Analyse the Impact of Crime on Groups in Society

Analyse the impact of crime on groups in society

The impact of crime on society is vast. It affects us all in some way and the impact extends well beyond the financial, to the physical and emotion. It also has and effect on all of the groups of society and this essay will look at this specifically. These groups are: people in poverty, the young, the elderly, women and communities. This essay will explain the effect on each community in more depth.

People in poverty are in a bad position as some argue that poverty is one of the main reasons people commit crime. The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey found that adults who live in the 15% most deprived areas of Scotland are more likely to be a victim of crime. That's 21% compared with 16% for the rest of Scotland. This shows that they have a higher chance of experiencing violent crime and they are more likely to be repeat victims of crime as if the area is poor many people will resort to crime to get by. The crimeshare report of 2006 shows us that the poor and unemployed are twice as likely to be victims of crime. Also we can support this by showing how the lack of money makes them an easier target such as: no burglar alarms, no money to get a safe taxi ride home- have to walk making them an easier target and they ultimately have less choice over where they want to live.

The young are also effected badly from crime as 8.2% of all 16-24 year olds reported being victims of violent crime. This shows that there is quite a large percentage of young men/women being victimised by violent crimes. The most common place for victimisation amongst 10-15 year olds is in school or college. This is die to the high levels of bullying that goes on in these areas and everyone is at a very judgemental age. Also the most common place for victimisation for 16-25 year olds is at pubs, nightclubs or on the street. The pub and nightclub part could very much be due to alcohol and the offender not being in full control of his/her body. Another reason for the crime rate towards the young would be that the crime often does get reported as they fear for further attacks and the safety of friends and family.

The elderly although the are statistically less likely to be victims of crime it still changes how they live their lives. Age UK stated that almost half of all over 75 year olds are afraid to leave their house after dark. This can be caused by them being more scared as they feel they can't protect themselves as well as they used to be able too. Also they