Street crime is a term used to loosely define any criminal act committed in a public area. It is different from white-collar crime in that it often involves violence and takes place in a public place. Noteworthy, white collar crime is conducted in a non-violent manner usually by people working in the private sector or government offices and seeking to become financially stable. Both street and white-collar crimes are prohibited by law and would attract legal penalties. It should also be noted that such offenses as thefts and robberies conducted on the roads without the use of violence also constitute a street crime.This form of crime often results from both social and economic factors.

Some of the social factors responsible for street crime are parental neglect and a misleading cultural viewpoint about crime and violence. Some parents find it challenging to provide adequate parental care and guidance to their children as they face other more pressing life issues such as social and financial pressures.Their children end up having poor upbringing and may easily consider street crime as an easy way of surviving (Scheingold, 2011).Moreover, it is believed that the intent to get involved in this form of crimes emanates from shared societal norms reinforcing and supporting violence (Scheingold, 2011). This societal viewpoint sees people create and expand gangs with which to mete out violence on unsuspecting members of the public and rob them in the process.

Another social factor that promotes street crime is the use of hard drugs. This factor is classified as social because society has failed to find a conclusive means of dealing with drug abuse.As pointed out by Wilson (2013), most of the abused drugs are addictive, and it reaches a point that a drug user is so much addicted that he or she finds it challenging to support the addiction.At this point, they may venture into street crimes to raise money to sustain their addictive habit.Besides that, drug trade involves a large number of people. While not all these people may be using drugs, they may be playing an active role in getting others to use drugs and commit crimes.

Furthermore, one may resolve to become a street criminal owing to two socio-economic factors in the form of poverty and unemployment. Poverty ravages family life and makes it increasingly challenging for parents to provide for their children and other dependants adequately. This situation would make children in poverty-stricken families may end up in the streets and try to make a living out of snatching or robbing money and other valuables from others. tIn a similar manner, an unemployed youth may become distraught and hopeless and may see street crime as the only remaining chance of survival (Rosenfeld et al., 2013). The situation gets worse if the youth is unemployable in the sense of lacking the necessary employment skills and qualifications.

In conclusion, street crime, a criminal act taking place in a public place, has permeated our society because of a combination of social and economic factors. As seen herein, some of the social factors in this respect include parental neglect, and a misleading cultural viewpoint about crime, and drug abuse. Poor parental care and this misleading societal viewpoint about violence may make adolescents, and young adults see no wrong in committing street crimes. People may also resort to these crimes as a way of supporting their drug addiction. Economic factors on the other hand, which are also social, include poverty and unemployment. These two factors reduce the capability of a person to take care of their needs, and this may push them into becoming a street criminal.

References

Rosenfeld, R., Edberg, M., Fang, X., & Florence, C. S. (2013). Economics and youth violence: Crime, disadvantage, and community. New York, NY: NYU Press.

Scheingold, S. A. (2011). The politics of law and order: Street crime and public policy. New Orleans, LA: Quid Pro Books.

Wilson, J. (2013). Thinking about crime. New York, NY: Basic Books.

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