Crime Analysis of Minneapolis

1155 Words3 Pages

There are many reasons why crime happens. You could blame society for tolerating and expecting it, you could blame the police department for budget cuts, or you could look at criminological theories for explanation. Almost half of Minneapolis’s population is minorities/foreigners, younger than other cities average age, have below average income levels with higher costs of living, suffer mental health issues, and have an overwhelming gang epidemic. Those factors offer insight into crime theories. We will look at differential opportunity theory, general strain theory and the subculture-of-violence theory.
Differential opportunity theory surfaced around 1960, where Lloyd Ohlin and Richard Cloward worked together to propose a theory of delinquent gangs. Conlkin (2013) states this theory encompasses that people “lack access to legitimate means to reach culturally approved goals, and turn to illegitimate means to achieve those goals. While we know there are also legitimate ways to obtain goals, legitimate chances of achievement decreases as…one descends in the class structure”. To an undereducated and underpaid foreigner, the benefits of delinquency are high and its costs are low. Often, this group is left unsatisfied with their gains and this can be associated with income generating crime as well. The more dissatisfied with their monetary situation, the deeper involvement into income generating crime (Conklin, 2013).
Because not everyone has the same access to social rewards, illegitimate opportunities are produced from the strain. This theory occurs more often, where there are adult criminal role models and the youth follow suit. When the adult criminals are absent, youth become angry and engage in violent crime, or retreat into dru...

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...ictim” class. Star Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/201707981.html#I0DvytJut5faqJsJ.99
Koball, H., Douglas-Hall, A. (2004) Rate of children in low-income families varies widely by state. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_560.html.
Magill, F. (Fall, 2008). The state of gangs in Minnesota. The Eagle. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/usao/mn/downloads/eagle.fall.08.pdf.
The Minneapolis Foundation. (2013). Groups at a glance. Retrieved from http://www.minneapolisfoundation.org/Libraries/Documents_for_Website/Black.sflb.ashx.
Minnesota Dept. of Public Safety, & Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. (2012). Uniform Crime Report 2011. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Justice Information Services.
Neighborhood Scout. (n.d.) Crime rates for Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved from http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mn/minneapolis/crime/.

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