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Garner Téd Armstrong
SPEAKS OUT!
PovertyDoesn't Cause Crime–
PeopleDo!
D
espite tons of evidence to the
contrary, a member of the
United States Congress, who
also happens to sit on a congres–
sional subcommittee on crime, be–
l ieves crime is caused by
" desperation brought on by job–
lessness, poverty and community
disintegration. " Representative
John Conyers of Michigan recent ly
claimed that crime multiplies when
" individuals feel that stealing, mug–
ging or selling dope is an accept–
able means of survival. "
So, according to Conyers,
so–
ciety
is to blame. An affluent so–
ciety. A cruel, exploitative, upper–
class society which possesses only
indifference to its "marginal and
disadvantaged people" is to blame.
How utterly strange, and how to–
tal ly contradictory to the known
facts.
When 1interviewed President An–
war El Sadat of Egypt in Cairo in the
spring of
1976,
and talked to the
editors of major newspapers, to
government ministers, business.
leaders, and other officials as well , 1
asked about crime. Egypt is a very
poor nation. Millions of poverty–
stricken, jobless, hopeless people
jammed together in squalid slums,
existing amid human and animal
excrement, without sanitary facili–
ties of any kind, present such a piti–
ful sight to a vi?itor from the affluent
United States that it is almost im–
possible to believe.
Strangely, though stricken with
The
PLAIN TRUTH April 1977
huge economic problems, Egypt
has a very low crime rate. lt is much
safer to walk on the streets of Cairo
wearing your watch and carrying
your wallet than on the streets of
most major U.S. cities, including
the nation 's capital.
1 interviewed · Mayor Teddy Kol–
lek of Jerusalem . Despite the
widely known terrorist activities in
the area-the bombs exploding in
Zion Square, the West Bank pro–
tests, the Arab strikes and demon–
strations-Jerusalem (including the
Old City inhabited mostly by Arabs)
is a safe city at night. One may
stroll freely through all parts of the
city with a feel ing of security, unlike
citizens living in Houston, Detroit,
or New York.
Conversely, study the crime pat–
terns of sorne of the totally social–
ized nations of Scandinavia, where
living standards and personal af–
fluence have soared. So has the
crime rate!
Studies into the personal lives of
those convicted of serious crimes
simply do not bear out the con–
clusions of Representative Con–
yers, whether he serves on a
congressional subcommittee on
crime or not. Only
11 percent ot
convicted criminals behind bars
come from a poverty-level back–
ground. Repeatedly , police are
amazed to see vicious crimes being
committed by the so-called "good
guys' ' in society- the "quiet kid
next door" who comes from a
middle-class or upper-class home.
Drug-related crimes are said to
amount to approximately 40% of
crimes involving profit (burglary,
bunco, etc.), and a very significant
percentage of drug users come
from a social background well
above the poverty level.
Crime in the United States has
risen almost exactly proportionate
to affluence! During the poverty–
stricken years of the Great Depres–
sion-when the unemployment rate
hovered at the 25% level-the
American crime rate
declined
steadily
in spite of adverse eco–
nomic conditions. There was crime,
yes, but more on the order of the
sensationalized gangland crimes of
Capone, " Pretty Soy" Floyd, "Ma–
chine Gun Kelly" and others.
Being "poor" is not synonymous
with being "crooked ."
Just as poor people can keep
clean, so the "disadvan taged "
classes can remain morally respon–
sible. Crime is not a disease; it is
not an anonymous, faceless "con–
sequence of a system.' ' lt is the
result of a nation turning its collec–
tive and individual back on the most
basic of all laws, the Ten Com–
mandments-laws that say, among
other thi ngs , " Thou shalt not
steal," and "Thou shalt not kili"!
Criminals are made, not born.
Any child taught to respect the
laws of God will have little difficulty
respecting the laws of man. But the
destruction of the home throughout
much of the Western world and the
abrogation of high moral standards
in the church, the home and the
school have given rise to morally
substandard, often cruel and un–
feeling young people who do not
know the simple difference between
right and wrong.
Until parents recognize the awe–
some responsibility of properly in–
stilling in their children a sense of
discipline, respect for the rights and
property of others, love and sense
of duty toward God, country and
fellowman, our present crime wave
will only grow worse.
o
Read a/so the artic/e beginning
on page 12 ot this issue.
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