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John Maldonado
Professor Martinez
Writing 101-010
28, April 2016
Does poverty increase crime?
On average, if a child spends more time at school he or she will become less violent.
Schools are supposed to teach you most about how to live in society and not just your
normal subjects like history or math. People who grow up in poor urban areas dont end
up going to school or finishing it. Not completing school can lead to unemployment,
which can leads to poverty and an increase of your chance to commit a crime. People
who grow up in poor neighborhoods have a greater risk of committing crimes as these
neighborhoods are already have a high crime rate. These people can have a great
influence on youth. Most children who come from low-income homes tend to have no
support from their parents because they are working multiple jobs to make ends meet.
Some parents are in illegal activity as well, having influence on their children. So whom
can children in poverty look up to as positive role models when in these situations?
Education in poverty areas is not as good as education in middle or rich class
areas. Teachers who teach at these schools sometimes dont know how to deal with these
students. People who grow up in poverty have a high build up of anxiety. Not having the
right teachers can make these students lash out and make them hate school. This can lead
them to not finishing school. The crime rate can increase if people dont finish school
because it would be harder to find a job when you dont have a diploma. Nowadays, its
difficult to get a job even with a bachelors degree. So imagine not even having your high

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school diploma? Schools can receive budget cuts, which can affect towards the aid in
helping these children. Education is the key to success in this world we live in. it helps
break the cycle of poverty. Not everyone can be a rapper, singer, or model or invent
something that can make them rich. Education also helps people find out whom they are
by helping them obtain great thinking skills, which help them look at different aspects of
their life.
Children in low-income households actually have parents who arent as
supportive as they should be. The children can sometimes feel neglected and not come to
their parents in their time of need. Growing up in the ghetto your going to see a lot of
things that can influence your decisions. Other things can leave you traumatized like
seeing a lot of violence or murder. Outside in these areas there are typically a lot gangs,
drugs, and drug addicts. Teens in need of money look at their local gang as role models.
They see them with money, cars, and girls. They can be peer pressured into going into a
lifestyle of crime for money. Gangs can provide people with an opportunity to make
money and this gives them a false sense of love that these gangs so called provide. These
gangs show these vulnerable children that they care when they really dont. These gang
members tell new recruits to go and commit crimes for them. These crimes include
murder, robbery, and selling drugs. Teens get so wrapped up in this lifestyle they think
its the right thing to do. They lose all hope in any other path life because this they can
wrap up in the fake love they receive. They consider these other gang members as family
because they receive no attention in their household.
Many people in these poor communities tend to turn drugs and alcohol in a way to
escape reality. They think using drugs and alcohol can numb their pain in life or forget

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their hardships. Children in these communities turn to drugs and alcohol because some
communities dont offer outlets for the youth. These outlets are supposed to be activities
to keep children away from drugs and violence. People in these poor communities abuse
drugs and turn into drug addicts. They abuse drugs and get addicted not only to the
high but to the other reality that they are escaping into. These people tend to have so
much hopelessness in their life that they never fell it would get better so they do these
types of things like get drunk and high. Students who got to school and get peer pressured
into doing drugs as an alternative to escape their problems growing up in these
environments their is always drugs around and you constantly see them and drug addicts
outside.
Children who grow up in these low-income households can develop serious
behavior problems. This can lead them to serious situations throughout their life, as they
dont know how to respond to a situation. They can act out when a situation get heated.
This can make them make bad decisions that can lead to physical violence. Acting out in
physical violence can lead to their arrest. Having these behavior problems in school can
lead to their expulsion. Developing anger issues at a young age can have serious effect on
the youth in these communities.
Some of these people in these communities have a felony record and cannot find
employment. These same people can have a family to support. Not having a job and a
family support can make someone turn to illegal activities. They end up selling drugs and
robbing to support their family. These Felons can try and chance their life, but they end
up going back to their lifestyle because of how hard employment can be to find. When

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you have bills piling up and rent past due what can you do when you dont have a job.
This is the main reason why these felons go back to committing crimes.
Many of these teens that grow up in these poverty areas take a liking into the
things they want and dont have. These things are clothes sneakers and food. They see
how other people who do illegal things to get these things and follow in their footsteps
because they have o other choice or opportunity. Its human instinct that your not going to
starve and are going to do anything to get food including robbing. Getting teased at
school for not having the cool shoes or good clothes can cause anxiety to build up. This
is why a lot of these teens turn to selling drugs. Getting a job is to hard because of how
many people are in need of a job.
In conclusion, a lot who live in poverty do turn to crime because of their desire to
want or need things. Gangs in these poverty communities continue to recruit and peer
pressure people into selling drugs as an opportunity to make money. Education is
mediocre in these areas making hard for teens to stay in school. Dropping out of school
can make teens turn to crime because it will be harder to find employment.

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Work cited
1. "The Effects of Poverty on Education in the United States." Childfund.org. The Effects
of Poverty on Education in the United States, 1 Mar. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
2. Jordan, Jeff. "Covering Poverty and Education." Covering Poverty: A Tool Kit for
Journalists. Covering Poverty and Education, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
3. White, Margaret. "Teacher Newsmagazine." Teacher Newsmagazine. Poverty: How It
Affects Students in the School Community, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
4. "Pupils 'come to School Hungry', Says Teacher Union." BBC News. Pupils 'come to
School Hungry', Says Teacher Union, 27 Mar. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.
5. Layton, Lyndsey. "Majority of U.S. Public School Students Are in Poverty."
Washington Post. Majority of U.S. Public School Students Are in Poverty, 16 Jan. 2015.
Web. 25 Apr. 2016.