Introduction
Criminal records have a tendency to grow even during pandemics when most humans changed work locations for home. People try to develop a modern system of law enforcement, increase trust between policies and the public, and build a stronger society; however, most countries keep struggling with crime. At the same time, the number of people that lost their jobs or the ones that are in an ongoing search also gathers pace.
Unemployment has become a severe issue in various states, partly due to the current epidemiological situation, partly because of increased population, and competition for a working place. Not all humans manage to prove their unemployment status and receive relevant benefits from the government. Some states have a complicated system of approval and bureaucratic chaos, and because of that, some part of the unemployed population remains with no financial support. Such disappointing consequences lead to various problems of income-searching behavior: illegal employment, lawns, drugs, or alcoholism.
The absence of social status can morally and economically push people down to a lower social status, making them break the law and personal ethical barriers. In the U.S., crime rates are statistically estimated by two authorities: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) (Pew Research Center, 2020). Both of them provide data that differ in numbers mostly because of the sources they get information from.
For instance, the FBI assesses data that have been reported to the police stations; still, obviously, not all crime incidents are delivered to authorities. According to recent FBI reports, property crime is more common in the U.S. than common crime (Pew Research Center, 2020). In 2019, it was reported about 2109.9 property crimes compared to 379.4 violent crimes per 100.000 people by the FBI (Pew Research Center, 2020). Among these disappointing facts, there is one positive confirmed by several authorities: crime rates have drastically declined since the early 1990s, and it is something to be proud of. The major goal is to identify the reasons leading to crime rates and develop strategies allowing to effectively impact them. Unemployment is proved to be one of the issues catalyzing the rates of crime, and bettering peoples’ joblessness can enhance the current situation of law-breaking.
Economic Sustainability
Unemployment correlates with the economic situation in the country, and stabilizing the latter can improve the crime rates in the government. Economic expansion is one of the essential factors estimated on a bigger scale impacting the life quality, consequently GDP, and crime rate. Indeed, a stable economic position influences the welfare and well-being of its citizens, consequently to a better quality of life. Jawadi et al. (2019) used time-varying structural parameters to estimate the responses of criminality to an unemployment shock and proved the positive interconnection between these two issues from a long-term perspective.
The latter illuminated the problem of ongoing unemployment leading to crime which means the longer a person suffers from joblessness, the higher there is a risk of crime committed by him. Andresen et al. (2020) also proved the correlation of unemployment with the crime rate and identified that in a short period, crime has a tendency to decline; however, from a long-term perspective, it raises substantially. For every state, it is significant to develop sustainable and strong strategies that will prevent the worsening of the crime situation. That is why the outcomes in longer periods are more important for the countries and should be taken as a basis for decision-making.
Unemployment Insurance Benefits
One of the possible solutions that can impact the unemployment and crime issues is the enhancement of insurance benefits. Oftentimes, the unemployed population seeks governmental help, but they end in slowly moveable bureaucratic procedures and restrictions regarding the rules of lawn issuing. Some states implement multilayered systems of unemployment status approval, and people wait for years for subsidies. Such complications and stagnations deteriorate the willingness of humans to apply for unemployment authorization to avoid bureaucratic burdens, negative circumstances, and refusals. Simplifying the system of issuing unemployment benefits can lead to a bigger trust of the public in the government, more transparent data about joblessness in the country, and crime rates decline.
In order to avoid uncontrolled issuing of benefits, the state needs to save criteria for lawn receivers. However, the staff in corresponding governmental organizations has to provide the public with efficient work and quick data processing to make conclusions about unemployment status faster. The time spent on approving the status itself also impacts the attitude of civilians towards governmental benefits. Providing sustainable and quick support might save the social status of an unemployed citizen and give him an opportunity to find a working place faster. According to the research by NoghaniBehambari and Maden (2020), unemployment insurance benefits mitigate local labor market shocks. The authors also calculated the impact of one standard deviation increase in benefits on the property and violent crime rates (NoghaniBehambari and Maden, 2020). The results proved the decline of non-violent and violent crimes by 2.4% and 1.9%, respectively (NoghaniBehambari and Maden, 2020). Thus, improving the system and parameters of unemployment benefits issued by the state can significantly improve the crime situation in the country.
