverty is most susceptible to this. A poor person has less to lose. Do you think a poor person worry about being sued? They do not have a high position or salary to lose. They don’t have a high station in life to lose. They don’t have a plethora of material gains to forfeit. I know that other social classes commits crimes, and I also know that a great deal of them could afford legal representation that help keep them out of jail. But in the same breath, those persons in middle to upper class are not habitual offenders. Studies conducted in Dade County showed that the average homeless person commits an average of 60 crimes per year, and the average homeless person with substance abuse issues commits 90 plus crimes per year. Show me one person from any other social class with those kinds of numbers!!
I strongly believe that poverty leads to crime. This case study supports my opinion.
Welfare contributes to crime in several ways. First, children from single-parent families are more likely to become involved in criminal activity. According to one study, children raised in single-parent families are one-third more likely to exhibit anti-social behavior.(3) Moreover, O'Neill found that, holding other variables constant, black children from single- parent households are twice as likely to commit crimes as black children from a family where the father is present. Nearly 70 percent of juveniles in state reform institutions come from fatherless homes, as do 43 percent of prison inmates.(4) Research indicates a direct correlation between crime rates and the number of single-parent families in a neighborhood.(5)
The root of school violence: causes and recommendations for a plan of action.
Has good alternatives on helping in emergency situations. I believe most schools have certian rules and procedures they have to follow in emergency situations anyhow. For example, some do lock down where no student is allowed to leave school premises. The Charter school I work at actually does the opposite and allows you to pick up your child if need be...I'm not sure which would be considered to be most effective. What do you think?
I think that your charter school will be in a schock of their lives when a law suit is slapped on them from a parent the picked up their kid in an emergency situation and as a result they were victims of the very reason the school should have been locked down for. I work in the miami dade county public schools and as much as I disagree with the majority of the political and general practices, there is one thing I do agree on and that is the lock down system. Regardless if your child is in the school the entire day as part of a lock down, it is swamped by police officers and more so the classrooms are lock and protected. We can not guarantee that you are safe if you are to run around free as though nothing happens. Unless law enforcement enters the premises to give a clear sign things are safe your charter school is gambling with everyone's safety including your own.
Welcome to our Asynchronous Blog for DSC1006 Introduction to Homeland Security. You should respond to the questions and follow the instructions from our class meetings on Saturday.
Testing Blog
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to take class again with Professor Kalam.
ReplyDeleteHi fellow classmates! Testing, Testing.......
ReplyDeleteMany citizens look upon the poor as a socially lower group in many respects. One association that is often made is that between crime and poverty. Scholars disagree about how much poverty affects crime rates, if it does at all. While many poor people turn to crime, and many people with criminal records have trouble escaping poverty, the two aren’t hopelessly linked.
ReplyDeleteDo a little research and see if you can find any strong correlations between poverty and crime in America.
Discuss the issue and then respond to the postings of two of your classmates.
Thanks you
Arlene says good question. Food for thought!
ReplyDeleteThis is a test to show how the postings are supposed to be
ReplyDeleteReply to DK
ReplyDeleteOh..now i see what you mean
I think we should get out early. Just testing the system.
ReplyDeleteGroup 3 is happy to participate
ReplyDeleteThe correlation that I found between poverty and crime are these: The Social structure theory view that disadvantage of economic class position is a primary cause of crime. This theory includes three perspectives: social disorganization, strain theory, and cultural deviance theory. Social disorganization focuses on the breakdown of institutions such as the family, school, and employment in inner city neighborhoods. Thus, making these organizations unable to perform their purpose. Strain theory focuses crime as a function of the conflict between people’s goals and the means available to obtain them. For example: many/most people in the United States desire material possession, money, and power; but not everybody accomplishes it. This creates frustration, anger, and resentment on those who can’t obtain these things and choose an alternative way to obtain these things. Cultural deviance theory combines both strain and social disorganization theories and creates a unique lower class culture that is against the social norms. This lower class subculture expresses their disagreement by criminal behavior and this tradition is pass from one generation to another.
ReplyDeleteby Melvin Pereira
Melvin:
ReplyDeleteI see where you are trying to go with this, but I am leaning more towards the social learning theory. Poverty causes localization of poor individuals in a small and condensed area. For example, local housing projects such as the “Pork n Beans” are comprised solely of families who live below the poverty level. This localization causes an individual to be exposed to crime at an early age, and they will eventually become accustom to crime, and the acceptance of it as a way of life. If you have the chance, check out:
Crime Causation: Sociological Theories - Social Learning Theory http://law.jrank.org/pages/815/Crime-Causation-Sociological-Theories-Social-learning-theory.html#ixzz0epvFlGKh
You will see that according to social learning theory, juveniles learn to engage in crime in the same way they learn to engage in conforming behavior: through association with or exposure to others. Primary or intimate groups like the family and peer group have an especially large impact on what we learn. In fact, association with delinquent friends is the best predictor of delinquency other than prior delinquency.
It just so happens that the dropout rate in areas of poverty is higher than any other area. A study commissioned by the Black Alliance for Educational Options was able to correlate the dropout rate to poverty and incarceration. The study showed that Students who fail to graduate from high school face a very bleak future. Because the basic skills conveyed in high school and higher education are essential for success in today’s economy, students who do not receive these skills are likely to suffer with significantly reduced earnings and employment prospects. Students who fail to graduate high school are also significantly more likely to become single parents and have children at young ages. And students who do not graduate high school are significantly more likely to rely upon public assistance or be in prison.
Approximately 40 percent of the residents in Michigan who received welfare and 70 percent of convicts entering prison were high school dropouts. As a result, what I am seeing is that poverty increases the likelihood of living in a bad neighborhood where unethical behavior is accepted or the norm. With the projects having a higher rate of dropouts than in middle class neighborhoods, poverty also seems to increase the likelihood of a person dropping out of school. Dropping out of school increases the likelihood of a person committing a crime due to the inability of the dropout to find legitimate employment, or if they are able to find employment, they will be paid an extremely low wage that more than likely will not be enough to support the family.
Desmond
Based on the research that I did, I concluded that there is some type of correlation between poverty and crime in America. Many scholars argue that poverty does not have a causal relationship to crime because there are countries in which poverty is very high but the crime rate is relatively low. Yet, in this country it would be hard to argue that there is not a relationship between crime and poverty. Poor people make up the overwhelming majority of those behind bars as 53% of those in prison earned less than $10,000 per year before incarceration, (http://capaassociation.org/newsletter_N009/Articles/PovertyCrime.htm). Sociologist and criminal justice scholars have found a direct correlation between poverty and crime. One economic theory of crime assumes that people weigh the consequences of committing crime. They resort to crime only if the cost or consequences are outweighed by the potential benefits to be gained. The logical conclusion to this theory is that people living in poverty are far more likely to commit property crimes such as burglary, larceny, or theft.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that much of the crime committed in this country does have to do with the fact that those committing it belong to this poverty that we are discussing, at least most of them. Yet, it may not always be the case. We may know of a lot of people that were brought up in low income homes and are not criminals. They survived the poverty and made other good choices in life. It really is a balance between both.
