Social Environment

Social Environment

Introduction

The crime and social environment of societies are connected to each other. The social environment is generally responsible for crimes. People are not generally willing to commit a crime until being forced by the social conditions. Usually, due to monetary issues or backwardness in the society, or other issues, people are forced to become criminals. The safety of individuals is a major concern in areas where the crime rate is high.

Discussion

The function of population density as an inhibitor or generator of crime and health has been the focus of debates and research since several decades. Unfortunately, the argument has been perplexed by variations in the concept of density, as well as differences in the kinds of crimes associated to it. Apart from density, variables such as social networks, capital, residential segregation, and international migration affect the crime rate and health of individuals.

Technically, the number of persons living per unit area is referred to as density, whether measured in kilometers square or any other unit of measurement. However, various changes can be made in order to produce better results and measurements. A general metric is number of persons living per room, supposed to be a practical measure of density, which may lead to thought about the likelihood of crime and levels related to poverty (Harries, 2006).

Denser populations usually have higher crime rates and adverse health conditions. The reason is that when an area get crowded, it becomes difficult for people to find jobs. Too many people living in small areas leads to a shortage of jobs; hence, the crime rate increases as people need to find a source of income. Apart from this, the dense population leads to a greater chance for quarrels and fights leading to crime (Ehrlich & Ehrlich, 1990).

Population density also has an effect on the health of the inhabitants. Denser neighborhoods may lead to unhygienic conditions which in turn may help the spread of diseases. The case is even worse for those who live near rivers. As the population increases, poor people move towards the banks of rivers where they dump all their garbage and sewerage. The river acts as a transporter of effluents and garbage throughout the area. Thus, if thousands of people live near rivers, the amount of pollution being dumped into it leads to the spread of diseases.

Social networks are a major cause of crime. Any argument in the society can lead to disastrous outcomes. The behavior and attitude of individuals are shaped according to his social network. If the social network is good, so will the individuals in the group. On the other hand, if the network has a bad repudiation, individuals in the network are faced with the same reputation. Fights among social networks can lead to some unethical results. Apart from crime, the healths of individuals are also determined by their social network. Smoking and alcoholism are some common cause of adverse health effects of social networks.

Social capital is also a source of crime in urban ...