NCJ Number
59392
Journal
JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL LAW, CRIMINOLOGY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE Volume: 40 Dated: (1949) Pages: 458-470
Date Published
1949
Length
13 pages
Annotation
THE IMPACT OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION ON THE NATURE OF CRIME IN A RURAL COUNTY IS EXAMINED IN AN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN 1949.
Abstract
ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY, REMOTE FROM THE LARGE URBAN CENTERS OF NEW YORK STATE, UNDERWENT LITTLE STRUCTURAL CHANGE (POPULATION GROWTH OR COMPOSITION SHIFT, INDUSTRIALIZATION, ETC.) DURING THE DEPRESSION YEARS. THUS, ANY MODIFICATION IN THE STATISTICAL COMPOSITION OF OFFENDERS DURING THESE YEARS WOULD SUGGEST CHANGES INDUCED PRIMARILY BY THE DEPRESSION. THE CASES OF 159 OFFENDERS WHO APPEARED BEFORE THE COUNTY COURT DURING 1927-1929 ARE COMPARED WITH THE CASES OF 356 OFFENDERS WHO APPEARED DURING 1938-1941. THE COMPARISON ENCOMPASSES OFFENDERS' AGE, SEX, COMMUNITY OF RESIDENCE, LEVEL OF EDUCATION, RELIGION, FAMILY STATUS, VOCATION, EMPLOYMENT, AND PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS; TYPES OF OFFENSES; AND DISTRIBUTION OF OFFENSES. THE RESULTS SUPPORT THE VIEW THAT, UNDER APPROPRIATE CONDITIONS, ECONOMIC ADVERSITY TENDS TO INDUCE CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR AMONG PERSONS FOR WHOM ECONOMIC CRISIS LOWERS THE THRESHOLD OF 'TEMPTATION.' PERSONS LIVING ON FARMS AND IN VERY SMALL COMMUNITIES WERE IMMUNE TO THIS EFFECT, WHICH HAD ITS GREATEST IMPACT ON YOUNG, RELATIVELY WELL EDUCATED, LOWER-MIDDLE-CLASS, WHITE-COLLAR WORKERS IN MID-SIZED COMMUNITIES FUNCTIONING AS SERVICE, SHOPPING, AND TRADING CENTERS. DURING THE DEPRESSION YEARS THERE WERE INCREASES IN 'PLANNED CRIMES' (E.G., BURGLARY AS OPPOSED TO PETTY LARCENY) AND IN THE PERCENTAGE OF CRIMES COMMITTED BY CONFIRMED RECIDIVISTS (THOSE WITH THREE OR MORE PRIOR CONVICTIONS, GENERALLY FOR RELATIVELY MINOR OFFENSES). IT IS THEORIZED THAT DURING THE DEPRESSION A HABITUAL OFFENDER CLASS DEVELOPED AMONG OFFENDERS WHO, ABSENT ECONOMIC STRESSES, WOULD HAVE STOPPED AT THEIR FIRST OFFENSE, AND THAT THIS PHENOMENON TOOK PLACE IN COMMUNITIES TOO SMALL TO DEVELOP CONTROLS DEVISED BY LARGER POPULATION CENTERS DURING PERIODS OF ECONOMIC EXIGENCY, BUT TOO LARGE TO MAINTAIN THE TRADITIONAL, DIRECT CONTROLS FOUND AT ALL TIMES IN EXTREMELY SMALL COMMUNITIES. NO TABULAR DATA ARE PROVIDED.