When researching statistical numbers between poverty and crime, I found out that, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage 2008 Report, 13.2 percent of all persons lived in poverty in 2008. In 1993 the poverty rate was 15.1 percent but between 1993 and 2000, the poverty rate fell, reaching 11.3 percent in 2000.
ReplyDeleteSerious crimes also declined during much of the 1990s and the early years of the 21st century. In 2007, violent and property crime rates were at the lowest levels recorded since 1973. Even in the middle of a recession, murder rates fell 10 percent nationally and 19 percent in New York City alone.
The general idea is that there is a strong link between poverty and crime and I believe that poverty and environment, but also individual choices are some of the reasons why someone would engage in criminal behavior. Following the Rational Choice Deterrence theory, crime is a choice influenced by its costs and benefits. Obviously, not all poor people commit crimes but many do. Poverty is widespread and during times of recession, many families who were making ends meet are evicted from their homes and will live on the streets or move in with relatives to areas of urban decay, neighborhoods that fell into disrepair and abandonment, within vacant buildings, derelict vehicles scattered around, graffiti, drug and gangs activities, and consequently, high levels of crime. In the lower class areas, poverty may cause a person to commit crime if they truly want something but cannot afford it. They will steal, have someone else steal it for them, and commit other crimes besides theft. They will also measure costs and benefits of crime either by direct experiences with punishment or punishment avoidance, or indirectly by observing whether others who offend are punished or avoid punishment. It is important to remember though, that crime can happen anywhere, and to anyone, not only around those who are poor. Helena
Lilian “lily” Coto
ReplyDeleteIn this issue, where scholars disagree that there is a link between poverty and crime, I disagree to a certain extent because the numbers are off in my opinion. The article I found was titled “Poverty in America: Beyond welfare reform”, posted on Jun 2002 by Lichter, Daniel T, Crowley, Martha L. Here it states that the poor have a higher arrest rate than the nonpoor. In the article, one of the views is that the poor have access to good legal representation and are targeted more than others. I agree that the high rate of crimes committed by the poor is because they commit more crimes but also because they caught more often (they are the target). It also states that poor children are more likely to be “raised by a single mom, they lack supervision, and are socialized to deviant subcultures” (such as gangs and organized crime). If we stop to think about what each reason means, we get the likelihood of a child being abused and possibly sexually abused by others and not having anyone to tell, teen pregnancy (no prenatal care), no education, lack of nutrition, bad health, violent crimes (because of gang activity), drug abuse and over all, the lost of another child to the system. All of those factors are linked to those in today's prison population.
Melvin, I agree with what you stated that many/most people in the United States desire material possessions and money and not everyone accomplishes getting it. Yet, why don’t these people that create the resentment on themselves, instead in trying to better themselves to obtain what they want in an educated way they end up choosing the alternative way as you say. This is something that is real hard for me to comprehend. You can’t go by what other’s have and you don’t have. You have what you have because you work hard for it and that’s the way it should be. Unfortunately that's not reality in today's world.
ReplyDeleteMelvin I agree with the fact that "Most/many people in the United States desire material possession, money, and power", and I think that is a problem we have in society today. In the article I read, it stated that 80% of crimes committed by the poor are on the poor themselves. So the poor steal from the poor, the poor commit violent acts on the poor.
ReplyDeleteDK question:
ReplyDeleteI found no correlation between poverty and crime. What I found was a misinformed population that because of media redlines have a perception that crime and poverty are correlate.
Most of individuals think that criminality is a direct product of poverty, the truth is if criminality was a product of poverty how to explain the fact of "filthy rich folks" committee crimes. The difference is that white collar crimes are not consider by many as a big deal, it is not perceive the same way as theft, robbery and others because it is not into your face all times even though every time somebody commits a insurance fraud or medicare fraud, we all pay for it.
In New York in the era of Mayor Giuliani, the program Zero Tolerance was implemented crimes was reduce significantly without having nothing to do with the financial situation of its citizens. The fact of people is poor does not have nothing to do with being dishonest.
It is easy to blame the ones that are in disadvantage already but reality is that people are growing up without any moral values, faith, basic education, or empathy ... there is not longer families but instead just people having children just because they forgot to use protection.
Helena referring to what you stated, “The general idea is that there is a strong link between poverty and crime and I believe that poverty and environment, but also individual choices are some of the reasons why someone would engage in criminal behavior.” This is exactly what I think as well. I stated before that not due to the poverty level that a person lives in they will make the choice of committing crime. They have the choice to better themselves and get out of the poverty they live in. It will not necessarily be always the case that due to the environment they live in they will always commit crime, but statistics do show that many of them do.
ReplyDeleteDmeade:
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement "It just so happens that the dropout rate in areas of poverty is higher than any other area." There is link between the drop out rate and low income neighborhoods. There are many reasons as to why that is and one could be because some may be under the mentality that "this is it" and they may lack encouragement and are forgotten.
In a class I took last semester we researched on the link between education and prison. We found that the prison population has an average of no more than an 8th grade education. We also found that prison's are built based on the idea that poverty is high in many areas. It is like a set up for failure. If you notice, prison's are built in rural areas where you cannot even spell the name right. They are built in those areas to increse revenue. So what I see is that they are gaining from someone else's disadvantaged upbringing.
I believe in prevention. Rather than building more jails, and more abortion clinics, they should build more parks, create better after school care programs that can be accessed at a little to no cost, and educate pre-teens on sex, contraception choices, and parenting.
I agree with Desmond based on my own life experinces back in Brazil. People grown accustom to things that they see and live in their everyday life. If you are exposed to crime at an early age,eventually you will accept as a way of life.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree with my friend Melvin(JOE)...not everybody in the U.S. desires material possessions. There is a great majority that just want to live their lifes with the basic that everyone deserves: shelter,security, food,education.
ReplyDeleteIf his last statement is correct:
This lower class subculture expresses their disagreement by criminal behavior and this tradition is pass from one generation to another
What is the Maddoff's, Alan Stanford, and many others that are in federal prison excuse????
Even though statistics may show that poor neighborhoods may have a high crime rate, I tend to agree with the scholars that poverty is not the cause. Crimes in America exist in all areas, urban and rural, and by all types of people. But, there are other factors that influence crime in poor neighborhoods such as unemployment, poor housing conditions, education level, and being victims of crimes themselves.
