ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF INEQUALITIES ON RESIDENTS' PERCEPTION AND CRIME INCIDENTS IN URBAN AND PERI-URBAN NEIGHBOURHOODS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v22i33.1533Keywords:
Inequality, Social disorganization theory, Neighborhood, Peri-Urban communityAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the issue of inequality to the forefront, exacerbating economic uncertainty and social injustice, which has led to widespread social disorder. This study examines the relationship between inequality and crime in urban and peri-urban neighborhoods in Penang; Moreover, an association between inequality and the incidence of crime will be investigated in two neighborhoods. Having considered the intricate relationship between social inequality and crime in previous studies, a quantitative approach was conducted to investigate how neighborhood locations impact the crime and inequality relationship. A face-to-face survey using a closed-ended questionnaire was conducted with 761 respondents, comprising 329 from Balik Pulau and 432 from Bayan Baru. The findings reveal that economic inequality significantly impacts crime rates in both Bayan Lepas and Balik Pulau, whereas social inequality only shows a negative significant effect in Bayan Lepas. Subsequently, results indicate income does not influence the fear of crime among respondents in Balik Pulau, but residents with higher income levels in Bayan Lepas exhibit a greater fear of crime. However, neighborhood locations do not distinctly affect criminal activity. These insights can help enhance crime prevention strategies, improve security, and foster balanced development in Penang.
Downloads
References
Abrekov, M. (2020). Economic inequality in Singapore and Malaysia. Московский экономический журнал(4), 19-19.
Al Muzaini, A. R. (2022). Is Codification a Solution or Problem in Regulating the Personal Affairs of Muslims Under Islamic Law? Journal of Law & Sociocultural Studies, 2(2).
Anser, M. K., Yousaf, Z., Nassani, A. A., Alotaibi, S. M., Kabbani, A., & Zaman, K. (2020). Dynamic linkages between poverty, inequality, crime, and social expenditures in a panel of 16 countries: two-step GMM estimates. Journal of Economic Structures, 9, 1-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40008-020-00220-6
Banna, H., Masud, M. M., & Rodrigo, S. K. (2020). How does economic growth impact on income inequality across ethnic groups in Malaysia? Poverty & Public Policy, 12(4), 397-420. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pop4.293
Bellair, P. (2017). Social disorganization theory (Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.253
Clement, M., & Piaser, L. (2021). Do inequalities predict fear of crime? Empirical evidence from Mexico. World Development, 140, 105354. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105354
Doob, C. B. (2019). Social inequality and social stratification in US society. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429279331
DOSM. (2022). The Crime Statistics, Malaysia, 2022 Retrieved 19 May from https://v1.dosm.gov.my/v1/index.php?r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=455&bul_id=RnBiQjA1VHhmelZRVCszS3RiRXpNQT09&menu_id=U3VPMldoYUxzVzFaYmNkWXZteGduZz09
Dropplemann, C., & Trajtenberg, N. (2021). Inequality and crime in Latin America.
Estévez-Soto, P. R. (2021). Crime and COVID-19: Effect of changes in routine activities in Mexico City. Crime Science, 10(1), 15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40163-021-00151-y
Goh, L. T., & Law, S. H. (2023). The crime rate of five Latin American countries: Does income inequality matter? International Review of Economics & Finance, 86, 745-763. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2023.03.036
Hagan, F. E., & Daigle, L. E. (2023). Introduction to criminology: Theories, methods, and criminal behavior. Sage Publications.
Harun, N. H., Shaari, M. S., & Ahmad, T. S. T. (2021). An empirical study of socioeconomic determinants of crime in Malaysia. (Ed.),^(Eds.). AIP Conference Proceedings. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0044629
Jamil, A. H., Mohd Sanusi, Z., Yaacob, N. M., Mat Isa, Y., & Tarjo, T. (2022). The Covid-19 impact on financial crime and regulatory compliance in Malaysia. Journal of Financial Crime, 29(2), 491-505. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-05-2021-0107
Koh, S. (2020). Inequality. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography , 269-277. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102295-5.10196-9
Kopp, C. M. (2021). Income Inequality Definition: Examples and How It's Measured. Investopedia.
