America- Crime as an Inequality Flashcards
How many children in ghetto areas are born into single parent families?
80%. The single parent is usually a mother which leaves many children growing up without an adult male role model
Who do young boys without an adult male role model often look up to instead?
Older boys in their neighbourhood who are often involved in gang culture and criminal activity. This causes serious problems
Who are the people who are most likely to face crime as an inequality?
More white adults are married than African American or Hispanic, meaning the African American children are more likely to be involved in crime due to lack of positive male influence and family stability
More crime takes place in ghetto areas which tend to be black dominated, again causing inequality
What is the ‘Gang Violence Prevention’ initiative?
Originally developed by a sub division of the Boston Police Department, it aims to reduce gang violence, illegal gun possession and gun violence
What are the aims of the ‘Gang Violence Prevention’ initiate?
To prosecute and punish offenders and prevent youths from following the same criminal path
They specifically target youths in gangs and focus on deterring them
Has the ‘Gang Violence Prevention’ initiative worked?
There was a 63% decrease in the average monthly number of youth homicide victims in the city of Boston, showing promising results
How is Philadelphia tackling crime?
It has introduced a community based mentoring scheme called Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS)
What does the BBBS scheme address? How does it do this?
The need for positive adult contact, by pairing mentors with children and arranging meetings in community settings. These pairings can lead to a caring and supportive relationship which can be crucial for a youth at high risk
Is the BBBS scheme working?
Mentored youths were 32% less likely to have struck someone in the past 12 months, and 46% less likely to initiate drug use.
What can we conclude overall about crime as an inequality?
These schemes have had great success in tackling these issues, however these are only state schemes and this is a massive inequality.
There is no overall government funded initiative to tackle this inequality which may prevent poorer areas from getting much needed help and support
