The world is full of surprises. With an increasingly busy world and many levels of communication, it is hard to engage in pursuit of our dreams. Complications can easily get in the way of any task. These complications can lead to more problems with family, friends, and the social world as a whole. As problems escalate, it is possible that crime becomes a solution for criminal offenders and their problems. It is unknown why people commit crimes and it is impossible to profile anyone as a future criminal. To better understand why criminals create more problems, society must be studied, including its unbalanced economy and high crime rates.
Law enforcement is a familiar term when discussing criminals and criminal acts. Police are depended upon for cleaning up the streets and punishing violators accordingly. However, law enforcement may be one reason crime has increased in some neighborhoods. According to a journal by Rosa Ferrer, criminals set a positive stepping stone for other criminals to act. Since there is limited law enforcement in any area, the amount of resources that they can work with is also limited. The more crimes that are committed in a region, the less power the law has over those violators. One method Ferrer analyzes is the global game’s approach, which was introduced by Carlsson and van Damme in 1993. This method assumes dominance is a payoff when talking about risk-dominant equilibrium. The concept of risk dominance was introduced by Harsanyi and Selten in 1988. It states that the individual who wants to commit a crime will choose a less risky method of doing so by incorporating their actions with the actions of other criminals. When a criminal is choosing an equilibrium, the factors taken into consideration are not only those of other criminals, but of law enforcement agencies and communities where crime is concentrated.
Rosa Ferrer chose an approach to this study that was both abstract and mathematical at the same time. To study crime rates and how the criminal mind works seems like an impossible task, so Ferrer created a theory of externalities and equilibria having a strong connection. Using algebraic systems to define cause and effect of criminal actions, Rosa Ferrer had come to the conclusion that an equilibrium can not exist without a previous action being carried out, either by a criminal, enforcement, or community. Rosa proposed nine theories and proved them all using the mathematical equations relating compliance and non-compliance, as well as multiple equilibria.
Another study done by Sean. P Varano, Joseph A. Schafer, Jeffrey M. Cancino, Scott H. Decker, and Jack R. Greene proves the previous contributor’s theory of crime escalating when crime is committed against mankind. Discussing the effects of Hurricane Katrina and its impact on the community and the large amount of people it displaced, this study analyzes the large amount of crime in the areas of these displaced residents.
Results were achieved through analysis of three cities, all impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Murder, robbery, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft rised drastically following the aftermath of the hurricane. The cities of Phoenix, San Antonia, and Houston experienced a large rise in crime due to the wrath of a higher power. The method used was quite simple. Data was retrieved for each of these crimes in each city during the Pre-Katrina and Post-Katrina time frames. Data was compared and differences were logged. The high rise in crime proved that displaced citizens, which were largely in these cities, were a huge contribution to the crime rate fluctuating so fast.
To answer the question of why people commit crimes, both methods proved successful when using the method in a specific area or community. However, because the second method of data comparison is more easily understood and easy to gather, it seems more sensible to apply this theory to crime rates in other areas. The only changing variable would be the cause of the effect. In the northern states, hurricanes are not a problem. Recreating this theory, I have decided to gather information from all the financially unstable states such as Michigan and Illinois to answer the question of why crimes are committed. The information will consist of crime rates for specific crimes, as well as financial drops and rises for each state. The crime rates of financially stable periods will be compared to those of the unstable periods. This method will also relate back to the first method using multiple equilibria. This will allow further research and possibly help communities that are in bad shape better themselves. The only constantly changing variable that may cause issues is the state’s economy, as well as the country’s economy. Money is a quickly moving business in today’s world, and if money is one result of an increase in crime, then future outcomes may be predicted.
Communities suffer through hardships of all sorts, but one hardship brings almost all communities together. Crime has been part of society forever, and there is no evidence that it will stop. There are times that crime decreases in certain areas, but this just further proves that there are variables contributing to the unbalanced rise and decline of crime.
Ferrer, Rosa. “Breaking the law when others do.” European Economic Review 54.2 (2008): 163-180. ScienceDirect. Web. 9 June 2010.
Varano, Sean, Joseph Schafer, Jeffrey Cancino, Scott Decker, and Jack Green. “A tale of three cities.” Journal of Criminal Justice 38.1 (2010): 42-50. Social Science Abstracts. Web. 8 June 2010.
