There are all sorts of complaints and concerns about the amount of crime that occurs in America, of which, considering that this is the richest nation that the world has ever known, one might thereby expect that the crime rate of this western nation, would be amongst the lowest in the world, but in fact, crime in America, is disappointingly high and doesn’t seem to be on track to lower itself to some sort of reasonable or sensible rate, anytime soon.
The first thing that must be acknowledged about crime, is that crime is not ever anything that occurs within a vacuum, but, in fact, has a lot of to do with the conditions that people grow up in, as well as the education achieved or the lack thereof, poverty, fairness, justice, employment, prejudice, and in addition, to how policing is conducted throughout America. That is to say, there are circumstances as well as conditions, that lend itself to the prevalence of crime in society, of which, for instance, it is a material fact, that in upper income neighborhoods and enclaves, crime is significantly lower, than in those neighborhoods, that are ghettos of poverty, which are lacking in opportunity as well as lacking in the appropriate accouterments that would lend itself to ever being perceived as a desirable neighborhood to live in.
Those that live in dead-end neighborhoods, with dead-end schools, with, in addition, the only jobs being available nearby also being dead-end, as well as having the police that patrol that neighborhood, treating those that are residents of such, in a manner in which the police see those people that live and congregate there, as being essentially enemies of the state, and thereby valid targets to intimidate, abuse, and to arrest, then the end result for those residents is often going to be rather criminally tragic. Those then, that are without opportunity and without hope, yet, obviously still have the need for food, shelter, and some semblance of a reasonable life, are invariably going to do what they need to do for their own survival, as well as to also prove that they are worthy of some sort of self-respect, often initiated via means and actions that are not state sanctioned.
The only conceivable workaround to meaningfully reduce crime on behalf of that governance, is for the youth of America, and especially the most disadvantaged of such, to be provided with a clear pathway which will afford them with the means of a stable job, of a living wage, as well as the security of that continual employment, for those that are diligent and dedicated to a good work ethic. That is to say, the hours of each day, are available equally to every one of us, and when those hours, are not filled with something that productively engages the mind and the body, as well as also not requiring responsibility, or consistency of effort, then the result subsequently for that failure to provide such, will often be something lawless or unruly.
So then, the answer to high crime levels, is to take those that are currently on the streets, and to place them instead into steady employment that offers them the means to make a satisfactory living, and thereby by virtue of that work, they will thereby buy into the American dream, for they will, for the very first time, on some level, at that point, actually be a part of it.