Is this economy driving people to crime?

[TwixVoy]

This is only my personal observation, but does it seem to you this economy is driving people to crime?

Let me preface by saying I do not believe anyone should steal regardless of if they are having a hard time or not.... but at the retailer I work at we have recently fired EIGHT PEOPLE in two weeks time for stealing from work. Mostly cash. We usually only have 2-3 A YEAR at my store. I know one of them from prior conversations was hit hard by this economy. The others I don't know any can only speculate.

We have cameras on every single register 24/7, and count the cash every day. This is well known to everyone. So they know they are going to be caught right away. I can only see it as desperation.

The company has really cut back this year. Most everyone who is not in management has had massive hours reductions and as a result have also lost their benefits. (health insurance, etc) The company pays near minimum wage anyway, so cutting hours is just fuel on the fire.... Let alone having to deal with higher prices and other effects of this economy.

[Xipe Totec]

1. The economy is a crime scene

And the criminals just made off with another $27 Billion.

[leftstreet]

2. It sure did on Wall Street n/t

[TwixVoy]

3. Unfortunately

it seems in order to get away scott free you have to steal a few billion.

Steal $100 like the homeless guy in another article posted on DU and your ass goes away for 15 years.

[whistle]

4. Actually it was crime that drove the economy into a meltdown, the crimes

...of BushCo, Wall Street bankers, the U.S. Treasury Secretary and the Federal Reserve and all of the operatives who collaborated with them

[infidel dog]

5. The corporate capitalist system is criminal by its very nature.

[cobalt1999]

6. Historically and statistically there isn't a correlation.

Intuitively, you would think that during good times the crime rate would fall and it would rise during bad times, but it isn't so.

In fact, during the worst years of the Great Depression the crime rate fell.

[grasswire]

7. find that thread on the five stages of social collapse

It's here on DU somewhere. You'll find your answer there.