Recently, a 60-year-old man was robbed in North Lawndale. He was delivering groceries when three men and one woman robbed him. Groceries are one of the most important daily life that has become increasingly more and more expensive. While this incident is quite terrible for the victim, one must inquire why those people chose to rob him in the first place.
Essentially, it is entirely possible that this incidence of theft could have been entirely avoided. The prevalence of theft, also known as stealing is highly correlated with the socio economic conditions in which the theft takes place. Furthermore, North Lawndale is one of the driest food deserts in the city of Chicago. Maybe if food were more accessible and less expensive, armed robberies like this wouldn’t happen.
Chicago’s Food Deserts
(Flickr CC0)
Moreover, Chicago is a great city with malnourished people. This contradiction between great architecture and culture, and the fact that many of its inner city communities have few grocery stores is at the heart of this conflict.
“Produce at one half of corner stores received the ‘would not buy’ rating, and only 1 of 5 corner stores had high quality produce, ” according to Chicago Department of Public Health.
The fact of the matter is that some places in Chicago, particularly places like North Lawndale, simply don’t have access to food. North Lawndale, and neighborhoods like it are areas of poverty. What this means is that these areas have been neglected by the cities for decades.
Chicago’s Crime
Additionally, Chicago’s crime has become an eternal aspect of the national conversation about crime. Yet, Chicago’s poverty issues haven’t received the same national attention. The point here is that Chicago’s crime issue is related to its poverty issue. Essentially, many studies show that greater numbers of poverty produce greater numbers of crime.
“Research shows that people living in poor areas are more likely than their wealthier counterparts to commit property crimes, as they are often motivated by a desperate need to provide necessities for members of their families,” according to Inside Time. Finally, to prevent things like this in the future, Chicago must address its lack of accessible food, and its ever prevalent poverty issue.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources:
Fox32Chicago: Man delivering groceries in Chicago robbed at knifepoint
The Challenge to an Apple a Day: The Availability of Fresh Produce in Chicago
Communities
InsideTime: Poverty and crime
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of ＠梁上教授 Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
First Inset Image Courtesy of Bev Sykes’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
