Crime costs

Economist suggests unemployment may not be to blame for rising crime By Sheria Brathwaite The wage gap in Barbados and the financing of criminal networks could be the main drivers of the recent spike in crime, and not unemployment, says economist Professor Justin Robinson. With lawmen reporting a six per cent increase in overall crime, Robinson told Barbados TODAY that there was a strong connection between high crime levels and unequal wage distribution in society. “I suggest special attention be paid to crime prevention and fighting as it relates to organised criminal networks and the possible role of inequality in providing a vast pool of willing recruits for these networks,” said the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Board of Undergraduate Studies at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus. He said that well-financed criminal organisations were giving their membership certain assurances and safety nets that, in some instances, outweighed the risks of getting caught, which encouraged them to engage in criminal acts. The economist also noted that the unemployment rate in Barbados is at historic lows so it would seem odd to link rising crime at this time to unemployment in Barbados. “While it is intuitive to expect a rise in unemployment to be linked to a rise in crime and vice-versa, the results from numerous studies over decades of research have been mixed with some showing a positive relationship and others showing no relationship. In fact, the current consensus appears to be that the research evidence does not show a robust link between unemployment, generally, and crime. What numerous studies show is a robust relationship between long-term unemployment and violent crime, and between inequality and violent crime across and within countries,” he said. “Studies show that the more unequal a society, the more violent it tends to be and that as inequality increases in a society, so does the incidence of violent crime. So is Barbados becoming more unequal over time? I do not have any hard evidence on levels of inequality – large differences in income – in Barbados but it’s a factor we may need to pay more attention to.” Last week, Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce announced that there were 88 recorded robberies for the year thus far, 25 more than the same period last year. He said robbers had a big appetite for gold jewellery. As it relates to aggravated burglary, Boyce said there were 38 cases this year thus far, four more than the corresponding period last year. Theft from the person and commercial robberies also went up, with 36 cases and 85 cases being reported in 2023 so far, respectively, compared to 28 cases and 65 cases for the same period in 2022. Robinson said it was common to use a cost-benefit analysis of criminal activity as a simple framework to try to understand the occurrence of crime. “As an example of this, a significant increase in the price of gold, as alluded to by law enforcement, increases the benefits and may induce greater criminal activity as it relates to the acquisition of gold. Effective policing and execution of justice may increase the costs of crime, such as risks of apprehension, successful prosecution and the imposition of penalties if one engages in criminal activity and may induce lower levels of criminal activity. “But if one operates as part of a criminal network or gang, especially a well-financed criminal network, that may reduce some of the costs associated with crime, such as being apprehended by law enforcement, finding funds for legal representation, your family suffering if you are apprehended for criminal activity, and so on. Hence the rise of organised, well-financed criminal networks may lower the [consequences] of criminal activity for individuals and may lead to an increase in crime. However, Professor Robinson said, crime is an extremely complex multi-faceted phenomenon and “we should be wary of easy answers in terms of causes and solutions”. The university academic added that in some instances, financial techniques such as tax audits have been used as a means of attacking criminal networks. “It is not an accident that the infamous Al Capone was, in fact, arrested on tax evasion charges in the United States. In his book, The Curse of Cash, American economist Professor Ken Rogoff makes the case that reducing the use of cash as part of the payments system can play a critical role in undermining criminal elements and criminal activity in society.  The use of regulated digital payment platforms which leave a record can frustrate criminal networks which often rely on cash transactions that leave no record. Some even argue that a reduction in the availability of large cash can frustrate criminal networks,” Robinson added. sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb]]>