ABSTRACT

Poverty in Pakistan is a growing concern. It is a fact that most of the crimes that occur
are due to poverty. The aim of the present study is to analyze the perceptions of rural
people about impact of poverty and other socio-psychological factors on crime in
District Faisalabad. Multistage sampling techniques will be used for the collection of
data. At the first stage Tehsil Faisalabad will be selected. At the second stage two
union counsels will be selected randomly. At the third stage four villages (two from
each UC) will be selected. A sample of 120 respondents (30 from each village) will
be selected. The data will be collected with the help of well designed interview
schedule, which will be analyzed through statistical techniques such as frequency
distribution and bivariate analysis alongiwth chi-square and gamma test. The results
will be presented in the form of Tables.
 1.

INTRODUCTION
Pakistan, an impoverished and underdeveloped country, has suffered from
decades of internal political disputes and low levels of foreign investment. Between
2001-07, however, poverty levels decreased by 10%, as Islamabad steadily raised
development spending. Between 2004-07, GDP growth in the 5-8% range was spurred by
gains in the industrial and service sectors - despite severe electricity shortfalls - but
growth slowed in 2008-09 and unemployment rose. Inflation remains the top concern
among the public, climbing from 7.7% in 2007 to more than 13% in 2010. In addition,
the Pakistani rupee has depreciated since 2007 as a result of political and economic
instability. The government agreed to an International Monetary Fund Standby
Arrangement in November 2008 in response to a balance of payments crisis, but during
2009-10 its current account strengthened and foreign exchange reserves stabilized -
largely because of lower oil prices and record remittances from workers abroad. Record
floods in July-August 2010 lowered agricultural output and contributed to a jump in
inflation, and reconstruction costs will strain the limited resources of the government.
Textiles account for most of Pakistan's export earnings, but Pakistan's failure to expand a
viable export base for other manufactures has left the country vulnerable to shifts in
world demand. Other long term challenges include expanding investment in education,
healthcare, and electricity production, and reducing dependence on foreign donors (CIA
World Factbook, 2011).

Poverty in Pakistan is a growing concern. Although the middle-class has grown in

Pakistan to 35 million, nearly one-quarter of the population is classified poor as of
October 2006. As of 2008, 17.2% of the total population lives below the poverty line,
which is the lowest figure in the history of Pakistan. The declining trend in poverty as
seen in the country during the 1970s and 1980s was reversed in the 1990s by poor federal
policies and rampant corruption. This phenomenon has been referred to as the poverty
bomb. government of Pakistan with help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
has prepared an Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper that suggests guidelines to
reduce poverty in the country (Wikipedia, 2011).

Poverty, or poorness is the lack of income source to buy food. In some cases it is
not only the state of having income that is below the line of poverty but it is also the
inability to sustain a specified level of well being (Ali, 2008).

It is in fact that most of the crimes that occur are due to poverty, except for
countries where the minimum necessities of life are met. No matter how much moral the
person is, if the poverty threatens his or her life then he/she is likely to indulge into such
criminal acts and could try to attack the prevailing social structure. Some times honest
people who hate corruption from depth of their beings fail to keep their mental balance
and due to the pressure of poverty and resort to crimes just to maintain their existence. In
such circumstances the judge only looks at the crime committed instead of finding out the
cause that lead the committer to such an act. What happens is the person is sent to jail and
is labeled as a criminal and after his release he is further humiliated by the society and
therefore is forced to become a habitual thief (Ali, 2008).

