Who is to blame?

[normaM]

well said moi Captain.
My family would be classified as poor by today's standards. Never thought we were. There was food, clothing, etc.
Poverty is a money making machine for some agencies

[steven lloyd]

Poverty causing crime? Not quite, however there are some strong correlations between poverty and crime. The interactions seem to be very complex and the exact mechanisms behind the interactions are not perfectly clear. Looking at aggregate crime rates for the whole country then almost across the board crime rates have been decreasing since the early 90s. However, if you were to look at regional or even neighbourhood data it can paint a different picture; Poorer neighbourhoods tend to have higher crime rates than those of higher socioeconomic status.

Good post. Certainly the correlation is there but criminal behaviour is based on the complex interaction of a multitude of criminogenic factors and trying to blame it on poverty alone is far too simplistic at best. I wouldn’t go as far as to agree with Wilder’s quote (as posted by Glacier) that "Some people say that poverty drives crime rates, but from what I've observed, it's the other way around" as that is too simplistic as well (IMHO). Economic activity and economic well-being can indeed factor into criminal behaviour but new and increased economic activity has been known to contribute to increases in crime rate (brings in the drug dealers, provides “party” money) just as decreases have. Other factors need to be considered. If anything, the income gap (the difference in income between socioeconomic groups) often has a far greater impact on crime rate – but not even that can be considered a rule or set truth. Socio-cultural factors (ie. growing up in the bad neighborhood – like da “ghetto”), for example, can be heavily influenced by the income gap, and then bring in negative peer associations (even gang membership), alcohol and drug abuse, being witness of family violence and criminal behaviour, and on and on it goes. Plus, how have we even defined criminal behaviour? Are we just talking about property crime, or are we including crimes of violence, relationship violence (which knows no socioeconomic boundaries) or sexual violence. What about white collar crime and fraud?

And I'm not saying it to pretend there's absolutely no poverty in Canada. I'm just saying the perception of poverty these days is quite different from real shape of things.

Having back-packed through some of Southeast Asia I can certainly testify to that observation. Ironically, in some areas where impoverished conditions were the norm people were the most trusting and unafraid of each other. Again, I think something about being on more equal footing and “in the same boat” so to speak plays a role in how people interact and cooperate with and help each other. The OP made the point “We often speak of personal responsibility but where is our collective responsibility?” and that is a point that should not be automatically and summarily dismissed. In my immediate work I cannot change the bigger picture in my efforts with clients so we need to focus on individual cognitive distortions, relationships and life skills and personal accountability. As a collective, however, we fall far short in taking more proactive steps that would save society a great deal (in money and grief) in the long run. As I’ve pointed out before, it is so easy as individuals in our individualistic society to cast blame on others, but blaming never has and never will prevent crime and/or tragedy from happening in the first place.