A study by the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has found a correlation between bright pockets of wealth in urban areas and crime rates across 49 Indian cities. The findings show that a 1% rise in economic inequality — assessed through artificial, night-time lights — is linked to a 0.5% increase in crime rates, not just in property crimes like theft but also in violent crimes. This inference has a precedent. Findings from the United States of America and the European Union have revealed that inequality is directly proportional to crime rates. The causal factors are illuminating. Researchers at the Institute of Criminology in Israel found that inequality leads to social dissociation and loss of empathy, dulling the immoral edge of crime and, at times, even making people perceive criminal activity as a utility. These findings align with sociological constructs like the strain theory, which suggests that when people feel deprived of legitimate ways to achieve their goals, they might turn to crime. While presenting a revealing aspect of criminality, these findings can, however, add fuel to the existing prejudiced notion that the poor are more likely to resort to crimes. Law-keepers are prone to such speculations. When, in fact, data show that India has registered an 80% rise in white-collar crimes in recent years as well as a staggering escalation in bank frauds with the amount involved increasing by 194% to Rs 36,014 crore in the year ending March 2025 compared to the previous year. It is also telling that the Indian Statistical Institute found that white- collar crimes, such as bank and tax frauds, serve to widen the economic chasm in the country. In essence, while inequality breeds crime, crime also breeds inequality.
The IIT Kharagpur study also suggested that a significant way of tackling crime rates should involve strategies tailored to reducing economic disparities within cities, like promoting more uniform development and ensuring equal access to education and resources. This would, however, address only one aspect of the problem. A recent study published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics proposes a more balanced solution — it found that State welfare measures like unemployment benefits, childcare and a leak-proof public distribution system, coupled with redistributive policies like a wealth tax, could potentially bring down both economic inequality and crime rates. An equal city would thus be a safer city.