Crime is the established cause and consequence of poverty. It ripples on in the

form of insecurity and underdevelopment. The application of ways to prevent crime and
ensure criminal justice primarily involves a thorough understanding of the relationship
between crime and poverty. Poverty only spells greater instability and enormous
suffering – two basic factors that promote crime. This terrible relationship has resulted in
extensive social damage in Central and South America, Western Asia and Africa, not
leaving out certain regions in Europe. The developing and under developed nations are
most vulnerable to the crime and poverty trap. One results from the other and together
they have become an epidemic. Something beyond human comprehension and the only
solution probably lies in the total eradication of poverty, which is going to take us quite a
while (Borade, 2010)

Poverty is curse and it is said to be mother of crimes. It is in fact that most of the
crimes that occur are due to poverty. It is a multi-faceted phenomenon which
encompasses economic, political and social deprivations of the people in a country and
manifests itself in a vicious circle. Low savings and ultimate low investments result in
low income, poor education, lack of health facilities, unequal distribution of wealth and
poor infra-structure. The denial of basic and essential needs to the population gives rise to
the concept of poverty (Geo News, 2011).

Pakistan, as a whole is filled with poverty and hunger. The hunger and poverty is
assuming alarming proportions in Pakistan. The situation in Pakistan is now so bleak that
even some honest people who hated corruption from depth of their beings failed to keep
their mental balance due to the pressure of poverty and resorted to crimes just to maintain
their existence. It is the time that the judge should not only look at the crime committed
by anyone rather he should find out the cause that leads the committer to such an act.
Poverty is watching our children and grandchildren share tears in their deepest sleep.
Poverty is witnessing our children and grandchildren die in our arms but there is nothing
we can do for them. Poverty is seeing our mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters are
committing suicides in pain and in sorrow just because they could not get something to
eat for their families. So far there were suicides because of unemployment and poverty
but a new phenomenon has now emerged; now the poor who cannot feed their children
are leaving their children at charity homes or even selling their children. It is a sign of
poverty when we hide your face and wish nobody could see us just because we feel less
than a human being. Poverty is when we dream of bread and meat, we never seeing in the
day light (Geo News, 2011).

Crime in Pakistan is present in various forms. Organized crime include drug

trafficking, money laundering, forged Indian currency printing, extortion, murder for hire
and fraud. Other criminal operations engage in human trafficking, corruption, black
marketeering, political violence, terrorism, abduction etc The question is that what are the
main reasons of crime in Pakistan society and why it is increasing so rapidly it is because
of the rising poverty, unemployment and inequality in Pakistani society the rising case
differences divide the society in to various parts and according to the status law will be
provided this contribute a lot in making people aggressive and frustrated and later on it
become cause of crime in society. Other Major causes are unemployment and illiteracy
rate but there are some other factors too like lawlessness, fundamentalism, backwardness
and double standards prevailing in the society. People around the world always think of
Pakistanis as terrorists- we aren’t all like that. Yes, I agree that there is a high crime rate,
however, most Pakistani’s in the lesser civilized areas of Pakistan suffer from extreme
depths of poverty, which is somewhat the main reason for high crime rates. What
Pakistani government is doing for the betterment of its nation is the question in minds of
every Pakistani. Pakistani nation is disappointed that the government is not going to
provide safety and security to any one the properties and lives are not protected.
Frustration and aggression among youth is also becoming the cause of crime in Pakistani
society youth could change the future of country but in Pakistan youth are not given any
rights nor there is security of their futures almost every Pakistani is in dept Pakistan is
facing a crucial financial crunch and it will remain the same. There are no jobs and if
some so there is no job safety people are disappointed and due to that they become
frustrated conduct crime like theft taking bribers and what not. In Pakistani society there
is no rule and regulation and due to lack of judiciary there is no fear of being punished so
this also contributes in increase in crime rate. What measures should be adopted by the
government to reduce the increasing crime rate some suggestion which I received from
Pakistani youth are (Nayyab’s Block, 2010).

Objectives

1. To study the socio-economic characteristics of respondents.

2. To find out the perception of people towards impact of poverty and other

socio-psychological factors on crime.

