Crime and Its Relation to Poverty

Haime Hurrissa 04th 03 13 Dr. Lydia Balderamos Loskot English Composition (ENGL 101) Does meagerness baffle a direct relationship to disgust? indigence is defined by the Webster dictionary as the state of whiz who deprivations a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Poverty is the showtime ca engross for spikes in illegal activities in Belize, due to crime, wish of pedagogics and drugs. Many argue that meagerness does non have a relationship to crime be answer there ar countries where poverty levels are blue but crime is relatively low.Belize has been infested with an outbreak of crime and violence affecting the country by bringing fear into both tourists and us Belizean directly it appeared to be at its peak last year. The footing for the infestation of the criminals are legion(predicate) but the principal and roughly evident of them all would be the increasing rate of poverty that Belize has been experiencing, In addition to th is would be the racy rate of unemployment that exists in our association brought about by lack of training. This causes many respective(prenominal)s to see no some other means to survival but to rectify to their last alternative, crime.Some may argue that the cause for crime is due to psychology of criminals, their mental state or drugs. Crime in its simplest term is defines as any act that defies constitutional law and is separated into two principal(prenominal) categories a minor offence which as referred to as misdemeanors and serious acts which as referred to as felonies. A crime can range from simple offences such as public deglutition to murder which is considered to be one of the most serious of crimes which claimed one hundred and twelve (112) lives in 2011 according to the annual police release statistics report.It is important to none that not all crime is related to poverty, although there are many who see crime as a means of survival. There are others who p amper in criminal acts simply for fun and pleasere, such as members of color gangs, mainly Crips equal by the color blue and Bloods represented by the color red, which are based on American color gangs. These gangs choose to live a life of crime and violence for personal pleasure. Unfortunately fresh Belizeans, mainly, teenagers taradiddle for most f the criminal acts that occur in Belize. The primary reason that should be lay downn into consideration is poor home conditions and lack of education, which plays a major part in the cause of young criminals because many of these young men mostly, come from homes where resources are very limited and their parents may take little or no responsibility for them. Many of them on the other hand are dropouts or those who cannot afford the cost of education, which results in them determination unconstructive things to do with their time. Idle time is the devils playground and idle custody are the devils workshop, are both phrases I heard many times by my elders while growing up, and are words which I believe to be very true, especially in the case of those face poverty. They are the ones facing the cold heart of todays society and in order to survive they resort to crimes and violence as a mean to survive. A job can seem to be one of the hardest things to find and even when a job is found the pay is not always sustainable, especially for those without a proper education for example a primary school degree worker earns the minimum wage in Belize which is little above 3. 0 Bz$ per hour. The uses of both legal and illegal drugs a great deal contribute to crime and ultimately poverty. In Belize where the legal age for absorbing alcohol and smoking tobacco is eighteen, there are many who indulge in these activities from a much younger age due to lack of implementation of stores who sell these drugs to underage people. Drugs affect the psychological aspect of a person and in the case of certain drugs the way how an ind ividual thinks. all over the past two years, personally I witnessed firsthand underage individual who due to intoxication from drugs and alcohol, commit serious crimes such as thieving and attempted murder.People affected by poverty often resort to the use of drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and marijuana which are the most come-at-able of all drugs in Belize. I asked the question why do you drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes excessively, to a man I know who faces poverty daily from my village, he answered that life for him is extremely hard and be he uses those drugs as a way to cope with his daily struggles. Drugs are substances that cause young people to get bonded, and that bond often times cause them to do whatever it takes, which in some cases are criminal activities to supplement themselves with the drugs they desire.Getting out of poverty should accordingly be focused on the aspects that not just now deal with the economy and getting people jobs, but the root causes of c rime in our country which are mainly drugs, lack of education and crime. Prisons should be focused on and the rehabilitation process should be change to create a more positive individual by providing them with education and trade skills before placing them back into society, as opposed to our present administration we have in place which just has them serving their time and then release them into the same situations which got them there in the first place and causes a never ending cycle.With that said the root factors that contribute to this devastating worry in society should be improved so that not only our present but also our future generations have a brighter future. Refrence Webster, Merriam. Poverty Crime Web. 1 Mar. 2013. Centaur Cable Network, CTV3 Belize News. 2011 Crime Statistics. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.