ReplyDeletePoverty does not breed crime, but crime itself makes the neighborhood poorer. It is a never-ending cycle. However, not all crimes are committed by the impoverished. Even in the most affluent neighborhoods you will see violent crimes committed by wealthy or upper middle class. There are many poor people living in poverty that do not choose to live a life of crime. Many outside forces such as gangs and drug dealers take their opportunity on the poverty-stricken areas to capitalize on the poverty of others. They introduce drug dealing to the young youth there to show them that there is a way to make money easily (taking advantage that these poor teens do not have all the things they otherwise could have). Along with drug dealing, theft and murder will come in. The children in these areas are then exposed to these criminal behavior and don’t have much of a good role model. Thus, when you are exposed to criminal behavior, it doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, you will be more likely to engage in criminal acts.
Children develop their values and social cultures from their environment where they are raised. Their emotions are shaped by the quality of care and attention they get when they are babies up until they are about 10 yrs old. Absence of strong family values and morals usually lead teens and adults to commit crimes more than poverty itself. To say that poor people commit more crimes than those in a better economic status is a fallacy as we should take into account that crimes are also committed by the non-poverty society. We cannot rely solely on statistics as crimes committed by the non-poor are understated because these people have better lawyers and sometimes can get away with it. Many go unreported.
Poverty does not have nothing to do with poor people but has a lot to do with dishonest people. The rich are under represented in our judicial system just because when they get caught, most of times they get off because they can hired good lawyers, the poor can not!!!
ReplyDeleteClaudia:
ReplyDeleteYou make a valid point in that poor people and not unduly afflicted with criminal behavior. Certainly, as Jackie and Melvin mention, people from impoverished areas commit crimes against those in the same area. It is difficult to imagine white collar crime in the same light as common theft....we don't see comon theft on TV. When we see drug abuse on TV, we see poor people in crack houses getting high and killing each other.
Our perception is shaped in many ways.
Melvin:
ReplyDeleteYou make good reference to the issue and thank you for citing stress (ANOMIE) and the strain theory. I think it is hghly applicable to this discussion.
I totally agree with WPONCE, it could not been said better!!!
ReplyDeleteHelena:
ReplyDeleteYou paint a picture very well. That disorganized and neglected scene causes apathy amongst the residents. When people lose hope in the society that they see others benefit from, it must be tremendously painful....
Jackie,
ReplyDeleteI understand when you state that people cannot go by what others have. However, humankind and crime had grown together, since the beginning of times. The Bible tells us that the first criminal act occurred when Kane killed his brother Abel and after that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments to live by. Any act done against the law is considered a crime and we can go back to the first tribes when stealing one egg, or even worse, the chicken, was considered a crime. Nothing compared with the crimes we experience today. It looks like the more advanced society is, the worse are the crimes people commit. As per having what the others have in our society, how about going back to parents going above and beyond to buy their kids all the material things they “demand” to have, just because “so and so has it and I have to have it too”. This is the well-known uncontrolled materialism reinforced by so many adults. So when the kid grows up and still wants what the other has, but there are no parents around to fulfill his/her wishes, he might do whatever it takes to have what he wants. Helena
Desmond:
ReplyDeleteYou make good reference to the issue of expectations and how learning bad stuff and learning conformity with social norms are strong indicators of future behavior amongst youths.
Lily
ReplyDeleteI think you are on target when you mention the issue of abuse. I think that th government should do much more for those single parent families. I wonder if people in the higher income brackets or those who are "rich" should be made to contribute more to help those less fortunate?
Helena:
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with your logic, I tend to view the issue a little differently. I think that when people give their kids material things, they must be in a position to do so (except in the case of criminlaity). That being said, the child should be learning certain values. Not all parents who "spoil" their kids have careless intentions.
Just my thoughts.
thanks
Claudia,
ReplyDeleteI understand your point but even though criminality might not be “a direct product of poverty” I do not think we can totally discard the factor “poverty in association with crime”.
I found this article about an experiment that was done in Lowell, Massachusetts, trying to proof the broken window theory from James Q. Wilson, a political scientist at Harvard, and George L. Kelling, a criminologist. This theory implies that a community in disarray sends a message of chaos and lack of command, increases fear, weakens community controls, and invites criminal behavior. Usually, low-income or poor people reside in less prosperous and unorganized communities. This theory also believes that stopping minor offenses and restoring the order can prevent serious crimes. What happened in Lowell was that researchers and police identified 34 crime hot spots and cleaned only half of them. They removed trash from the sidewalks, fixed streetlights, secured abandoned buildings, arrested more people from misdemeanors, and dispersed loiterers. Homeless and residents with mental disorders were taken care of. After that, researchers from Harvard and Suffolk University watched and recorded criminal incidents in each of the hot spots and saw a 20 percent drop in calls to police from the parts of town that received extra attention, which was considered as a strong scientific evidence that disorderly conditions bring up bad behavior, and that fixing them can help prevent crime. Helena
Claudia:
ReplyDeleteI agree with Claudia in that poverty does not equal crime. In her example of how the Zero Tolerance program implemented by NY former Mayor Giuliani showed that making changes in the poverty-stricken neighborhood reduced crime, even though it did not change their economic situation. She also hits the point in that it is more than one’s income level. It is people growing up without any morale, values, basic education and faith. These factors are more prevalent in low income families struggling to survive. But, in the end, rich or poor, crimes do not discriminate.
Replying to Desmond:
ReplyDeleteI see how the learning theory affects poverty. We know that there are many factors that will make somebody commit crime. I believe that the environment, their neighborhood and their friends affects the poor as well.
