Crime In Memphis | EssayIvy.com

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Crime in Memphis

Introduction

The well-being of a society is determined by various elements. Different regions have

different issues that it faces which needs to be overcome through various strategies. One of the

elements which determines the well-being of a particular society is the crime rate. Crime is

defined as the unlawful act, which is punishable by authority or the state. The term in most

jurisdiction does not have one accepted definition. The crime rate in a society affects the balance

of the activities being carried out. This results from the uncertainty and imminent threat a person

faces. As such, people find it hard to carry out their duties and responsible in an area that has a

high crime rate. The crime rate I a particular society disrupts the peace and harmony of the

people. Apart from these, it also disrupts the various undertakings of the locals such as carrying

out simple tasks in the evening or early in the morning. One example is waking up to open ones

business or staying late to serve the people. In a society, there are various factors that are

associated with crime rate which includes drug abuse, poverty level, inadequate health care

services, poor education, broken society fabrics, as well as poor policies in a region. One area

that has faced crime issues in the United States is Shelby County in Memphis. The city has

experienced radical increase in crime rates over the years. Several factors such as poverty has

fueled the crime rate in Shelby County. Many strategies need to be drafted in order to control this

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issue in the area. For Memphis to reduce the crime rates in Shelby County, it needs to improve

its education policies to encourage children to attend school, create more jobs for the youths as

well as increase the number of police presence in the crime hotspots.

Crime in Memphis

In Memphis, murder is one of the crimes that is common in the area. According to

statistics provided by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations, murder has been on the increase

since 2006. However, in 2017, there was a significant reduction in murder cases within the city.

In 2016, there were 8 cases of murder in the area. However, this reduced to 200 in the following

year. According to Jones, between the period 2016 and 2017, homicide rates in the Shelby

County reduced by 15.6%. The major violent crimes in the area included robberies, aggravated

assaults, murders and rapes. As much as homicides reduced in the county, the case of aggravated

assaults increased overall. Between 016 and 2017, aggravated assault increased by 9.3%. The

increase came their after motor vehicle theft which was at 3.9% and theft offenses which stood at

11.2% increase from 2016 to 2017. Overall, the drop in murder Shelby County is a positive thing

for the residents of the area. However, the overall level of violence in the area remains worrying.

Major operations or rather business cannot run smoothly with such a high rate of crime in the

area. While some crimes reduced, majority of them were increasing in the area showing no

improvement at all.

Looking at other crimes in Shelby County, the second common type of crime is rape.

Over the years, the cases of rape have remained relatively constant. . The primary factor that has

been attributed to the low levels of rape cases in the city is the high level of awareness in the

carried out in the region. Through awareness, it has become possible to encourage a high level of

responsibility between different sexes. Compared to 2016, rape crime rates reduced in 2017 by a

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0.2%. Hipp and Yates explain that poverty and crime go hand in hand. This is the reason why

this neighborhood continues to have such a high crime rate level (956). Will explains that

chronic psychological stress is associated with high crimes in an area. The author discuses that

living in an area that has a high rate of violent crimes increases the risk of other such events or

rather crimes happening (Will 135). The issue ca be seen in the third type of crime in Shelby

County. This is burglaries and theft cases. These types of crimes recorded the highest changes in

2017 when compared to the previous year. There was a 20.4% increase in Shelby County and

23.9% increase in the same in Memphis. Significant property crimes rates have continued to be

high since the end of January 2018, and a total 339 vehicles were missing as they had been stolen

(Roeder). Last year within the same period, a total of 183 had been reported.

In Shelby County, aggravated assault is another crime that could be identified which had

an increase of 9.3%. Assault includes domestic violence among others organized criminal

activities. The percentage of domestic violence in the Memphis was increased by 4.1% when

statistics between the two years were analyzed. An increase of 2.7 was noted in the county in

2017 when compared with 2016. According to information provided by Jones, crime continues

to increase in Memphis. Although there is a decrease in crimes such as rape, other crimes

continue to increase overall. The statistics show that the overall crime rate increased by 2.7%

when 2017 is compared with the crimes in 2016. The increase in crime within Memphis make

the region unsafe for the residents as well as tourists that visit the region (Hipp and Yates 962).

Therefore, there is the need to adopt measures that will ensure the safety of all citizens is a

priority. That way, it will be possible to carry out awareness campaigns that will inform and

sensitize the public against engaging in crime.

