City Demographics and Crime Profile

City Demographics and Crime Profile

June 1, 2015

University of Phoenix

Abstract

Throughout history people have always attempted and tried to explain what causes abnormal social behavior, including crime.  As time went on efforts of explaining crime may have forced some criminologist to do research as to what were some factors that may have contributed to committing crime.  Many of them went on to believe people were born “evil or bad”.  Criminologists looked to a wide range of different factors such as biological, psychological, social and economic reasons as to why one commits crime.  The City of Jackson, Mississippi is faced with a high rate of crime and it has communities in different areas that are losing property value and forcing businesses to move to the outer city limits areas.  For the many people of Jackson, crime is the paramount issue, and the persistence of high crime would surely blight all efforts to revive sluggish economy and redress social problems.

        Jackson, Mississippi is the capital city known for its Southern Hospitality which is a way of life.  It’s a city of art and cultural also known as the city with soul.  The City of Jackson is composed of mostly African American race.  Jackson is diverse but not as diverse as other capital cities such as New York, Detroit, Michigan and Austin Texas.  Because of its state poverty, Jackson has higher crime rates.  Throughout last decade there have been many changes to the overall unemployment, communities and lack of education.

        Society has set method for how individuals supposed to carry on and how they are supposed to act among one another.  Society images of what living the American dream should be like.  Individuals expect that need to be capable to live a rich lifestyle, yet carrying on with that way of life can accompany a few negative outcomes.  Like most cities, they are experiencing money related hardships attempting to keep up the portrayal of what the city once was.  Jackson, Mississippi was once was a place of opportunity because it once offered employment in the inner city and downtown area.  Industrial plants and factories gave employment to the middle and low class individuals (minorities) before the spike of crime.

        Inner-city poverty was the cause of many Industrial plants leaving the poor community because of fixed income and inability to afford to patronize the businesses.  The Average household income as of 2013 is $32, 704 compared to a national figure of $53,046 (Census, 2013).  The high subsidence and monetary hardships on organizations and school have made social setting among high class communities lose their qualities and unite a blend of individuals.  People of higher education are discovering themselves incorporated with the middle class social orders in workplaces, schools and other such zones.  The loss of property estimation and vocation has conveyed upon social components that add to wrongdoing.

        As the Industries/Business became unoccupied many of the building structures were left standing and were never torn down because the city did not have the finances to clean and preserve the area.  The City of Jackson was faced with financial issues so therefore those abandoned buildings became major issues for the city.  The abandonment of the buildings contributed to Jackson’s economic down falls and rise on crime.  There is no opportunity for growth in the City of Jackson due to the financial hardships which becomes a struggle for the Capital City to renovate buildings and help bring jobs back into the communities.

        In the lower class neighborhoods the value of property has substantially declined due to crime rate.  Many of the citizens move away from the inner surrounding cities where property Jackson’s monetary hardship, unemployment, race and ecological variables plays a larger role in the crime rate.  At the point when society begins to go into disrepair, and individuals begin to rely on upon the distress to make a decent living it impacts the general social and scholarly part of society. Besides, when a general public that was before the legislative center of industrialization begins to see an alternate perspective, understandings of occasions and living desires begins to get ugly, hence bringing about a high wrongdoing rate bringing about synonymous demonstrations of roughness, neediness, and inward city disintegrate. Countless are measured when affirming exact justification of criminal acts inside of the City of Jackson These issues are involved varieties in area use, property estimations, transportation, and retail, as an individual moves further far from the downtown area, values are higher and have less crimes.  

        Due to the flow of monetary changes in the City of Jackson, zone of transition does apply.  Examination demonstrates that from the season of its establishing, financial development begin to decrease dramatically.  Because of the lack of resources and money, individuals are relocating due to monetary decay it has brought about a high rate of unemployment, destitution and urban root.  According to Robert Parker and Ernest Burgess they came up with a “Model” known as the concentric zone theory (Brown, 2011).  Concentric zone theory was one of the earliest models developed to explain the spatial organization of urban areas.  The two Sociologists believed that the farther distance a population moves away from a concentric zone the fewer social problems it will encounter.

        Today certain areas of Jackson, Mississippi are labeled as crime infested and some areas are considered to be hot spots.  One particular area is on the west side of Jackson, Mississippi (known as the Vernon diction neighborhood). Another crime infested area is located on the Southside (known as Bel-Air community) and it is considered to be a dangerous neighborhood.  The City of Jackson is fighting hard to get grants and other financial resources to help build these two neighborhoods back together.  According to Apel (2015), “Squad cars surround the area where a Jackson police was shot and injured.”  The officer along with other officers were patrolling what was said to be a high crime area and nuisance convenient store when shots ranged out as officers were getting out of their cars.  One officer was struck in left leg and was taken to a local hospital with nonlife threatening injuries.  Because officers were trying to show officer presence and the people felt as if officers were invading their privacy and this merely shows that because the area is corrupt with crime and the area is considered crime infested this is why businesses move far away.  The City of Jackson has not only experience crime from citizens; two former police officers were arrested on Grand Larceny of trailers (felony crime) and were both sentenced to time in jail.  This type of behavior has put less trust in officers from the citizens.