Unemployment and Your Stuff

As more and more people lose their jobs and become unable to pay their bills, will they start pilfering what they need or can sell? The answer isn’t a solid “absolutely,” but the evidence points to “probably.”

Whether people will engage in acts they know are wrong depends on several variables:
1. The strength of their established value systems,
2. The benefits of engaging in dishonest acts, and
3. The risks of getting caught.

Persons who hold “Thou shalt not steal” as a primary value would exhaust every other option before even considering taking something that doesn’t belong to them. Those who are convinced that they would never get away with it are also less likely to become thieves. But you don’t want your iPhone or GPS anywhere near anyone with a weak value system (or who can rationalize it away, such as “She can just go out and buy a new one”) and who feels safe from exposure.

However, when need reaches desperation, other interlinking factors will impact on any increase in the rate of property crime.

Property crime is more likely among younger people. Property crime is also more likely the longer one goes without legitimate resources. As Don Weatherburn writing for the Brisbaine Times writes

To begin with, crime is a young person’s game, so you would not expect a rise in unemployment among people over 40 years of age to have much effect on crime. But nor would you expect young people to drift into crime the moment they are unemployed. It takes time to lose hope of securing a job and for job skills to fade. This suggests that crime rates might be more closely linked to the number of young people who have been out of work for a long time, rather than to the overall unemployment rate.

Family obligations is another factor. Roughing it alone is one thing, but when one has hungry children, motivations and perceptions change. In Peter Goodman’s New York Times report, a sheriff in South Carolina is quoted as saying, “When people get desperate, they’re going to feed their family…You catch people and ask them why they did it, they’ll say: ‘I’m desperate. I can’t pay my bills.’”

Unemployed blue collar workers and professionals may engage in criminal activity at some point, but perhaps not involving taking someone else’s tangible property. They may possess the skills and be drawn more to credit card fraud, some form of Internet scam, or other shady endeavor.

Finally, the level of resources of local law enforcement makes a difference. Unfortunately at a time when property crime is already beginning to rise, law enforcement programs and police positions are being cut.

The property crime rate had been on an overall downward trend. But given the chance that it will make a sharp upturn as the unemployment rate skyrockets, that old advice about keeping your doors locked and your treasured valuables out of easy sight or reach is again timely.

In the meantime, will some relief will come from somewhere for distressed folks who would otherwise be upstanding citizens? I don’t see our leaders doing anything substantial yet. But we can all look for opportunities to help out there as well—donating to food banks and goods or money to other charitable organizations and helping family and friends who need a lift as best we can.