New evidence links inequality in England to increased crime

New evidence links inequality in England to increased crime

Research carried out at the University of Sheffield shows areas where there is more inequality suffer from more cases of burglary, robbery, violence, vehicle crime and criminal damage.

The study compared Home Office figures for a wide range of crimes from 2002-2009 in Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP) against factors including inequality, unemployment, residential turnover and educational achievement in the same areas.

Adam Whitworth from the University´s Department of Geography found inequality is significantly and positively associated with increased levels of all five crime types, and in particular thefts and burglaries.

Whitworth believes the investigation highlights the importance of Government policies to tackle broader social and economic inequalities.

He said: "New Labour was criticised for continuing the previous Conservative Government´s individualisation of policy around ideas of personal responsibility, with social and economic context pushed down the agenda, and this is a trend that continues under the Coalition Government.

"This encourages Government to adopt a policy approach wedded to the assertion of greater control, protection of the socio-economic status quo and more intensive punishment of individuals. This is the risk of ignoring the structural inequalities within which outcomes need to be placed as well as the harm done to the social order from perfectly legal large-scale tax avoidance by wealthy individuals and organizations."

The study also found unemployment correlated to all crime types except for criminal damage, and is particularly strongly associated with robbery, and population turn-over correlated significantly with burglary and robbery but related less to vehicle crime and violence.

Whitworth added: "There is a substantial and growing body of evidence about the harmful effects of inequality on different social outcomes. This harms all of us but particularly those who are least able to insulate themselves and their families from its negative consequences.

"The findings of this new research contribute further evidence of the harmful effects of inequality on social outcomes in terms of associations with increased levels of crime at sub-national level across England. We must have greater recognition in Government policy of the role of structural social and economic inequalities in relation to crime outcomes and a closer integration between social, economic and crime policies."

The report, titled `Inequality and crime across England: a multi-level modelling approach´, was published in Social Policy and Society this month (January 2012).