Dr. Kalam,
ReplyDeleteI understand your opinion but you also mentioned that “they must be in a position to do so”, or in other words, parents that spoil kids are probably economically sound and do not go above their means. By reading the credit card statistics on credit card debt and delinquencies in this country, we can clearly doubt this argument. I agree to the fact that parents usually try to do their best for their kids, after all, this is their mission, but I also believe that material things are definitely not the most important proof of love a parent could give to his/her kids and, because they lack quality time they try to cover it with what money can buy, with dreadful consequences. Helena
First of all I am glad what is considered poverty was discussed in class, and a better explanation was provided. Many are under the wrong impression what poverty is; when you are not able to afford food or medical care you are considered to be in poverty not just because you cannot afford that new Mercedes. As criminal justice students we understand crime statics for the most part are not accurate, because of under reporting to begin with. And crimes that are unsolved you are unable to determine who the offender. Just because a crime is committed against an affluent person or a person in poverty or what are considered those types of neighborhoods does not mean the offender is of the same social stature. Also because about 16 million Americans are considered to live in poverty, the fact one person has to live this way is sad, but is still an under representation of the total U.S. population. The main type of crime that is committed is non violent person crimes and violent crimes are committed much less. While overall more crimes are going to be committed in other areas it seems to me more violent acts are committed person then in other areas. There are several factors that come into play such as logistics most areas that are considered in poverty are in urban areas and allow easy access for person crimes to be committed. The lighting, security and broken window theory come into play. The overall conditions of these areas allow more crime to occur also the rundown look also in studies has shown attracts crime. Are society seems focuses on money a broken light or graffiti is going to be repaired much quicker in key Biscayne then in an area that is less affluent and citizens voices are not heard as loudly. True politicians are suppose to care about the people that they represent while some do there is also a new type of practice where you care about political donations. When you are struggling to put a meal on the table it would be easy to assume you cannot afford wealthy contributions and in districts where the representative doesn’t understand they are a public servant not all voices are heard equally. Also when you have less it is easier to notice when something is missing. Some people with insurance never make reports just calling their insurance company when something is stolen or just replace it without ever reporting it. If the only way you ever have of replacing the item is having the police recover it you will be much more likely to report the crime. Many drug dealers are considered wealthy they live in big houses and have fancy cars, but the way they pay for those things is thought criminal enterprise while they are not considered to be in poverty it also needs to be looked at without crime and the financial rewards would they be considered at that level. Also we know it is harder for convicted felons to get a job over people that are free of criminal history. Unable to work and already branded with a label survival comes into play and acts are committed. Also not being able to finance the proper defense or truly understand the legal system people in poverty are convicted more. While crime does exist in all areas. I seem it’s to hard to argue that if you live in a so called rich area you far less have a chance to be victim of a violent crime as in a poor one. While the chance still exists. How many shootings are reported in housing projects compared to Key Biscayne. While no one wants to be a victim of crime if you had to choose it is obvious you would prefer to be the victim of a non violent act to violent.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cato.org/testimony/ct-wc67.html
http://capaassociation.org/newsletter_N009/Articles/PovertyCrime.htm
Replying to Claudia:
ReplyDeleteI also agree that poverty does not equal crime. But, living in a poor neighborhood affects people's behavior, future performance, and conduct. People get used to live like everyone else, with no aspiration, because they see that there is no reason for fighting for a better life.
Jackie, I agree with what you are saying and even though 53 percent of people in prison were making 10,000 a year or less. I think that number is higher. Many people that were committed crimes like drug dealing or fraud. May have money or fake companies because of their criminal enterprises. If they did not have these funds they would be living well below the 10,000 mark. Poor areas are also an easy target for crime. It is rare you’re going to find a gated community with security, a crime watch, closed circuit TV’s things that are shown to reduce property crime.
ReplyDeleteJackie:
ReplyDeleteI disagree with your statement that crimes committed in this country are committed by those in the poverty level. The statistics of crimes committed by white-collar, higher income people may get understated and less publicized than of those in the poverty or low income groups. The non-poverty group can afford better lawyers and in most cases, do less time in prison. If we are just looking at statistics, then who’s to say that these statistics could be wrong.
I do see that you mention that not all people that grow up in poverty commit crimes. That it is a matter of choices in life. In my opinion, the person in a poverty-stricken neighborhood who steals to get money to buy a car is no different than one in a wealthy neighborhood who commits fraud to satisfy his greed for more wealth. It is a matter of choice.
Jeffrey, I think that crime and poverty are hopelessly linked because most people in jail are poor. There tens of thousands of poor people that go to jail every year without speaking to a lawyer. According to the U.S. Supreme Court every person charged with a crime is entitled to legal representation, provided by the government, if necessary. For a lot of poor individuals this promise of legal representation is never fulfilled. According to the article I read, http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-08-29-cover-indigents_x.htm, it stated that, "There's a real disconnect in this country between what people perceive is the state of indigent defense and what it is," says David Carroll, the group's research director. "I attribute that to shows like Law & Order, where the defendant says, 'I want a lawyer,' and all of a sudden Legal Aid appears in the cell. That's what people think." This why I think crime and poverty are linked.
ReplyDeleteHi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteAccording to a recent study by the General Accounting Office (GAO) there is
a correlation between economic growth, poverty and crime. They refer to
studies which point out a higher rate of property crimes in areas with high
unemployment. They do not say that people in poverty commit more crime but
they do point out that people under these circumstances are more susceptible
to this type of behavior. To go even further they mention the domino effect
of these two intersecting variables. The study brings it to the national
picture by saying that areas with high poverty rates often experience the
slowest economic growth - and that's in good times.
If you take a good look at the underlying message of the report the news is
not so good for these areas. Basically, the high poverty rate causes people
to be less motivated and stunts the areas productivity levels. This can
potentially affect revenues from all sectors of the economy. If the economy
slows too much or shrinks, jobs are lost, further depressing the economy and
causing more unemployment. With strain theory in mind, people become so
desperate that even those who might not have considered crime now feel
forced to commit it.
By Luis
Desmond, I agree with your points on juveniles. You tend to mirror what you see it is hard to grow up with crime going all around you and not thank it is the norm. Professor McGhee’s book talks about growing up in a poor area. The drug dealers were idolized they had money and powers and were easy targets to be models because of the power and material things for kids to look up. He also talked about the challenge of walking to school and having the area on your walk to be detoured because of a murder scene or fight breaking out for drug territory. Many fear if there will be a pop quiz when going to school in middle school. It is hard to imagine what it must be like just wondering if your going to make it to school that day. It is clearly not an easier road. Studies continue to show lack of education is contributor to crime rates. It starts with just getting kids to school and trying to educate what they see is wrong. They can achieve the same type of car as the dealer with hard work and dedication, but it is a hard point to sell if you think they will be blind and just try to ignore what they see on that walk to school.
ReplyDeleteIn poverty we find a lack of family bonds, low IQ’s and lack of parenting skills. After doing some research involving children and crime, I found some statistics from the CDF (Childrens Defense Fund) that caught my eye. A total of 13.3 million children, or 1 in 6 children in America live in poverty. Of these children, almost half live in extreme poverty. Child poverty has increased between the year 2000 and 2007 by 1.7 million. Seven out of ten poor children are in working families where someone works fulltime year around. Black and Latino children are more likely to be poor that White children. Approximately 1 in 3 children and more than 1 in 4 Latino children are poor compared to 1 in 10 white children. Children who live in a single-parent families are at higher risk of poverty.
ReplyDeleteI think that poverty alone does not create crime but the disadvantages that come with poverty. Because of the many essentials poor children lack such as health benefits, food security, a good home and family environment and education they turn to crime. Poverty is not the only reason why people turn to crime but it has a huge effect on the involvement of youth in serious criminal activity such as stealing with a weapon, stealing a car, assaulting others or selling drugs. Families that do not have enough funds to maintain a household usually have two or three part-time jobs and the parent involvement is not present.
Many people with criminal records have trouble escaping poverty because it is made difficult for them to get a decent job. once a background check is done and they find their criminal records they are not given the opportunity to pursue because of the results. Unfortunately these people are being neglected because of their past committed crimes therefore causing them to return to their bad habits. Many of these people are profiled as untrustworthy and their credibility is not valid.
