Sunday, September 9, 2012

Analysts say crime rates to rise amid economic hardship


BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Academics predict crime rates in Palestine will rise as people bear the brunt of the Palestinian Authority's financial crisis.

"The rate of poverty and unemployment are rapidly increasing ... and poverty sets an enabling environment for crime" sociology lecturer Mohamad Farahat told Ma'an by phone on Friday.

Mass protests have rocked cities across the West Bank this week as people express outrage at rising prices.

Public authorities must urgently address both poverty and crime, Farahat said.

The PA should "study deep and radical solutions for social justice, to end corruption and injustice," he continued.

The director of the Palestine Center for Political and Economic Research Sameer Abdullah told Ma’an that the difference was being sharply felt in contrast to past prosperity.

Palestine had low poverty rates in 2010 and 2011, but the current protests sprung from the realization that low economic growth and rising prices could only result in poverty growth.

If crime rates increase, Farahat added, this should not be treated as unexpected, but "the individual's expression of the social crisis."



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