Crime and poverty have been problems and subjects of social discussion for as long as civilization has been in existence. Even today, society still struggles with the question of how to fix and reduce both of these problems. As the decades go by and more and more statistics are collected, we can see a pattern of poverty and crime rates. What many hope to see in these graphs and statistics is a reduction of both poverty and crime. Every year billions of dollars are spent on fighting crime and helping those who find their selves struggling through poverty. Will the effort spent on reducing crime through better security make the impact on criminal activity we hope it does, or should we work on bringing those who commit crimes to a higher standard of living? Many would argue that the two are linked together and that poverty is the number one promoter and cause of criminal activity, and that adults and children who grow up living in poverty are more likely to be apart of this criminal activity. Should the government spent more money on fighting crime, or more on those who live in poverty and that are more likely to commit the crimes? The answer to that is simple; we should spend more on bringing those in poverty, out of it. Facts have shown that adults and children who live and are raised in poverty stricken areas are more likely to commit crime. As poverty levels fluctuate throughout history, so do crime levels. There are many aspects that come into play for those living in poverty, and many of these are the reasons that push those living in poverty to commit crimes. Some of the aspects of people who commit crimes are related to the neighborhood they live in, their education, and family life. Children who are raised in poverty-stricken areas are deprived of many basic skills and emotional support that keep people from taking the path to becoming a criminal.