Abstract
[Extract] WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UNEMPLOYMENT AND CRIME?
in reviewing the characteristics of juvenile and adult offenders in Australia, Braithwaite noted that after race (in particular the rate of Aboriginal imprisonment), the second most striking characteristic of offending is unemployment. Roughly 20 per cent of those incarcerated in Australian prisons are employed at the time they are arrested and charged.
Similarly, at the ecological level of analysis there is consistent evidence that urban areas that have high levels of unemployment or concentrations of people with lower socio-economic status experience higher crime rates than do more affluent suburbs. Also, in a recent survey of crime in New South Wales, strong correlations between offender rates and characteristics of social regions - especially unemployment, proportion of single-parent families and the general level of poverty - were found.
in reviewing the characteristics of juvenile and adult offenders in Australia, Braithwaite noted that after race (in particular the rate of Aboriginal imprisonment), the second most striking characteristic of offending is unemployment. Roughly 20 per cent of those incarcerated in Australian prisons are employed at the time they are arrested and charged.
Similarly, at the ecological level of analysis there is consistent evidence that urban areas that have high levels of unemployment or concentrations of people with lower socio-economic status experience higher crime rates than do more affluent suburbs. Also, in a recent survey of crime in New South Wales, strong correlations between offender rates and characteristics of social regions - especially unemployment, proportion of single-parent families and the general level of poverty - were found.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 110-116 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Current Issues in Criminal Justice |
| Volume | 4 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 1992 |
| Externally published | Yes |
