Crime in Asbury Park: Social Determinants, Community Impact, and Interventions
Introduction
Asbury Park, New Jersey, is a small seaside city with a diverse community. While the number of residents is relatively low, it is essential to highlight the diversity and the specific characteristics linked to the said demographic. The zip code 07712 is in Monmouth County, New Jersey, where Asbury Park is located. The seaside city has a population of over 15,000 individuals and is located on the east coast of New Jersey along the Atlantic Ocean.
The community borders other Monmouth County cities, such as Interlaken and Loch Arbour (The City of Asbury Park, 2018). The description of the community highlights a small population in a favorable geographical location. Nonetheless, several characteristics correlating with the existing resources that are accessible to individuals can be highlighted to exemplify the presence of social determinants that negatively impact health.
Problem Statement
This paper will examine the problem of high crime rates that affect the community and how certain social determinants contribute to high crime rates. Relevant statistics highlight that, while violent crime is becoming less prevalent compared to past years, the crime rate in Asbury Park, New Jersey, remains 1.9 times greater than the U.S. average (Crime rate in Asbury Park, 2020). Moreover, the same source highlights that there has been a 3% increase in criminal activities in the regions over the past years. Statistics also highlight that in 2018, there were more than 19 murders, 63 rapes, and 343 robberies per 100,000 individuals within the community (Crime rate in Asbury Park, 2020). All the variables are, indeed, higher than the national average, highlighting the presence of a problem.
Impact of Crime on a Community
Increased crime within the community can have a devastating impact on the population in regard to safety, well-being, and quality of life. There are a variety of ways in which crime can impact a community. Residents face the consequences of living in a dangerous area. They are less likely to report satisfaction with their living situations, confidence in the safety of their children, and desire to continue positively impacting the area by opening businesses or investing in existing ones.
Furthermore, both monetary and well-being damages follow certain crimes (Pak & Gannon, 2022). As a result, the Asbury community faces financial issues in other sectors when security is the main focus of budget investments. Both the economic and health outcomes are also faced by the healthcare system in the area. Fear and anxiety may be one of the most devastating impacts of the increased crime rate in society. When violence and unlawful behavior occur in a community, residents may feel anxious and fearful, particularly if they or someone they know has been a victim (Spencer & Liu, 2018).
Another negative impact of crime in a community is decreased property values. High rates of criminal activity can negatively affect the prices of real estate. Potential homebuyers and businesses may be deterred from moving into the area, leading to a decline in economic activity (Ceccato & Wilhelmsson, 2019). Most investors and buyers of property may fear investing their resources in such areas. Thus, crime can have a significant economic impact on a community since it scares away potential. It can result in increased law enforcement costs, loss of revenue from decreased property values, and decreased economic activity due to businesses leaving the area.
Crime can have health consequences for both victims and the community as a whole. Reports illustrate that residents of dangerous areas are at risk for depression and Post-traumatic stress disorder (Weisburd et al., 2018). Victims of crime may experience both physical and psychological trauma, while the fear and anxiety generated by crime can lead to chronic stress and other negative health outcomes. Crime also contributes to unemployment, which creates more financial burdens and harms the community in the long run (Imran et al., 2018). These factors make it especially important to tackle the issue of the high crime rate.
No research has been conducted on the assessment of the Asbury residents in particular. However, several studies can be applied to this demographic, as no evidence shows that the impact of crime is different based on the population and its characteristics. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that high-crime neighborhoods are more likely to have residents who experience negative health outcomes such as cancer, stroke, and mental disorders (2023). Thus, in turn, it reduces both the quality of life and its expectancy.
Moreover, links between gun violence and overall feelings of insecurity have been made with physical activity, and individuals are less likely to opt for outdoor activities in the area. Furthermore, the same resource highlights that crime disproportionately affects racial minorities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023). Based on the fact that the Asbury community is diverse, it is certain that a large portion of the population will be directly or indirectly affected by the said phenomenon.
Social Determinants of Health
As highlighted previously, Asbury Park is a relatively small city with a low population. According to the Census, it consists of a little more than 15,000 individuals (United States Census Bureau, 2023). However, this does not imply that the people who live in the area are not diverse. The community is diverse and has a wide range of socioeconomic status, educational level, race, and ethnicity. The largest race groups in the community are whites (43,4%), African Americans (37,5%), and Hispanics (19.7 %) (United States Census Bureau, 2023). The socioeconomic status and educational level in the community vary as well.
Certain social determinants of health contribute to a high crime rate in the community. In general, these social determinants that can lead to crime are socioeconomic status, employment, education, housing, and the environment. In terms of socioeconomic status, people living in poverty struggle to meet their basic needs; thus, they are more likely to be involved in illegal activities. High unemployment creates financial insecurity, which also pushes people into committing crimes.
Poor housing conditions, homelessness, and living in unsafe areas are important factors as well. Lack of education and a high percentage of school dropouts contribute to unemployment and poverty, which eventually leads to more crime. Finally, the environment in the area can create the conditions for a high crime rate. In Asbury, the most important social determinants of health that contribute to crime are socioeconomic status, education, and housing stability.
Socioeconomic Status
The socioeconomic status of Asbury Park is one of the most important SDOHs that creates a high crime rate. Almost 17% of the families in the area live in poverty (New Jersey Demographics, 2021). Moreover, the same source reported that the median household income is lower than the U.S. average. Specifically, it is highlighted that it is close to $50,000, while the national average is higher than $70,000 (New Jersey Demographics, 2021).