Melvin,
ReplyDeleteI would like to comment on your statement about “Social disorganization focuses on the breakdown of institutions such as the family, school, and employment in inner city neighborhoods. Thus, making these organizations unable to perform their purpose.” I agree to the fact that disorganized communities experience a higher crime rate due to the lack of social control, family, school, and employment, which leaves room for “criminal cultures” to take action. When there is no effective fight against crime and disorder, then crime will certainly materialize. Also, we all know that one of the major causes of crime is the association with other criminals or antisocial peers. Repeated criminal behavior will become chronic if not diffused and stopped. When criminal subcultures exist, then many individuals can learn to commit crime in one location and crime rates, including violence, may become very high. Helena
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I totally agree with your assessment that poverty is not the sole determining factor for crime. I really think you said it right that it is a major factor. Like I mentioned earlier from the government report I read or the data that you offer, poverty affects every segement of these people's lives. When that becomes the case the poor often face others in their communities that have chosen the wrong path. It can be a fine line for some between right and wrong or necessary and unnecessary.
Yes, modernizing the schools in low-income areas would work for the greater good of the individuals, parents, teachers, principals, communities, society and our nation as a whole. First and foremost, not providing students with a visual of (a state of the art building) an eye opener and not an eye sore reason to partake in their own education have found to be the head start for failure. By doing just a little research on A Promise Kept, A School Renewed: Locke High this particular high school in Los Angeles was performing at its lowest ever in their education history. One of the main reasons for this failures reported by students, parents, community leaders, business and educator was the appearance along. One student reported that she was ashamed to inform her peers that she attended the school. Also, stated that the teacher would careless if you showed up for class or even left the classroom during lecture. Also stated, if students were wandering the halls; no one would stop them and inquire why you were not in class. The facilitators would report being victimized and threaten for trying to do their jobs. To make a long story short, The Green Dot program was modeled and the changes were made visible throughout the school. As a results of the model and lots of hard work by teachers, students, law enforcement officers, and the U.S. Dept of Ed., and A Promise Kept campaign; the fundamental of possessing an education was restored. Finally, students showed up on time and attendance increased. This is only one of the many success stories for the gentrification of low-income areas school.
ReplyDeleteYes, and No adding more community center would reduce gang activity. Again, doing a little research on community centers I have found that the centers are not being utilized to its full potential. Being that they are boarded up, not in use with signs posted due to budget cuts this facility is closed until further notice. Even before the cuts, the hours of operations either began late or closed early. As gang researchers reported that youth gang related crimes occur during the hours of 3:00 pm right after schools are released for the day and 8:00 pm just before parents return home from work. Alike, gentrification of schools, community centers needs to be in cooperated into the Race to the Top Program. Again, providing incentives for mentoring programs, innovation scholarships, and formulating character building skills and self-improving, and family empowerment programs into the forum of the community centers would decrease gang enrollment and restore family values to the surrounding communities and the purpose of the greater good of our nation at the end of the day.
On a personal note would more church activity reduce crime? I do not believe that the increase of church activities would reduce crimes because today’s churches are being represented as a business/money making organization. Again, this is my personal opinion and relation involving surrounding churches. What I would like to see is that, church goers (elders) removed the emotional gap with our younger members of society and accept the fact that these are some changing times and because we do not agree with some of their personal decisions we as akin can look beyond faults and recognized the need to assist and not dismiss. Instead of insisting that just say No, explain the reason why No represent a positive instead of a negative. Another, I believe the key and sole purpose of a church is a place to worship GOD. Seeking and building on a more personal relationship with a whole hearted felt thankfulness of t e goodness of the Highest God. As asking for forgiveness, guidance and direction while persevering on this journey called LIFE.
Elizabeth, it is very clear from your research and studies I have read while doing this response. Single parent family home children due seem to be at higher risk. Do not get me wrong my hats off to the single parent you are doing a job intended for 2. The problem is survival while the parent is at work trying to provide for their child without supervision. The street is glad to supervise children, in fact it thrives on it those in criminal enterprise always looking for new members. I agree with what desmond said yesterday, I think it falls on the person; we all have had opportunities to turn to a different life style it is our choice. It is hard though to know what the other side is if you never see it. Just because a parent has to work doesn’t mean that kid should be free to roam the streets. A responsible adult needs to care after that child. Many kids make it there job to keep pushing the line to see how far they can push it. A responsible adult needs to always b available to tell them when they crossed it. The more positive role models a child has in there life the better chance they have at success.
ReplyDeleteHelen, I agree with you on not all poor people turn to crime. I also believe that it is based on the individuals decisions on whether or not they want to continue to live the life of poverty or whether they want out and do things differently. We are all given challenges and I think its up to us to get the outcome we want. Yes, commiting crime is easy but it is illegal and the consequences are much more of a loss. I think people have become lazy and want the easy way out so they turn to selling drugs, stealing, etc. They dont want to "waste time" learning, getting high degrees for jobs, they want the quick money. It takes time and alot of EXTRA hard work if you live in poverty to get out but it can be done, nothing is impossible.
ReplyDeleteJoseph:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100 % with your statement about how logistics play a huge part. It has been stated that the more lighting, and more secure the area is, the less likely crime will be committed. Of course crime will occur anytime anywhere. however , the city needs to show that they are around when for instance a street light is out one night and fixed the next. Labeling plays a huge part in people’s life and I believe creates a low self esteem after a while. When people say to others “ you are worthless”, “you‘re good for nothing” people ,specially children, want to act on it and they begin to feel that they are no good so why try and be good if no one is there to believe in them.
Deborah,
ReplyDeleteI would like to mention, in reference to your question about whether church-based activities reduce crime, there are studies and even textbooks for classes that point to a reduced likelihood of committing crime when people are involved in religious activities.
There are always exceptions to the rule but, yes, I disagree with you and think that church or religion helps to reduce crime. That, however, doesn't always mean that people won't commit crimes. I do agree that many times now those who say that they work or act in the path of God are also the ones committing crimes themselves. I am pretty sure that you can find this in almost any religion. I know that if you look at the three major religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism) there are plenty of examples of leaders abusing their positions and their followers faith for personal gain.
Poverty doesn't just mean that you are more likely to commit crime. It also means that you are more likely to be a victim of crime.
I would like to also add that when you are a single parent unfortunately you are doing the job that is intended for two as Joseph stated earlier. but becasue of this, the single parent needs to go the extra mile. Invlove the child in extracurricular activities after school if they are not able to pick them up at 3pm. They should not leave a child unattended or alone at home and allow the Television or the video game to do the parenting and babysitting. there are many activities that educate the child. Sports shows them discipline and also teaches them to follow rules and regulations. When this occurs and they are introduced to the real life the children will know that hard work pays off. If they practiced Monday thru saturday to win a tornament, they will achieve highly if they go above and beyond in a job, in life.