3. To investigate the reasons behind the crimTo explain the effects of poverty on

crime

4. To suggest some policy measure towards poverty crime reduction

 REVIEW OF LITERTURE

Short (1997) stated that because of the manner in which population density
influences living conditions (ie: houses vs. apartment complexes), it was also likely to be
correlated with both poverty and crime. He found that “more densely populated
neighborhoods tend to be poorer, have higher percentages of persons in the age range of
12 to 20, have larger concentrations of single-parent households, and larger nonwhite
populations”. This study first examines how poverty affects crime. Then, controlling for
the aforementioned factors - race, unemployment, personal income, population density,
geographic location, and age distribution - it again examines the relationship between
crime and poverty and how this relationship is influenced when these factors are held
constant. It was concluded that the poverty is a cause of crime.

Ludwig et al. (2000) found that the crime exists everywhere in the United States –
in rural and urban areas, in the East and West, and among all types of people. This had
led many government officials, especially those in urban areas, to focus largely on the
reduction of crime among their respective constituencies and has led others to speculate
on the factors that influence the amount of crime and how those factors could be
controlled. Poverty’s effects on crime could be explained through a variety of reasons.
“There was a higher rate of mental illness in the poor than in the rich”. Poverty could
lead to high levels of stress that in turn may lead individuals to commit theft, robbery, or
other violent acts. Moreover, poverty may lead to an actual or perceived inferior
education, which would cause youth to count on less access to quality schools, jobs, and
role models, decreasing the opportunity costs of crime and increasing the probability of
youth spending time on the street associating with gangs, etc. However, many other
factors influence crime and were correlated with poverty as well. Higher unemployment
would certainly increase poverty and at the same time lead to more crime due to
depression associated with being unemployed. Personal income per capita, which was
inversely correlated with the poverty level, still may increase crime since greater wealth
means greater benefits to thieves and robbers. Furthermore, because of social class gaps,
personal income per capita rates may not affect poverty to a great extent (the income may
be concentrated in a small percentage of the population). It might even accentuate the
difference between the upper and lower classes, thereby inducing more crime.

Barr (2002) found that crime causing poverty. It was once a shibboleth that
poverty causes crime, but today I think it is clear that crime is causing poverty.
Businesses are driven from crime-ridden neighborhoods, taking jobs and opportunities
with them. Potential investors and would-be employers are scared away. Existing owners
are deterred from making improvements on their property, and as property values go
down, owners disinvest in their property. I know a small contractor who tried to
rehabilitate inner-city housing for low-income tenants. He had to give up because drug
addicts would break in, rip out his improvements, and sell them for drug money. They
would even come in regularly and take out all of the piping in the building and sell it for
scrap. This contractor obviously couldn't continue like that, and like many others has just
stopped his efforts to rehabilitate housing.

William (2007) found that the relationship between poverty and crime had been a
controversial subject over the years. He argued that poverty did not have a causal
relationship to crime because there were countries in which poverty was very high but the
crime rate was relatively low. I would say that in this country it would be hard to argue
that there is not a relationship between crime and poverty. Poor people make up the
overwhelming majority of those behind bars as 53% of those in prison earned less than
$10,000 per year before incarceration. He stated that sociologist and criminal justice
scholars have found a direct correlation between poverty and crime. One economic
theory of crime assumed that people weigh the consequences of committing crime. They
resort to crime only if the cost or consequences are outweighed by the potential benefits
to be gained. The logical conclusion to this theory is that people living in poverty were
far more likely to commit property crimes such as burglary, larceny, or theft.

Wittrock (2007) demonstrated that children living in poverty were at a higher risk
for engaging in delinquent behavior. The family context plays an important role in child
outcomes. He argued that poverty affects delinquency by affecting family processes.
Research had shown that poverty increases family stress. Family stress, in turn, affects
parent-child interactions. Public assistance programs were designed to buffer some the
negative effects of poverty; however, there has been little research examining how public
assistance receipt affects the relationship between poverty and delinquency. Specifically,
research has not examined whether or not public assistance receipt ameliorates some of
the negative effects of poverty on youths’ delinquent behavior. The results of this
research help to disentangle the effects of socio-economic status and family interaction
on delinquency, which has implications for both criminological theory and public policy.