Socioeconomic status is one of the determining factors when it comes to a community’s crime rate. The poverty rate, in particular, creates a predisposition for this. High poverty rates contribute to crime in various ways. On the one hand, they create inequality, which limits access to opportunities and results in individuals with a lack of other skills resorting to crime (Imran et al., 2018).
It is known that Asbury has one of the highest income inequality levels in New Jersey (Cervenka). This leads to high crime in the community. One more way in which socioeconomic status contributes to crime is through social exclusion: high poverty rates lead to high marginalization (Imran et al., 2018). Marginalized individuals feel disconnected and frustrated, which can manifest in criminal behavior. Asbury experiences a high level of gentrification, which leads to social exclusion and crime occurrences (Raia-Hawrylak, 2014).
Finally, poverty can lead to a lack of resources, such as healthcare, social services, and others. Because of this, many issues, such as mental health issues, remain unaddressed, which contributes to criminal behavior (Imran et al., 2018). Only 55% of households in Asbury have medical insurance, which can indirectly cause a high crime rate.
Education
Education also directly or indirectly impacts crime rates, as they tend to increase in areas where individuals are less likely to graduate from an academic institution. Without education, individuals do not acquire the knowledge and skills necessary for well-paid jobs (Lochner, 2020). Secondly, a lack of quality education leads to individuals not acquiring critical thinking skills. Such individuals, including criminal ones, are less likely to be critical of their actions (Lochner, 2020). Thirdly, education provides individuals with an understanding of the consequences of their actions.
Thus, the lack of this knowledge promotes crime (Lochner, 2020). In Asbury Park, the two elements, lack of education and crime, are interconnected based on relevant statistics. More than 26% of residents have less than a high school diploma, and the dropout rate is 12% (Asbury Park, New Jersey Education Data, 2022).
Housing Stability
The safety of the community depends on housing stability. For example, individuals with stable housing will be more willing to invest in their communities, whereas in unsafe neighborhoods, the opposite will take place (Tillyer & Walter, 2018). This will result in increased crime rates.
Homelessness is a major factor contributing to crime rates as well, as individuals without stable housing feel pushed to resort to crime in order to survive (Tillyer & Walter, 2018). Due to the gentrification taking place in Asbury, a lot of people are being forced out of their houses and are subject to homelessness (Raia-Hawrylak, 2014). The people who are left without housing feel forced to resort to crime in these conditions.
Evidence-Based Intervention
The statistics provided previously concerning the high crime rate, as well as the overall effects on the population highlighted by researchers, emphasize the importance of an evidence-based intervention that would ameliorate the circumstances. One element that can be addressed through a nursing community intervention is the early recognition of psychological needs and their management. Said approach has, indeed, been efficiently employed and successfully applied in practice (Aass et al., 2021).
Mental health nurses specifically have a positive impact on the individuals who participate in interventions correlating with improving psychological well-being (Abma et al., 2019; Dickens et al., 2019). Namely, a well-being program can be implemented that would allow the community to grow closer and receive psychological help, both from the perspective of feelings of unsafety as well as directly for victims and families of said victims of crimes (VanderWeele, 2019). An example of an evidence-based program that provides this kind of psychological help is the Victim Assistance Program run by the Office for Victims of Crime (Help for Victims). Conducting such a practice in a small city has advantages since the population size does not exceed the largest studies in this area (Abma et al., 2019).
High crime rates have paved the way for multi-criteria studies and the adaptation of evidence-based practices. Therefore, it is necessary to expand interaction with victims to improve the community’s state (VanderWeele, 2019). A mental health intervention would not only positively affect survivors but also prevent crimes in the future if a person is prone to engaging in unlawful activity due to their socioeconomic characteristics. An example of a program that proved successful is Community Care Coordination (Community Care Coordination (CCC) overview). This program empowers nurses to address the needs of communities, including mental health needs.
Another aspect of the community program is an informational campaign in schools. Violence is certainly an issue that can only be addressed through the implementation of policies in various sectors, including education, healthcare, and justice. Thus, educating young children on the negative outcomes of crimes can be a portion of the nursing community intervention if violence is discussed from a health perspective (Jackson et al., 2019).
Similarly, workshops can be organized to discuss issues related to the social determinants. A nursing intervention, however, is to be accompanied by a more in-depth approach that could include other socioeconomic measures (Yousefi Nooraie et al., 2020). As highlighted previously, low-income areas, such as Asbury, are prone to crimes. Solving the poverty problem by creating more opportunities would improve the overall environment. This includes educational programs for vulnerable children, social initiatives for families with low income, and more inclusive workplaces (Weisburd & Braga, 2018). Implementing these programs contributes to the development of the community.
Conclusion
In conclusion, crime can have a wide-ranging impact on a community, affecting everything from safety and property values to social cohesion and economic activity. Asbury Park is an example of a community in which the crime rate is higher than the national average. Additionally, other social determinants, such as education, the environment, and socioeconomic status, are similarly low. Namely, a large proportion of the population does not have a high school diploma, lives in poverty, and reports living in an unsafe environment. Addressing crime and its underlying causes is essential to promoting a safe and healthy community.
However, it is essential to acknowledge that a nursing intervention that ameliorates health outcomes is not enough to diminish the existing problem. A more complex solution that addresses inequalities, a lack of opportunities, and limited resources is needed. Nonetheless, one step towards a safer community is to implement a program that addresses mental health problems arising due to high crime. Furthermore, educational efforts in schools and the establishment of workshops would generate a communal understanding of the damaging health and well-being effects of being involved in unlawful activities.
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