ReplyDeleteProfessor, I agree with you. The rich should contribute more to the poor. Unfortunately, some of the upper class do not see humans as one race. We are separated by social class. So they may even think that their taxes cover their contribution to society. The rich do not want to compete for a job with someone who came from a broken home, or an ex-con. So in our society we have social class because someone always wants to be on top. If we struggle for economic equality and equal opportunity too much, we are considered communist. So it is difficult to say that one day, the United States will have one class. Sadly. The one thing we can do as Criminal Justice students, is become activist, become legislatures, become involved in our community so that we can expose what is going on and propose possible solutions to the problems.
ReplyDeleteIn the scholarly article CRIME AND POVERTY: A SEARCH-THEORETIC APPROACH. It found that "Numerous studies document that criminal activity is positively related to unemployment and negatively related to educational attainment levels within given communities and High crime, low levels of educational attainment, long spells of unemployment, and poverty are correlated across them." In other words it did not necessarily matter what kind of education level the person had they still comitted crime, but the lower the level of education the higher chances of that person committing a felony offense (murder, arson, car theft, ect..) what mattered the most was the length of time a person was unemployed. The longer the person was left unemployed the greater the chance of committing a crime no matter what their level of education was.
ReplyDeleteJessinia Garcia-Adkinson
Lily,
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I would say that the rich should contribute to the poor but I do think they are not doing very much of the heavy lifting which I think we'd both agree with. I think if the rich folks want certain things from our government then they should contribute more in taxes. They should close some of those loopholes and such for the rich. President Obama says that he's trying to do just that. I don't know that he's done anything worthwhile to get there but it sounds good in theory. Let's see what, if anything, happens.
As for the last part of your statement about how CJ students should also be activists...I agree with you. I think that we have to take it a step further as well. We need to, as activists for and in our communities, make sure that those who we serve know that they must also fight for what they want. If you don't fight or at least participate in anyway then you can't expect someone else to just give it to you.
We as a community must be more active if we want to see real change in our communities. If we don't push our representatives (federal, state or local) they will only do what the few want, not what the many need. It always been that way and it will continue to be as long as we allow it.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. Looking for a job can be very frustrating for an ex-offender, due to the fact that employers have become increasingly concerned about finding out if an applicant has a criminal record and for that matter, have been conducting more and more pre-employment background. As we know, pre-screening is a strong predictor of future behavior. Employers are taken to court if they negligently hire a person with a criminal record, before performing a criminal record check, and that person harms somebody in the workplace.
On the other hand, unless society wants to spend its tax dollars on building more and more jails and prisons, ex-offenders need the opportunity to rejoin the workforce. It is difficult to become a law abiding, tax-paying citizen without a job. Helena
Hello All:
ReplyDeleteHere is an interesting article about the root cause of school violence: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCR/is_2_38/ai_n6130139/
Also, please check your college email for another link to interesting topics. Enjoy your reading and I hope you learn much.
Take care
Another interesting article on poverty and crime: Space Matters: An Analysis of Poverty, Poverty Clustering, and Violent Crime. Published in December 2004.
ReplyDelete"Examines the empirical relationship between the spatial clustering of high poverty areas and violent crime rates."
It has to do with the amount of impoverished people living in one area. The more poor people that lived in a small confined area such as public housing, ghettos and ect.. the higher the chances of committing crime. It studied crime rates across 236 cities and rural areas. It found that the more spread out areas (rural and countryside) it did not matter that they were impoverished they committed less crime, even if they were unemployed, poor or had low level education. The studied citied that it found poor people that were huddle together in a few block areas in small living spaces were more likely to committ crimes, especially violent crimes.
Justice Quarterly v. 21 no. 4 (December 2004) p. 817-41
Jessinia Garcia-Adkinson
What the wealthy should maybe do is contribute to fixing these "ghettos" and instead of seeing the "poor people" as a problem they can see it as an opportunity to make money. There are federal grant money out there to fix these supoosed low class neighborhoods. They give grant money to repaint, clean and fix the buildings. Maybe if these poor people see that money is being given to their neighborhoods it will boost moral, give hope and help disapate the depression that comes with living in those circumstances.
ReplyDeleteHere is an intersting segment from the article I sent you:
ReplyDelete"The condition of poverty within the urban environment allows for joblessness and irregular employment, with most people within the area who lie "idle" for large periods of time, if not almost indefinitely. That condition, unfortunately lends itself to those children and offspring who pattern themselves after those "role models". That "modeling" continues to behaviors such as using weapons, being easily provoked, being unable to solve simple problems without becoming upset, etc. These continue by creating other types of situations such as other types of criminal activity. In most urban environments, crime is a "way of life." When assessing the family incomes of children, most who were victims came from family situations whose incomes were $7,500 or less per year (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2002).
Most people corrolate crime and poverty together. I do think that maybe 5-10% is related to being poor, but mainly the unemployement, underemployement and the majority is boredom and frustration that even if they work full time or 2 jobs it is not enough to pay for decent standard housing, food and the basic essentials (electricity and water). The impoverished neighborhoods have almost no daycare centers, parks are not as big or beautiful, recreational areas are few and far between and community center providing counseling, women reproducted health and job placement are quickly disappering.
ReplyDeleteLuis. I totally agree with you and thank you for your comment because the only way the rich can contribute to the poor would be through increasing taxes.
ReplyDeleteDr. Kalam, that statement of crime is a way of life is so true. It is a way of life in certain areas of the city. I see it all the time. Even the dependency some people have with welfare programs which are designed to assist temporarily with the objective of personal gain and self sufficiancy. People often mistake government assistance with a "way of life". Crime is a way of life to many because it is all they know. It is what they grew up on. People may think it is silly but if your parents always had "stolen" cable, when your time comes around to move out, chances are, you will call someone to hook up your illegal cable. You tend to grown on habits that you never knew were bad and they seem to be the norm.
After reading many stunning statistics I’ve come to this conclusion… Poverty does not predetermine your propensity to be a criminal; however criminals are more likely to be living in impoverished conditions. The simple fact is that the percentage of persons living in lower to middle class represents roughly 80-90% of the population (Kacapyr & Francese), with roughly 17-20% being in the lower “working poor” class (Thompson & Hickey). That fact alone does not mean that 80-90% or (depending in which social class you believe you reside in) 17-20% of the population will be criminals. All that it states is that if you are a criminal you have a high probability of being impoverished. Not only does that apply here in the United States but also in areas where “democracy” is practiced such as the nations of the E.U. and also where class systems are a fundamental way of like such as India and Pakistan. Another factor not to be forgotten is the means available to criminals. Martha Stewarts/Bernie Madoff lawyers were of a completely different caliber than say the liquor store robber or purse snatcher. So social class does have a great influence on whether you will be put through the CJ system or be let out the back door with no more said about it.
