While poverty does not cause crime, low income housing located within an area of higher income housing will create opportunities for street criminals—who usually do not have the inclination or wherewithal to travel out of the immediate environment to commit their crimes—to take advantage of, as criminals, especially street criminals, are opportunists.
From the facts given in this article, that is what is occurring in this Sacramento neighborhood.
An excerpt.
"Property crime in North Natomas has been on the rise, and it recently took a violent turn. In a three-week period in June, robbers pulled off 15 home invasions and 14 street holdups in North Natomas and neighboring South Natomas. Handguns were used in all the home invasions and most of the street robberies, police said.
"There have been no home invasions this month, but street robberies continue. A gunman tried to rob someone Wednesday night on Truxel Road, police said.
"By last week, police had arrested 12 people ranging from ages 15 to 20 for the robberies. Most live in North or South Natomas, said Police Capt. Dan Hahn.
"Some residents, looking for answers, have focused on affordable housing complexes. They say such a concentration of poverty creates a fertile environment for criminal activity.
"Being poor doesn't mean you're a criminal, but we all know there are many correlations between poverty and criminal behavior," said Angelique Ashby, president of the Creekside Neighborhood Association in North Natomas. "You can't have it overwhelm the community, which is what it's starting to do in Natomas."
Lampstand Foundation website, http://www.lampstandfoundation.org/
"The sinner is at the very heart of Christianity. Nobody is so competent as the sinner in matters of Christianity. Nobody, except the saint." Charles Peguy (1873-1914)
About
- David H. Lukenbill
- I am a California native, married, we have one daughter and live close to the American River with two cats and all the wild critters we can feed. I am a management consultant to nonprofit organizations and have an Associates of Arts degree in Administration of Justice from Sacramento City College, a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Administration degree, also from the University of San Francisco.