Crime and criminalization depend on social inequality Social inequality There are four main forms of inequality, class, gender, race and age, all of which influence crime. Looking at social class and its relationship to crime, studies have shown that lower-class citizens are more likely to commit property crimes and violence than upper-class citizens: who generally commit political and economic crimes. In 2007, the National Crime Victimization Survey showed that families with incomes of $15,000 or less were more likely to be victims; remembering that the lower classes commit most of these crimes. We can conclude that crime generally occurs within classrooms. Property crime can be defined as the unauthorized taking or damage of an individual's personal belongings. This is not limited to robbery of any kind, fraud or even arson, but all these crimes have several coinciding traits that group them under this term. While property crimes are intended to take something that is not ours and use it to our advantage, violent crimes are used to harm or even kill another rather than use it for oneself. This includes hate crimes, murder, rape and abuse. Hate crimes are unique because they usually target someone who is different from the race or gender of the individual who committed the crime, while murder and assault are not always defined by gender or race . Therefore, property and violent crimes are influenced by social inequalities caused by gender, race, income, and age; this is why the legal definition of crime cannot cover all possible scenarios without considering each individual case and studying social behaviors regarding the reason or cause of the crime committed. Criminalization occurs when...... middle of paper ... ...bers fired at the police force. Despite the controversy of May 13, it exemplifies criminalization. The authorities felt threatened by a particular group, in this case MOVE, a predominantly African-American organization with radical political ideas. While race may not have been affected by the group's motivations, it is possible that it influenced the actions taken against them. Keep in mind that although African Americans had equal rights in the 1970s and 1980s, they were still a minority and heavily discriminated against. Crime and criminalization can be ambiguous; crime is just crime until some authorities deem the actions illegal. However, social inequalities can lead to increased crime rates, notions such as gender, age, race and class influence crime and provide the criminologist with the date to determine who is most likely to commit a crime and where..