Kornhauser, R. R. (2017). Theoretical issues in the sociological study of juvenile delinquency (Challenging Criminological Theory (pp. 59-86). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315081601-4
Kubrin, C. E., Branic, N., & Hipp, J. R. (2022). (Re) conceptualizing neighborhood ecology in social disorganization theory: from a variable-centered approach to a neighborhood-centered approach. Crime & Delinquency, 68(11), 2008-2032. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287211041527
Lee, H.-A., & Khalid, M. A. (2020). Is inequality really declining in Malaysia? Journal of Contemporary Asia, 50(1), 14-35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2018.1551560
Marzbali, M. H., Abdullah, A., & Tilaki, M. J. M. (2020). Surveillance And Guardianship Attitudes: Role of Multiple Mediators. PLANNING MALAYSIA, 18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v18i13.777
Ministry of Health Malaysia. (2024). COVID-19. Retrieved 25 Februray from https://data.moh.gov.my/dashboard/covid-19
Ridzuan, A. R., Zakaria, S., Fianto, B. A., Yusoff, N. Y. M., Sulaiman, N. F. C., Razak, M. I. M., Siswantini, S., & Lestari, A. (2021). Nexus between financial development and income inequality before pandemic covid-19: Does financial Kuznets Curve exist in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 11(2), 260-271. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.10616
Samat, N., Mahamud, M. A., Tilaki, M. J. M., Bakar, M. A. A., Mou, L. T., & Noor, N. M. (2021). Investigating urban growth boundary as mechanism to plan for sustainable urban development. PLANNING MALAYSIA, 19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v19i18.1050
Sampson, R. J., & Wilson, W. J. (2013). Toward a theory of race, crime, and urban inequality (Race, crime, and justice (pp. 177-189). Routledge.
Shah, A. U. M., Reayat, M. N., & Shah, S. A. A. (2020). Relationship Between Unemployment, Poverty And Crime: An Empirical Cross-Sectional Analysis of Peshawar, KHYBERPAKHTUNKHWA. International Journal of Management Research and Emerging Sciences, 10(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.56536/ijmres.v10i1.67
Song, Z., Yan, T., & Jiang, T. (2020). Poverty aversion or inequality aversion? The influencing factors of crime in China. Journal of Applied Economics, 23(1), 679-708. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15140326.2020.1816130
Sugiharti, L., Purwono, R., Esquivias, M. A., & Rohmawati, H. (2023). The nexus between crime rates, poverty, and income inequality: A case study of Indonesia. Economies, 11(2), 62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/economies11020062
Sundaram JK, C. A. (2020). Covid-19's compounding inequalities: Sin Chew Daily contributors. Retrieved 18 April from https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/covid-19s-compounding-inequalities-sin-chew-daily-contributors
United Nations. (2020). Inequality—bridging the divide. UN 75, 2020 and beyond: Shaping our future together.
Usai, F. (2022). The relationship between economic inequality and crime through an agent based model approach.
Weaver, B. (2019). Understanding desistance: A critical review of theories of desistance. Psychology, Crime & Law, 25(6), 641-658. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316X.2018.1560444
Wenger, M. R. (2019). Separating the influence of inequality on burglary and robbery by level of analysis: A multilevel approach. Social Science Research, 81, 42-60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.03.007
Widyastaman, P. A., & Hartono, D. (2022). Economic inequality decomposition and spatial pattern of crime in Indonesia. Papers in Applied Geography, 8(3), 268-281. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23754931.2021.1991842
Zhu, J., & Li, Z. (2017). Inequality and crime in China. Frontiers of Economics in China, 12(2), 309.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright & Creative Commons Licence
eISSN: 0128-0945 © Year. The Authors. Published for Malaysia Institute of Planners. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license.
The authors hold the copyright without restrictions and also retain publishing rights without restrictions.
