Unemployment and Crime

“It seems obvious. The economy sours, people do bad things. But proving the link between crime and unemployment is another matter.

Efforts to do so go back at least to the 1960s, when Nobel laureate Gary Becker proposed that criminals act rationally, turning to illegal behavior when there’s little opportunity for honest work.

There was scant empirical evidence for the theory until a decade or so ago, when studies began digging down to local unemployment rates and homing in on the groups of people most likely to commit crimes.

By and large, the studies show that lousy job markets – particularly for young or unskilled men – are linked to more thefts.” – Michael Panzer

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I share this article exerpt with you because at 2:20 am today, I had to call the police to my home because I heard someone cutting the window screen outside my living room. I was lying on the couch, watching TV in a dark room when I heard the repeated attempts to gain entry.

I called the police, and they were here in two minutes! Love the city police here! The officer looked around and said he’d patrol the area heavier for a while.

Now, I can’t sleep, so it’s blog time. 😉

___________Post Script to this blog _________________

I ‘think’ the person was one of my lessor’s handymen. Not sure, but have a feeling. My a/c was not cooling after this incident. I had a similar incident with my roof a few months ago. It was obviously tampered with (OBVIOUSLY), and the lessor’s handymen were called. They do an awful job, but he keeps calling them. ??