The Impact of Poverty on Crime in Montgomery County

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

Montgomery County, MD is nationally known to be a wealthy, highly-educated county. Nevertheless, poverty is a persistent issue for the county. Agency observations show that the intersection between poverty and crime is undeniable and the relationship appears across generations. At the request of the Montgomery County Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission, undergraduate students set out to conduct an inter-disciplinary qualitative study to better understand the relationship between multi-generational poverty and crime. Interview data, combined with empirical literature, provided the data used to analyze the challenges the County faces and to make recommendations for action moving forward.

Authors

• Camila Thorpe, University of Maryland

• Andrew Hart, University of Maryland

• ViNiceia Carter, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC)

• Michelle Nyden, University of Maryland Baltimore County

• Wendy Stickle, University of Maryland

• Katherine Morris, University of Maryland Baltimore County