Factors that has resulted to high Crime Rate in Memphis

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One of the factors that has led to the high levels of crime rate in Memphis is lack of

education among the young people. According to Usher, education conveys a civic externality in

the society which is beneficial in enhancing the safety of the people (367). With education, the

students are taught to be productive in the society. They are also encouraged to be law abiding

citizens as well as loyal to their country, especially their community members. The author further

states that education inculcates the distaste for life in crime. Looking at Memphis the level of

education is wanting especially when you compare it with that of other states. In comparison

with other cities within the US, the population in Memphis is less educated. It is not the lack of

education facilities that are responsible for the low standards of education in the city, and rather

it is the high level of ignorance of the majority of the people living in Memphis. In a study done

in New York, Zhao, Feng and Chavez that crime leads to excess loss in productivity (226). The

only way of overcoming this loss in productivity is through educating the young people as

illustrated by (Usher 368).

Idleness is what leads to increased crime in a region. Idleness allows for the people to

plan their crime exploits. Conversely, idleness allows the criminals to engage in other negative

activities which further leads to other criminal activities. Such things includes taking part in

promiscuous behavior and engaging in drug abuse. These are the elements that facilitates the life

of crime. It is necessary for the government to take the initiative to educate the parents of the

need to ensure they keep their children in school. That way, the level of education in the city and

the county at large will rise steadily. Education gives an individual experience and exposure that

will challenge them to think of how they can be of positive contribution to the society. Therefore,

increasing education access in the region will result in reduced crime rates in the city.

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Poor parenting is another factor which is responsible for the high crime rate in the city of

Memphis. Uggen explains that crime rise in the society usually starts when a person is in his or

her teens. The person starts with mild offenses slowly graduating to bigger ones to a point where

crimes are no longer difficult (Ugen 530). The author explains that the peak of crime life of a

person is during the mid-teens to late teens. Looking at the population of Memphis, a high

percentage is composed of African Americans. This is the group that has one of the worst family

relations especially when it comes to marriage and single parent children. In Memphis, 72% of

Afro-American births happen out of wedlock while 52% of all Hispanics birth as well are out of

wedlock. In most cases, it is the mother that is left alone to take care of the child. It is expensive

raising a child, and the mother has to leave their children in early stages of their life to search for

an income to support the young family.

Due to the high cost of living, there is hardly enough money, and the mother rarely has

time for their children. As such, the child grows without the counsel of their parents. That way,

the child adopts habits, and it is hard for the mother to notice as they are always worn out by the

end of the day. Without proper guidance, the children are influenced by peer pressure where they

pick habits such as drug abuse, drug trafficking, promiscuity, crime among others. It is through

this poor family model that may African Americans in the Memphis region engage in criminal

activities. As explained by Uggen, poor family relations lead to children engaging in crime at a

very young age. Such young criminal’s o not make good parents and this vicious cycle continues

after every generation. Machin, Vujic and Marie further explain that the limited amount of funds

for such broken families lead the children to engage in criminal activities further (367). With a

good family model, this vicious cycle of crime can be overcome in Memphis.

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The third factor, which is responsible for the high crime rate in Memphis is Poverty.

According to the research done by Brennan Center for Justice, the results showed that with a

reduction in unemployment, the crime rate reduced as well. In the case where unemployment

increased, the crime rates also increased gradually over the years. (Roeder, Brooker, Eisen and

Bowling 48). The critical factor in this case was financial freedom among the locals. The

authors further explain that financial freedom helped to reduce crime rates compared to poverty

whereby the crime rates tend to increase over time. The main problem however is understanding

the source of poverty in a region like Memphis.

In Memphis city, research shows that the cause of poverty in the region is lack of

education among the population. Without the required academic papers, it is hard for a job to

come by and a result, a high number of residents of Memphis end up employed. The lack of

employment leaves a high number of people living below the poverty index. As such, a

significant number of people are left with addictions and bills to settle (Hipp and Yates 964).

With limited options, the majority of the youths engage in crime as it will offer them quick

money for their needs. It is for that matter the crime rates in Memphis have remained relatively

high making the city to be amongst the unsafe cities in the US. High degree of poverty in the city

has made it be among the top ten cities in the US with the highest food stamps (Homicides

Down). The intention of using food stamps is to help the poor meet their daily needs. In

Memphis, food stamps are taken as a way through which one can obtain free products. The fact

that the government takes care of the needs of the residents of Memphis gives them the option

not to work and instead engage in drug abuse which results in high crime rates in the city. The

government has continued to be silent on this matter with crime rates soaring each year.

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Intervention could have been carried earlier to stop this problem from developing further.

However, due to the local politics, this issue is continuing to grow.

