Introduction.
Deaths related to criminal gang violence has been severe and remains challenge to authorities in United States. The criminals who have been killing people are mostly organized criminal groups, drug traffickers and criminals from Central America e.g. the violent Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 and “the 18th street” or M-18. United States is among the regions with highest homicide rates (4.6) in the world mostly in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Education and crime have unique, inverse relationship i.e. the lower person’s education level the more likely they are capable to engage in criminal activities. Youths who have no skills needed to attend university or secure skilled employment constitutes potential pool of criminal recruits. Education may teach individual to be more patient. This will discourage crime, since forward looking individuals place greater weight on any expected punishment associated with their criminal activities e.g. consequences of committing homicide .Youths will tend to make early choice between good education and a life of street crime. The higher level of education correlates to the lower or little probability of individual committing homicide.
There are numerous economic indicators that are conversely related to homicides either positively, negatively or null. Examples include declining wages, consumer pessimism, reducing GDP rising unemployment rates, depressed economy output. Unemployment rate is an important factor for people to feel that the economy is becoming worse. Losing a job decreases individual’s income hence decrease in purchasing power. This forces other people to look for other sources of income leading to criminal professions e.g. criminals for higher. While other s may become desperate hence borrowing from others and failure to repay may escalate to murder. Falling of wages and depressed economy output can push low income consumers into underground markets for stolen goods and may stipulate property crimes resulting into deaths. Alternately, rising prices in legitimate markets may enhance the attractiveness of cheap stolen goods and thereby stimulates lethal violence. As consumer pessimism increase and wage and GDP decreases the individual on economy margin may consider illegitimate means to generate income .Scramble to control income causes domestic violence resulting into death as income inequality among staff may cause envy compelling less paid staff but equal qualification to plot and kill the highly paid colleague
Governance e.g. democracy has positive relationship with homicide for example homicide rates in United States(democratic) is higher than middle east (authoritarian) .middle east invest more in repression and competently aggressive law to combat homicide unless its ‘Jihad’ what they consider to be a holy war. In United States areas which are diversely populated in terms of races and ethnicity due to influx of immigrants have chance of higher rates of homicide committed than homogenously populated regions due to less racial or ethnic animosity. Media violence and gun politics as escalated first degree murder as aggravated criminals would want to capture media attention. Poor family up bringing such as Maltreating children and low parent-child attachment expose youths to criminal gangs. They get low parental supervision and monitoring .Once they have turned into criminal activities they will not value and respect another’s life and can easily kill at slightest provocation. Gender and body type can also contribute to homicide since muscularly bodied men can easily kill less energetic females as they cant defend themselves incase of brutal violence.
Citizen safety and security in United States continues to be threatened by wide range of criminal killings. This may be due to level of education of criminals, their age, urbanization, population density, income inequality and poverty, governance, ethno-linguistic and religious heterogeneity among other factors.
References.
Fearon, D. (Jan 2011)’Homicide data’, retrieved from http://wdr2011.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/jfwdrhomicidedata4.pdf?keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=600&width=800.pdf
Seelke,R.(Jan 2011)Congressional Research Services, ‘Gangs in Central America’ retrieved from http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34112.pdf
US Department of states ‘Alaska Homicide Suspect Ariel Patrick Apprehended in Guatemala’ retrieved from http://www.state.gov/m/ds/rls/132450.htm