ReplyDeleteLili Ponce,
ReplyDeleteResponding to your comments, I did not clearly state that all crimes in this country are committed by those in the poverty level. Based on the research I did it states that most crimes committed are by these people, but that’s because as we have discussed before in class the crimes that are committed by the wealthy people are unknown as they are not being reported. It could be that statistics are wrong and we are just not looking beyond what reality is.
Regarding what you also mentioned and what I stated before, not all people that grow up in poverty are those that end up committing crimes. Regardless of the conditions you may live in I think that if you want to do something better with your life instead of committing crimes you will try to go for that. As you said is a matter of the choices you make in life.
To dmeade04
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment on Melvin’s Post. Again it goes back to nature v. nurture. The area that you reside does speak volumes about what you are exposed to and what you become accustomed to. Like the Prof. said in class, just because you live in those areas does not mean you’re a criminal; however criminals do tend to reside in those areas. It’s a fine line to tip toe but it is an excellent point. There are far too many factors that go into criminality and I feel that poverty isn’t the end point.
To Lilian “lily” Coto
ReplyDeleteI do agree with your opinion on that article that social class does determine “hot” spots that LE tend to focus on. Yet if that is where the majority of crime being committed then it is logical that LE focus their attention in the “problem” areas. And yes legal representation does play a significant role on whether they are tried or plead/dropped of all charges. Still if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck… areas of a city or suburb that have a high rate of crime are going to be a focal point for LE. And it just so happens that those areas are poverty stricken areas.
To Prof. Kalam on your article “The root of school violence: causes and recommendations for a plan of action”
ReplyDeleteI do agree with what the article states however there are “hidden figures” that need to be accounted for. When my parents went to school if a child misbehaved they were either; a) subject to corporal punishment b) subject to parental punishment at the institution or c) where sent off to boarding school/military. So the deterrent was always present since the children knew exactly what would happen. Also many acts (today referred to as violence) were labeled as “boys will be boys” or “it’ll make a man outta you”. That attitude is clearly not present in schools today. At the very start of violence or not-the-norm like attitude police/staff are present. Also, as discussed in class, parents disciplined their children with no fear of child service or arrests by LE. So yes crime and violence rates are up, but not at the alarming rate your article portrays. With the population growing and the student:teacher ratio becoming disproportionate it is natural. Not to say the types of crimes committed are natural simply the rate at which it is increasing is…
I agree with the article Prof. Kalam. Conformity and being idle become a way of life. It also happens to the extremly wealthy heirs of multibillion dollar companies. Why work when it interferes with hanging out with friends, watching t.v. or sleeping all day and then going out all night. These people conform with having zero responsibility to society, even when it comes to their children.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth:
ReplyDeleteI agree that it takes a lot of hard work to get out of poverty and there are those that, like you said, don’t want to waste their time learning and just want the quick money. This becomes the choices made by some of the people living in poverty who want to take the easy way out. But not all of them will resort to this and do get out through hard work and other resources available to them. They do not need to resort to crime.
In regards to the article: The root of school violence: causes and recommendations for a plan of action.
ReplyDeleteIt raised some good suggestions on helping in emergency situations.
I feel that teachers should lock the classroom door in case a shooter tries to get in, they would be locked out in the hallway. This would have helped during the Columbine shooting when the shooters went classroom to classroom and shot at students. The schools could also have self locking hallway door that can be triggered this would keep an agressor in one area.
Teachers should each have an emergency walkie talkies that connects to security and other teachers. Also an emergency button that can be pushed would be helpful.
Being Poor is not a pre-requisite for being a criminal by any means.
ReplyDeleteThis has been a very rewarding discussion and for all who participated today, Great Job.
Keep reading and see you on Feb. 20th
Jessinia- The problem is when someone wants to do harm in the end you will not be able to eliminate it. The violence can be reduced. I think the self locking idea would only lead a shooter to start a fire knowing all parties are trapped. It is sad, but I remember going to school after hurricane Andrew and servicemen were in the hallways with rifles that was the last time I totally felt safe when I was in school, before I was an adult. I do not think we are at that point yet, but I think if things do not change we are closer then one might think. Kids are loved and everyone feels bad when they are targeted; they also pose little threat to an attacker. They serve as a perfect pawn for terrorist and since children are our treasure they need to be protected as such. I think every school should have police on site. In theory public high schools and middle schools do however the school officer are also responsible for elementary schools in the area and have to back up other officers, leaving schools unprotected many times. The problem is many people measure crime only as it happens not counting when it is prevented. You may never know if school police stopped an attack only when they fail to do so. The mission of a school should be to deliver a safe education and that needs to be the focus.
ReplyDeleteAfter researching the relationship between crime and poverty I would have to say that poverty to a “certain extent” correlates with crime. Yes, we all might agree that if you are taught as you were growing up what is right from wrong the possibilities are that you “might” not commit the crime. Then you have those that the situation becomes far more than you can handle and you do what you can at all measures; so you commit the crime. Is this the right thing? No! But many come to this conclusion out of desperation. However, crime and poverty relate due to the fact in 2007 the U.S Government Accountability release that those living in poverty where the area is abundant had fewer options in life. People who were living in poverty where more likely to have an adverse health issue, risk of behavior and lack of proper education.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that this is true…many living in poverty are suffering from their health and especially the lack of education. What are we doing about this? We have so many living in our own backyard…I believe that at times, the U.S is always so concerned about many other countries and forget about what’s happening here within their own. (Don’t misinterpret I agree we should help others that are less fortunate…I’m all for it.) A study showed on the McClatchy Newspaper that we have 16 million Americans in “deep or in severe poverty” this is horrible! This is HERE! I just feel that we should take care of our own then go out and CONTINUE to help the rest!
Dr. K and Group 3:
ReplyDeleteI don't know if all of you noticed or not but this article has touched on a lot of what we said yesterday.
There is a paragraph toward the middle of the first page that talks about how everyone must be involved in not only forming plans for emergencies and school violence but also in dealing with issues that may face our educational institutions. It behooves all interested parties from the various levels of government all the way down to the individual citizen to participate.
If there is a serious violent incident at a school, not only do those at the school become affected but the community as a whole. Only with everyone's assistance can an adequate response be accomplished.
dmeade04
ReplyDeleteOn the comment that you left Melvin...I understand what you mean...but what happens to the person that was not born with the "silver spoon in their mouth" as they...say and have continued a cycle of poverty? I'm sure it's twice as hard for them to get out of it...not that it's impossible...
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ReplyDeleteElizabeth and Helen:
ReplyDeleteI agree not all poor people turn to crime... I grew up with a single mother and 12 siblings, me being the youngest of the 12..we didn't have much when we were growing up, but we always made the best of what WE did have... at the end the only thing that mattered was that through all the trails we as a family faced; we did it all together.......However, I understand that many do see crime as an "escape goat" for what they do not have and try to justify it...
