Economy and Violence Connection

It is a given fact that economic downturns generate higher crime rates. Whenever there is a spike in crime rates, old ideas such as bounty hunters and harsher penalties for those convicted are part of the national debate again. However, many argue that the relationship between criminality rates and the economy is not as simple as all that. Recent studies show that it is not not only the economic hardships of a society that generate crime, but the general sense of inequality in that society.

According to research done by Professor Richard Wilkinson of the University of Nottingham, very unequal societies tend to have higher crime rates than just economically challenged societies who have more equality. Not only that, but he also found that unequal societies tend to have more violent and harmful crimes.

In highly unequal societies, a criminal will not only steal you flat screen TV and your luxury vehicle, but will also torture, or even kill you in the process as a means of "revenge." According to the professor's research, the world economic crisis sparked by the International banking crisis will increment petty criminality in more equal societies and violent criminality in unequal societies.

People might want to steal your flat screen TV or fancy car in a more equal society, but the punishment element will not be there. However, in unequal societies, the level of frustration could generate that violent, heinous type crime.

Every now and then, certain corporations help the poor and unemployed during economic downturns, as a way to alleviate the level of frustration felt by those segments of society. The chemical giant Pfizer, for instance, is expected to donate at least $1 billion worth of basic medicines such as Lipitor, Viagra and others to alleviate the frustration of the jobless. However, not enough is done. Instead, governments are now turning to austerity measures to compensate for the mistakes committed a greedy banking system and general government wasteful spending Crime rates eventually rise and in an unequal society, that crime comes with a high price tag for the victim.