Immigrants and Their Legislation
Another complex issue, migration, influences the unemployment rate and, consequently, crime incidents because of the immigrants’ minor positions. It is hard to evaluate the impact of migration on the discussed problem, but it is evident that immigrants are oftentimes struggling to make a living in the host countries. For instance, the U.S. has a big concern regarding the Mexican border, the migration of Mexican citizens to America, and their attitude to crime commitments inside the country’s borders.
However, it is unprofessional to state that the crime rates are fully dependent on migration status. Mexican and U.S. scholars were gathered for a research realization regarding migration and crime rates (Romo, 2021). The latter proved the complicity of migration forces, its dependence on socioeconomic and political factors, sanctions, and policy of immigration (Romo, 2021). Hence, the migration law embodies the majority of the issues connected with crime. First, the country needs a certain number of immigrants it allows yearly. Second, the rights of minority groups have to be protected to expect a profitable performance and life satisfaction from immigrants. Legislation regarding their status, employment, and fees issued by the government can better their social status and bring more positive outcomes for the country’s economy. Solving migration and unemployment may also impact the crime rate decline.
The next aspect is about citizens striving to get their rights legislated in the United States: people that came into the country as minors and had no documents confirming their legal stay. It is a painful problem for the U.S. as those whose parents were riots or immigrants suffer from their rights approval up till nowadays. The issue is about the migration status of civilians that lived, studied, and worked on the territory of the United States since childhood and currently face restrictions regarding their lawful stay. In 2010, the authorities of the U.S. proposed to implement the DREAM Act allowing undocumented immigrants that entered the country as minors to receive a temporary residency (Olivas, 2020). The proposal was not approved by authorities; however, later, in 2012, Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals was taken, allowing children that moved to the U.S. renewable two-year period of legislation and work permit (Olivas, 2020). Nevertheless, currently, the program is blocked and does not allow immigrants to renew their legislation documents.
All these circumstances lead to mostly illegal work conditions for these citizens, and officially they remain unemployed. However, it leads to not only low social status and life quality but protests and misunderstanding from unauthorized citizens. Leading a lifestyle full of restrictions might also impact their performance and mental health. People struggling to prove their social status since childhood can develop anger, mistrust, and dissatisfaction towards the state and law enforcement organizations. As a result, these humans commit crimes, remain officially unemployed, and deteriorate the general crime situation inside the country.
Conclusion
Hence, the issue of unemployment is closely related to the crime rate in the U.S. The major factors influencing this bond are economic sustainability, unemployment insurance benefits, immigrants, and legislation. Trying to enhance the current issues identified in every sector can positively impact crime rates and the socio-economic growth of the country. Providing citizens with a better system of lawn issuing for unemployment, developing strategies protecting the rights of minor community groups, and creating a sustainable economy can better the crime rate in a long-term perspective and improve life quality and people’s well-being.
References
Andresen, M. A., Ha, O. K., & Davies, G. (2020). Spatially Varying Unemployment and Crime Effects in the Long Run and Short Run. The Professional Geographer, 73(2), 1–12. Web.
Jawadi, F., Mallick, S. K., Idi Cheffou, A., & Augustine, A. (2019). Does higher unemployment lead to greater criminality? Revisiting the debate over the business cycle. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 182, 448-471. Web.
NoghaniBehambari, H., & Maden, B. (2020). Unemployment insurance generosity and crime. Applied Economics Letters, 28(13), 1076–1081. Web.
Olivas, M. A. (2020). Perchance to DREAM: A Legal and Political History of the DREAM Act and DACA. New York University Press.
Pew Research Center. (2020). What the data says (and doesn’t say) about crime in the United States. Web.
Romo, H. D. (2021). Introduction: Policies, dynamics, and consequences of Mexican migration to the United States. In Mexican migration to the United States (pp. 1-10). University of Texas Press.