Crime has so much become part and parcel of our lives that we hardly ever stop and ask ourselves why crime even exists at all – especially in less criminogenic countries such as Singapore. It has become part of the society to the extent that crime prevention has been integrated into urban planning.
This phenomena did not just occur on its own – there are various reasons for it, with the most striking one being the inequality in society. People are born into various economic and social classes in society, and very few from the poor ever manage to break out from the classes they were born into – and as such, inequality is pretty much perpetuated. This inequality often results in much frustration on the part of the poor, who are then driven to crime, which they see as a last and only resort to economic survival. Modern society’s increasing emphasis on materialism and material wealth being a determinant of one’s social status only serves to compound the problem.
While the poor may find it difficult to break out of their classes and move upwards in society, it is only too easy for those in the higher classes of society to slip into a world of crime and degeneration, especially at a young age. This is even more so in double income or single parent families where minimal or complete lack of parental supervision may cause children to be led astray and into a world of crime.
Crime is possible at any point of time in life, regardless of one’s wealth or position in society. As mentioned earlier, the poor sometimes turn to crime as a means of survival due to the lack of economic opportunities, while the better off, or even the wealthy, in their greed and materialism, resort to crimes such as embezzlement and corruption.
The socialization of an individual, notwithstanding his or her position in the social structure also plays a part in one’s susceptibility to crime. For example, if domestic violence was rampant and unbridled in an individual’s surroundings since childhood, he or she may not just be desensitized to violence – he or she may even see it as a means to get what one wants. As a result, he or she might resort to violent crimes for whatever that needs to be achieved. The role of the media also plays an important part in portraying violence, drugs and crime as normal, or even beneficial – be it in movies, or through celebrities whom which the younger ones increasingly take to as their role models.
Crime could be greatly reduced if we would allow equal opportunities to everyone. Let us take the example of the Aborigines in Australia – for years, they have consistently marginalized by the non-indigenous Australians. This stigmatization and marginalization of the Aborigines led to the increased susceptibility to crime among them, and such attitudes toward them only compounds higher crime rate among them into a vicious cycle.
Earlier this year, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a speech to honour the Indigenous peoples of this land… (and) reflect on their past mistreatment”, which he, on behalf of the Parliament and other Australians, apologized for. Yet, nothing much still seems to be done by the government to better the lives of these people, making Rudd’s speech more or less an empty one. Moreover, discrimination against the Australian Aborigines still exists, and such deep-seated feelings seem to be here to stay, and as such, the marginalization of the Aborigines is more or less permanent. Thus, if the masses’ opinions of the marginalized – whether they are true or false, biased or just – do not change, the latter will find it difficult to obtain opportunities to access to wage labour and wealth, which is necessitated by urbanization.
