suit, to put more money into it's surrounding communities in the from of loans for the fiscal year of 1998 and beyond (Puenta, par.1). This will begin to eliminate the stagnation that the communities economies are experiencing, which may help the crime rate decrease in these areas because eventually, the future will not look so bleak that individuals living there feel that crime is the only way to avoid the cycle of working hard in low-paying, dead end job. Some criminologists and sociologists will tell you over and over that crime followers poverty. Douglas S. Massey, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, is convinced of this (Dilulio 4).However, it is only one part of the puzzle. Crime can not be directly linked to poverty. In the first half of this century, southern black communities lived in extreme poverty, but they had relatively low crime rates. The many Chinatowns scattered across the country are very poor but have, for the most part, very low crime rates. Crime in America is still a problem. However, for the last few years we have begun to see a steady drop. Crime has decreased as much as 10% since 1994 (Key). Many criminologist and sociologist are baffled as to exactly how many things are responsible for the decline. Have the old theories that were acted on begun to show results or is it the new steps taken in crime prevention? Nobody knows for sure, but one thing is for certain: we can not abandon our efforts in this study if we hope to unlock the answers to these questions....
