Crime and the Economy: Economic Effects on the Crime Rates of Youngstown, Ohio

Abstract

Economic decline in large industrialized cities can cause events to occur, for example, large organizations in the area begin to close or move out of the community. These industries suffer a decline in sales and can no longer keep their facilities open. When those who are unemployed cannot find new work, they migrate out of the area leaving the community to crumble. When the economy of the community fails, the influx of crime in the area is not far behind. This research examined the possible economic-crime trend in Youngstown compared to other rustbelt and non-rustbelt cities. The study found that while Youngstown suffered the worse economic decline, the crime in the area was comparable to the other stronger economic cities. This questions the initial thought that the weaker the economic situation in an area, the worse the crime will be. There were some similar trends that were found between Youngstown and the other rustbelt cities; however, the non-rustbelt cities also followed some similar trends. The relationship between economic strength and crime found in this study was not strong enough to draw conclusions or support the hypothesis that a correlation exists. Further research is needed to take a more in depth examination of the crime and economic situation in these areas, like using fewer variables in order to pin point the problem.