With a 10% increase in crime rate since 2009, budding city St. John’s (Newfoundland and Labrador) soared 19.2% above the national average and in 2010 placed as seventh in Canada’s overall crime rated cities (Brennan, 2011). The level of crime relative to suburban or rural areas has recently become an accepted theory in criminology. Regardless of the data source used, crime statistics consistently reflect that urban crime rates are substantially greater than crime rates in non-urban areas. More so, population size has been shown to be an important predictor of crime rates across cities, not only in Canada, but all over the world. St. John’s has developed and grown economically over the past few years, thriving off the offshore oil and gas industry who’s profits have injected about $800 million into the local economy boosting the city’s Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) attributed to the St. John’s Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) by an estimated 5.0% in 2010 to $9.8 billion, that adding to an increase of 5.4% for the province as a whole (City of St. John’s. 2011). A clear multiplier effect in population growth can be observed as St. John’s population increased by 8.9% between the years of 2001 and 2010 during the time in which the gas and oil and nickel industries settled in the area. Now, as one of the most rapidly developing cities in the country, St. John’s is getting a taste of one of the more serious social backfires to urbanization. Urban development in St. John's is increasing crime opportunities and the overall crime rate in the city and province. Supported not only by up to date statistics, this idea is also supported by year long criminal and social behavioral experiments conducted by trained psychologists such as Wolfgang...
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...’s and lead to long term solutions in adapting to the new and still growing city of St. John’s.
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Despite their methodological differences, GSS data and those of the UCR have shown similar trends over the decade between 2004 and 2014. “For example, the GSS shows a 28 percent decline in the rate of violent victimization and a 42% decline in the rate of household victimization. In comparison, the UCR stated a 26 percent decrease in the rate of violent crimes and a 40% decrease in the rate of crime against property” (Perrault, 2015, p.7). In general, victimization rates in both surveys tend to be lower in the eastern and higher in the western part of Canada. “Less than one in three (31 percent) criminal incidents were reported to the police in 2014. This proportion was slightly lower than that recorded ten years earlier (34 percent)” (Perrault, 2015, p.27). Many incidents are not reported, because people feel that the police cannot help with the situation, or they may feel embarrassed. The crime rates appear to be higher for minor incidents, such as property or household crimes in comparison to serious violent crimes in both surveys over the years of
Why are some neighborhoods more prone to experience violent episodes than others? What is the extent and in what sociologically measurable ways do communities contribute to the causation and prevention of crime in their neighborhoods? Are neighborhood-level predictors adequate to explain differences in violent crime rates in the respective communities? These are some of the questions addressed by this statistically intense paper published in Science 1997, by Sampson, Raudenbush and Earls.
Ouimet, Marc. "Crime In Canada And In The United States: A Comparative Analysis." Canadian Review Of Sociology & Anthropology 36.3 (1999): 389-408. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Apr. 2014.
Few social issues get as much media attention as youth crime. Statistics Canada reported a 3% increase in crimes committed by 12- to 17-yearolds between 2005 and 2006. In the last 15 years, the rate of violent crimes among young people has increased by 30% (Youth crime, 2008). From gangland-style killings in Vancouver to the senseless beating of an elderly woman in Hali-fax, Canadian cities are struggling with a wave of youth crime that was unimaginable a couple of decades ago. According to Statistics Canada, most Canadians believe that youth crime is on the rise and 77% believe that the sentencing of young offenders is too lenient (Youth crime, 2005). Many experts attribute the spike in youth crime to the increased number of street gangs - often the perpetrators of youth crime (Catalano and Hawkins, 1996). Research indicates that youth seek comfort from those who welcome them and reinforce their sense of belonging. Unfortunate-ly, some youth have no choice but to turn to street gangs in order to satisfy their need for approv-al, belonging and self-worth (Clark, 1992). Street gangs are not just issues in big cities. Over the last few decades, there has been an increase in the presence of street gangs in non-metropolitan and rural communities. For example, in 1960, there were 54 cities in the United States with a gang population. In 1995, there were street gangs in approximately 800 cities and towns across the United States (Swetnam and Pope, 2001). There is no consensus among experts on how to reduce youth crime. Criminal involvement usually starts before the age of 15, with first-time of-fences declining markedly once young people reach 20 years of age. Young people who become involved in criminal activities before the age of 14...
