This past week, I began an internship with the Delaware Court of Common Pleas. It was astonishing to me that on the first day the Administrative Secretary I am working with showed me a newly published report concerning Delaware County population growth rates as well as foreclosure rates. Delaware County is now the fastest growing county in all of Ohio and, not surprisingly, Delaware foreclosure rates continue to climb. However, the rates are no where near that of other counties in Ohio. Why is this significant? The Court of Common Pleas needs to be aware of things like foreclosure rates for the real estate cases that come to its' magistrates but also for purposes of tracking and interpreting rise in crime.
One comment from the University of Texas (linked), noted that studies have found that while there seems to be a correlation between crime and foreclosure rates, it is more casual and not a cause and effect relationship. On one hand, foreclosed and unoccupied homes do lead to an increase in crimes like burglary but on the other hand the relationship can be explained by recognizing the unstable communities, with high rates of foreclosure, in which the economy or general disorganization begin to cause a decrease in the level of social control a local government and its' police may have. The comment suggested that when foreclosure rates in a community change rapidly, it is likely to lead to lack of social control.
As noted in class, unemployment rates are also compared to crime rates to show the effects macroeconomics have on the well-being of the general population.
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