Dr. Kalam,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you: being poor is not a pre-requisite for being a criminal but poverty victimizes their own who in return could devote their lives to criminality. Helena
Luis:
ReplyDeleteI agree, we touched base on some important facts yesterday. Regarding the educational and parental factors...
Maritza,
ReplyDeleteI have to say that is a fine example. Though I was an only child for most of my life my family also struggled. We always had family with us and we struggled all the same even with less people than your family. It was tough but we always knew that to make things better we needed to work hard and do things the right way.
I also agree with you that some try to use the fact that they are poor as an excuse to commit crime. As I am sure you would agree the majority of those people who are struggling out there are hardworking and honest people just trying to get to a better place.
There will always be people who try to make excuses for their actions. It is those few who give a bad name to everyone who's struggling.
Maritza,
ReplyDeleteYou and your family are the perfect example of working together in order to overcome hard times by doing the right thing and not letting the environment or the lack of money lead you into the wrong and easiest path. Your mother gave all of you a beautiful example by sending the message to never give up when facing hardship. As you said, adversities are part of life and it feels so good to look within ourselves, at the end of the day, and realizing that there is nothing we need to justify…Helena
The root of school violence: causes and recommendations for a plan of action.
ReplyDeleteHas good alternatives on helping in emergency situations. I believe most schools have certian rules and procedures they have to follow in emergency situations anyhow. For example, some do lock down where no student is allowed to leave school premises. The Charter school I work at actually does the opposite and allows you to pick up your child if need be...I'm not sure which would be considered to be most effective. What do you think?
This is a test*************
ReplyDeleteLuis and Helen:
ReplyDeleteThank you! My mother was an amazing women always doing what she could to make sure "WE" pushed foward! I understand why she was hard on us and why she couldn't always give us what we "wanted" but she always made sure we had what we "needed"...That's why I say no excuses...
Brandon you finally got it working! =)
ReplyDeleteDr. Kalam,
ReplyDeleteI put together thoughts of two of the articles you sent to us. It is very true that schools are primarily places to learn and should be treated like that. However, due to crime and violence going out of hand, one of the most important issues for school administrators now is to come up with ways to effectively implement safety measures and educate students, teachers, and parents so that all are safe and feel safe. As the second articles states, who would imagine that heinous crimes like rape, robbery, and even murder would be the types of crime practiced by juveniles against their own peers. I think that it is imperative to come up with strict prevention actions so that schools could go back to be the safe heavens they once were. Students should be taken care of, and teachers and staff should be trained to recognize, and report, kids showing signs of distress. After all, schools are were students and staff gather to learn and not to be on a constant state of panic. Helena
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ReplyDeleteMaritza, I took forever to get them to go through.
ReplyDeleteThanks, for the help!!!!!!
Brandon
Helena,
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the fact that schools were once safe havens and now teachers and students alike are, what seems like constantly, worring about school attacks and shootings.
This is why I stress the fact that all of the community has to be involved in their schools. Without parents, students, neighbors, politicians and the community at large there will be no effective solutions. Everyone is dependent on the other when a community gets affected by school violence. It should not just be the responsibility of that school's officials but the school administration to work with police and community leaders to address needs of their schools and provide for them.
This last part sounds idealistic in a way but it is what the situation calls for. In my opinion...
Maritza,
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome. It is success stories like your family that should be celebrated and shown as examples of perseverance.
Dr. Kalam,
ReplyDeleteIt is so true that one of the consequences of being without a job and in poverty, living in a neglected neighborhood, and not being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, is to lie idle just watching the time going by or doing illegal activities as a “way of life”. Let’s compare that scenario with our daily lives, always running here and there, fighting to accomplish our goals, being reliable parents and employees, being thankful for having a job and food on our table but working hard for all of that to happen. A drug dealer, for instance, join this business in order to make money, pay for their own habits, and to be respected in the neighborhood. They usually “work” in poor urban areas, where people have little hope to improving their own lives. Even though their job is not a safe one because it is illegal, it is a simple way of making the amount of money they need to survive. Helena
To Helena
ReplyDeleteWhy are you writing on the Blog and not watching the SuperBowl? J/K jeje
I think that the problem with the study of criminology is that it is very subjective. Data can be manipulated to support whatever theory that is being introduced. I think that we all know someone, or even ourselves, who have managed to escape or overcome the negative aspects of poverty. I also believe that we all have some sort of emotional attachment to many of the subjects we will be covering. As such, I must make to points:
ReplyDelete1. The closest these studies or theories come to taking a position is with phrases like “studies ‘seems’ to indicate,” or non committal words.
2. There are many reasons why a person commits a crime, and I know that poverty does not have a patent on it. However, the pleasure – pain principle that is involved in almost all the reasons why a person commits a crime and a person in poverty is most susceptible to this. A poor person has less to lose. Do you think a poor person worry about being sued? They do not have a high position or salary to lose. They don’t have a high station in life to lose. They don’t have a plethora of material gains to forfeit. I know that other social classes commits crimes, and I also know that a great deal of them could afford legal representation that help keep them out of jail. But in the same breath, those persons in middle to upper class are not habitual offenders. Studies conducted in Dade County showed that the average homeless person commits an average of 60 crimes per year, and the average homeless person with substance abuse issues commits 90 plus crimes per year. Show me one person from any other social class with those kinds of numbers!!
I strongly believe that poverty leads to crime. This case study supports my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWelfare contributes to crime in several ways. First, children from single-parent families are more likely to become involved in criminal activity. According to one study, children raised in single-parent families are one-third more likely to exhibit anti-social behavior.(3) Moreover, O'Neill found that, holding other variables constant, black children from single- parent households are twice as likely to commit crimes as black children from a family where the father is present. Nearly 70 percent of juveniles in state reform institutions come from fatherless homes, as do 43 percent of prison inmates.(4) Research indicates a direct correlation between crime rates and the number of single-parent families in a neighborhood.(5)
Replying to maritza21's comment.
ReplyDeleteThe root of school violence: causes and recommendations for a plan of action.
Has good alternatives on helping in emergency situations. I believe most schools have certian rules and procedures they have to follow in emergency situations anyhow. For example, some do lock down where no student is allowed to leave school premises. The Charter school I work at actually does the opposite and allows you to pick up your child if need be...I'm not sure which would be considered to be most effective. What do you think?
I think that your charter school will be in a schock of their lives when a law suit is slapped on them from a parent the picked up their kid in an emergency situation and as a result they were victims of the very reason the school should have been locked down for. I work in the miami dade county public schools and as much as I disagree with the majority of the political and general practices, there is one thing I do agree on and that is the lock down system. Regardless if your child is in the school the entire day as part of a lock down, it is swamped by police officers and more so the classrooms are lock and protected. We can not guarantee that you are safe if you are to run around free as though nothing happens. Unless law enforcement enters the premises to give a clear sign things are safe your charter school is gambling with everyone's safety including your own.