Factors for Overcoming Crime rates in Memphis

The first factor that needs to be enforced in Memphis is improving the education

policy in the city. Education is essential in helping young people avoid engaging in criminal

activities. The policy will help to address school attendance levels. Having such a policy will

reduce the number of young people in the streets. This is the first way of ensuring there is a

reduced number of people that may be likely introduced to the life of crime. The second issue is

that there will be few individuals in the streets that would have ben idle. As such, they will be

competitive enough, and as a result, it will be possible for them to clinch well-paying jobs (Hipp

and Yates 968). The high number of people acquiring to tertiary levels will help to gradually

reduce the population that is living below the poverty index. With increased income across the

population of Memphis, the need to engage in crime will reduce making the poverty level in

Memphis to plummet. That way, it will be safe for everyone to carry out their activities without

any fear of crime. By having such a society, the people will further develop positive relations

with one another thereby helping the few that are still in crime.

Having a society with employed individuals is imperative to financial freedom of

the people. In order to reduce the crime rates in Memphis, jobs should be created for the people

especially the younger ones. By providing jobs or a way of making money to these individuals,

they will resign from engaging in crime. It is the responsibility of the new Mayor Jim Strickland

to vouch for the city of Memphis and Shelby County so that industries so that industries can

open operations in the region. By starting operations in the region, industries will offer a high

number of employment opportunities that will help to reduce the high level of dependence on

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welfare including food stamps (Zhao, Feng and Chavez 229). The income that will be earned by

the working population will allow parents to meet the costs of bringing up their children. As

such, it will be possible to pay for their education which will increase the number of graduates in

Memphis.

The number of police officers in the region should also be increased to reduce the

instances of crime in Memphis. The number of police officers should be increased in number per

a particular region. However, the hot spots should first be identified before making various

moves in the city. It is, therefore, necessary that the new mayor of the city prioritizes

empowerment of the police personnel (Zhao, Feng and Chavez 231). For example, recently, the

mayor’s office has a USD 6.1 Million grant. With this amount of money, the mayor should equip

the police department with the latest trends in technology that will make it easier for them to

capture criminals. The amount will as well come in handy to ensure that the police department

can be sustained through salaries and allowances. That way, it will be possible to restore peace

levels in Memphis, Shelby County. However, the citizens should also be part of this venture.

Without the help of the citizens, it will be difficult to nab some of the criminals. People in the

society understand who the criminals are. By keeping quiet, they will only be worsening the

situation.

Conclusion

In conclusion, one can identify that the issue of high crime rates in the society is a

problem that can be overcome with proper strategies. The factors that cause high crime rates are

known and they can be easily solved or overcome. Around Memphis, some of the factors that

facilitate the high crime rate include dysfunctional education system, idleness and use of drugs or

its availability. However, these can be corrected through applying various strategies. One such

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strategy is education the people. Through the education, people will understand there are

opportunities that can be exploited. Conversely, increasing job opportunities or through job

creations, crime rates will reduce in Memphis. Finally, increasing the number of police officers

or authority will have a positive impact in reducing the issue of crime rates in Memphis.

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Works cited

"Homicides Down, but Aggravated Assaults, Auto Thefts Up, Year-end Report Shows." The

Commercial Appeal 30 Jan. 2018. Web. 28 Mar. 2018.

"Report: Murders Down but Crime Up in Memphis and Shelby County Last Year." WREG.com.

30 Jan. 2018. Web. 28 Mar. 2018.

Burdick-Will, Julia. "Neighborhood violent crime and academic growth in Chicago: lasting

effects of early exposure." Social forces 95.1 (2016): 133-158.

Hipp, John R., and Daniel K. Yates. "Ghettos, thresholds, and crime: Does concentrated poverty

really have an accelerating increasing effect on crime?." Criminology 49.4 (2011): 955-

990.

Jones, Yolanda. Homicides down, but aggravated assaults, auto thefts up,year-end report shows,

1-3.

Machin, Stephen, Olivier Marie, and Sunčica Vujić. "Youth crime and education

expansion." German Economic Review13.4 (2012): 366-384.

Roeder, Oliver, et al. "What caused the crime decline?." Brennan Center For Justice. 12 Feb.

2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2018.

Uggen, Christopher. "Work as a turning point in the life course of criminals: A duration model of

age, employment, and recidivism." American sociological review (2000): 529-546.

Usher, Dan. "Education as a Deterrent to Crime." Canadian Journal of Economics (1997): 367-

384.

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Zhao, Haiyun, Zhilan Feng, and Carlos Castillo-Chavez. "The dynamics of poverty and crime."

Journal of Shanghai Normal University (Natural Sciences· Mathematics) (2014): 225-

235.

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