Ahmad (2009) stated that in Pakistan this thing was common that who belongs to
a rich family could passes all the stages of life very easily no matter how difficult were
they but have we ever think about those who doesn’t have a strong background ?who
doesn’t belongs to a rich family? who doesn’t have some one at there back who can
support them ? and the simple answer of this difficult ans is NO. Research said that the
children who grow up in poor families with a low social status are prone to experiencing
unhealthy stress levels. He thought not more then 5% of this type of population could
build there image in this healthy and full of bribe environment and this happens because
there luck is in there way which helps them at the time of need but what about the other
95% of population what they do ?How they manage? How they Live? What are the
difficulties that they face? and at last what they do to overcome these all stress full
tensions and the answer was that most of them involved in doing crimes however they
starts from a low level but at the end they reach to a place where they become the sign of
danger for the others and even for the whole nation.

METHODOLOGY
Methodology is a discipline, studying the behavior of human beings in various
social settings. According to Nachmias and Nachmias (1992) the scientific methodology
is a system of explicit rules and procedures upon which research is based and against
which the claims for knowledge are evaluated.
The main objective of methodology is to explain various tools and techniques
employed for a data collection, analysis and interpretation of data related to research
problem. Multistage sampling techniques will be used for the collection of data. At the
first stage Tehsil Faisalabad will be selected. At the second stage two union counsils will
be selected randomly. At the third stage four village (two from each UC) will be selected.
A sample of 120 respondents (30 from each village) will be selected.
The data will be collected with the help of well designed interview schedule
which will be analyzed through statistical analysis to draw conclusion and to formulate
suggestions for the improvement of the participation of female in decision making.

LITERATURE CITED

Ahmad, A. 2009. Poverty Vs Crime. Social Issues of Pakistan, Saturday, December 5,

2009.
Ali, S.F. 2008. Poverty the Mother of All Crimes. CN Karachi, Pakistan, Sunday March
9, 2008. Available at: http://citynoise.org/article/7879.
Available at: http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/pakistan/pakistan_economy.html.
Barr, W. 2002. Crime, Poverty and the Family. The Heritage Foundation. Available at:
http://www.heritage.org/research/lecture/hl401nbsp-crime-poverty-and-
the-family
Borade, G. 2010. Crime and Poverty Prevention. Available at: H:\Poverty &
crime\Crime and Poverty Prevention.htm.
CIA World Factbook, 2011. Pakistan Economy 2011.
Geo News, 2011. Pakistan poverty is the mother of crime. Pakistan Geo Tv News Sindhi
News 2011. http://www.friendsmania.net/forum/pakistan-geo-tv-news-
sindhi-news-2011/75423.htm
Ludwig, J., J.D. Greg, and P. Hirschfield. 2000. Urban Poverty and Juvenile Crime:
Evidence From a Randomized Housing-Mobility Experiment. 20 April
2000. http://www.jcpr.org/wpfiles/duncan.ludwig.revise4-25.PDF>
Nachmias, D. and C. Nachmias. 1992. Research methods in the social sciences. 4th
Edition Martin’s press Inc. New York.
Nayyab Blog, 2010. Increase crime rate in Pakistan. Nayyab’s Blog. Karachi Dairy,
World Press. http://nayyab.wordpress.com/2010/01/28/increasing-crime-
rate-in-pakistan/
Short, J.F. 1997. Poverty, Ethnicity, and Violent Crime. Boulder, CO: Westview Press,
1997.
Wikipedia, 2011. Poverty in Pakistan. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Available at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_Pakistan
William, J. 2007. Poverty and crime. Christian Association for Prison Aftercare.
Available at:
http://www.capaassociation.org/newsletter_N009/Articles/PovertyCrime.h
tm
Wittrock, S. 2007. ""Poverty and Crime: The Role of Public Assistance Receipt."" Paper
presented at the annual meeting of the AMERICAN SOCIETY OF
CRIMINOLOGY, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Atlanta, Georgia.
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p201655_index.html