NCJ Number
100155
Date Published
Unknown
Length
23 pages
Annotation
The relationship between socioeconomic development and criminality in Peru was investigated using judicial statistics for 1981-83.
Abstract
Three working hypotheses guided the research: (1) a statistically significant correlation exists between the level of social-economic development and the appearance of crimes, according to types, in Peru's provinces; (2) the higher the level of social-economic development of the provinces, the higher the incidence of any type of crimes; and (3) heterogeneous delinquent behavior is directly related to the level of development of the province. The province was selected as the study's universe. An analysis was made of the correlation between indexes of criminality and income, education level, and population concentration for provinces varying in their relative development. Results indicate a significant correlation between development level and the total volume of crime, with higher crime rates in more developed provinces. In relatively developed provinces, crime rates were highest for family abandonment, illicit drug trafficking, crimes against public faith, and smuggling. In relatively underdeveloped provinces with extreme poverty, rates were higher for crimes against life, body, health, liberty, and public authority. Robbery, kidnapping, and crimes against public security and justice administration did not correlate with level of development. Finally, crime rates were lower in provinces with lower income levels, smaller population concentration, and higher educational level.