Crime and Unemployment Correlations

...western University study revealed a strong correlation between increased incidences of gun violence and high unemployment rates as well as foreclosure rates, and consumer confidence from the years 1990 to 2013 (Sutton, 2017, p. 9). By applying strain theoretical lenses, it was demonstrated how "gun violence at US schools and universities peaks during periods of high unemployment, according to a study of 381 shootings" (UPFRONT, 2017, p. 6). The study confirmed how "The highest rates of school shootings occurred in two periods: 1992 to 1994 and 2007 to 2013, and coincided with periods of higher unemployment. The fact that gun violence and crime had socioeconomic underpinnings with unemployment is evident from the testimony that "gun violence in our schools can result from disappointment and despair during periods of increased unemployment" (UPFRONT, 2017, p. 6.).

Similar findings also used the city of Chicago and its crime problems, for example. Citing an August 14, 2017 Crain's report, the article recognized how "The link between unemployment and violence is real. More than half of Chicago's homicides from 2011 to 2015 took place in South and West Side neighborhoods with the highest rate of joblessness. And some neighborhoods in those regions have a jobless rate of 85 percent among black youths age 16 to 19. Rates are near 60 percent for those 20 to 24" (Dear CEOs, our communities need your help, 2017).

Further insights from Lewis (2016) also contend that unemployment is a major ...