The Numbers Don't Support the Stigma

Crime is a complicated issue. It seems like a simple enough statement until you realize that we create simplistic laws to attack such a complex problem. As I gathered data for this week’s post, I was shocked by the numbers. I remember asking myself, “if this is the data than where does the stigma come from?”

As I dug deeper, I found the answer: an undeveloped understanding of crime and criminals.

It seems we spend too much time penalizing an issue without understanding its roots. We punish an action without understanding why people choose to act that way.

Last year, I took an Urban Deviance class where we focused on crimes and the criminals that commit them. Ultimately, we learned that a person is only going to break a law if doing so is more rewarding than abiding by that law. In high-risk, low-income areas following a law or relying on law enforcement yields almost no return. Instead, breaking it allows young males to make the money they need to supplement impoverished households or to achieve status. Violent crimes allow them to cement an identity of “a tough guy” that wards off would-be attackers.

I won’t argue that there aren’t just some bad eggs, but to argue that the vast majority of criminals are bad people just isn’t correct.  

We focus on punishing the crimes more than understanding why people commit them.

There is a reason that, disproportionately, the majority of criminals are poor, minority men. By this thinking, poor minority men are worse people than their richer, whiter counterparts. However, it just may be simpler to create laws that target crimes that are more likely to happen in these areas. Mandatory Minimum Sentencing was particularly devastating.

But we choose not to explore this thinking because we don’t really have to.

There’s nothing to challenge us and convicts are limited in their ability to impart change. They have few opportunities to earn money and have restricted voting access, which are two ways to amplify a voice.

I was forced to explore my own beliefs, making me realize that our stigma pervades deeper than we may even know. Stigma is defined as just an attitude, but for many of us, we hold our ideas to be truth.

And this needs to be challenged.