Jelier, Richard W. and Sands, Gary. Sustaining Michigan : metropolitan policies and strategies. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2009. Book.
· In the past, Hamilton was known for its heavy manufacturing facilities. But the city does have other industries that make it a desirable place to be and many of the residents are proud of Hamilton’s rich history and its culture. Through the research of Hamilton’s history, economic growth and development, the city has evolved significantly.
Crime in this country is an everyday thing. Some people believe that crime is unnecessary. That people do it out of ignorance and that it really can be prevented. Honestly, since we live in a country where there is poverty, people living in the streets, or with people barely getting by, there will always be crime. Whether the crime is robbing food, money, or even hurting the people you love, your family. You will soon read about how being a criminal starts or even stops, where it begins, with whom it begins with and why crime seems to be the only way out sometimes for the poor.
Violent crime in Canada is on the rise in Canada as well as the types of
Many people in the world today criticize and objectify specific people, merely by their outward appearance, as more likely to commit crime or other violent acts. A theory well known to criminologists is one devised by criminologists of the Chicago school, scholars whose main area of focus were urban, impoverished areas, and called their findings the Social Disorganization Theory in which it offers an idea as to why crime occurs in urban settings. The theory explains how American society is centered on the economy and individual achievement, otherwise known as “The American Dr...
For decades researchers have speculated about the relationship between levels of violence, and societal conditions such as poverty, urbanism, population composition, and family disruption. National and international level research has concluded that each of these factors are related to crime rates and their trends overtime (Avison & Loring, 1986; Lafree, 1999, Lauristen & Carbone-Lopez, 2011). To examine these factors more closely we should recognize that they are the foundation of many criminological theories, both motivational and control, applied to the macro and individual level. Specifically, these include social disorganization theory (Shaw & MCkay, 1942), anomie-strain theory (Merton, 1968), violent subcultural theories (Anderson, 1999), social bond theory (Hirschi, 1969), self-control theory (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990), and biosocial perspectives (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1983).
Improved economy helped Canada’s rate of crime decrease since the 1990’s but different evidence suggests that methods used in response to serious crimes during that time may have influenced the crime trends. The Constitution Act of 1867 contains the authority to enact criminal laws and procedures to be followed by the federal government (Welsh & Irving, 2005). First enacted in 1892, the Criminal Code, continually revised, is used for setting out two main categories of offense: indictable and summary conviction, indictable being homicide and robbery, more serious kinds of crime with involved trials (Welsh & Irving, 2005). Canada is also known for its Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and these police ...
McCormick, C. (September 17,2013). Crime Matters: The Criminological Imagination and Public Criminology. Public Lecture. Brantford.
Crime and criminalization are dependent on social inequality Social inequality there are four major forms of inequality, class gender race and age, all of which influence crime. In looking at social classes and relationship to crime, studies have shown that citizens of the lower class are more likely to commit crimes of property and violence than upper-class citizens: who generally commit political and economic crimes. In 2007 the National Crime Victimization Survey showed that families with an income of $15000 or less had a greater chance of being victimized; recalling that lower classes commit a majority of those crimes. We can conclude that crime generally happens within classes.
Sacco, V.F and Kennedy, L.W (2011). The Criminal Event: An Introduction to Criminology in Canada. Toronto Cengage Learning.
Our cities are not what they used to be. Over the corse of fifty years the once proud, strong, and viable hubs of American economic prowess are but a shell of what they were built for. The problems that many cities have are no longer condensed to their city limits and the sprawl that was created over that fifty year period is now threatening to enter the suburban spaces that were created when the city’s citizens left. The metro sprawl is starting to loose it’s attractiveness and unless there is more acknowledgment of the problems creeping out of these cities, the same declining trends will create unoccupied commercial and residential districts not unlike the downtowns of many American cities. Without careful discussion about these trends and our communities embracement of a more regional approach, then there will be more problems in less dense suburban areas, making those problems hard to correct. In order to prevent the spread of this urban blight and avoid low occupancy rates, communities must implement regional tax policies, plan for more effective use of space, and encourage smart growth.