 ARGUMENT  SIDE EFFECTS  THE BOGEYMAN OF THE NEOLIBERAL STATE  WHAT EXACTLY IS POVERTY?  WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF POVERTY?

 ON CRIME PERPETRATION  ON CRIME VICTIMIZATION  ON THE PRODUCTION OF DISABILITY  ON PROCESSING BY THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

 MAIN ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY › LABOUR MARKET › PUBLIC SERVICES › INCOME SUPPORT › COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

 ADVOCACY FOR POPULATION-WIDE POVERTY REDUCTION IS A GOOD STRATEGY (WITH MEASURES TO INSURE INCLUSIVENESS)TO: › PREVENT CRIME PERPETRATION BY AND VICTIMIZATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, INCLUDING INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, BECAUSE:  POVERTY RATES ARE MUCH HIGHER AMONG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES THAN AMONG THE GENERAL POPULATION  POVERTY IS A SIGNIFICANT DRIVER OF CRIME PERPETRATION THROUGH SEVERAL PATHWAYS  POVERTY IS A SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF VULNERABILITY TO CRIME VICTIMIZATION

 IMPROVED HEALTH STATUS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES  IMPROVED EDUCATION AND TRAINING OUTCOMES  DECREASED INCIDENCE OF DISABILITY

 EVERYBODY THINKS THEY KNOW WHAT POVERTY IS, BUT FEW CAN DEFINE IT (SIMILAR TO HAPPINESS)  MADE MORE DIFFICULT BECAUSE CANADA HAS NO OFFICIAL POVERTY LINE  DEFINITIONS MATTER: WHAT YOU THINK (HEAD) AND FEEL (HEART) POVERTY IS HAS A LOT TO DO WITH HOW YOU RESPOND TO IT

 QUESTION “WHAT ARE THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS THAT DEFINE THE PHENOMENON CALLED “POVERTY”.  INSTRUCTIONS › REFLECT ON THIS FOR 3 MINUTES › WRITE DOWN TWO SHORT PHRASES › GO AROUND THE TABLE TWICE SHARING YOUR IDEAS › DISCUSS FOR FIVE MINUTES AND CHOSE THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT

 STANDARD OF LIVING AT BOTTOM OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS HIERARCHY › INCOME › EDUCATION › OCCUPATION › LOCATION  ABSOLUTE › PHYSICAL SUBSISTENCE › NO REFERENCE TO SOCIAL AND CULTURAL NEEDS › EXPERT STANDARDS › MARKET BASKET MEASURE

 GOALS OF: › SOCIAL ROLE PERFORMANCE › PARTICIPATION IN SOCIALLY SANCTIONED RELATIONSHIPS AND ACTIVITIES › ADHERENCE TO CULTURALLY SANCTIONED EXPECTATIONS  POSITION IN INCOME DISTRIBUTION  LOW INCOME MEASURE – LESS THAN ONE HALF OF MEDIAN INCOME FOR HOUSEHOLD SIZE

 FOR HOUSEHOLD SIZE OF FOUR PERSONS  AFTER TAX (DISPOSABLE)  2012

 FOR HOUSEHOLD SIZE OF ONE PERSON  AFTER TAX (DISPOSABLE)  2012  $20,784

 RECENT DATA ARE LIKELY INVALID  LIKELY DUE TO SAMPLING BIAS IN VOLUNTARY NATIONAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY- PARENT SURVEY OF CANADIAN SURVEY ON DISABILITY  UNLIKE ANY OTHER DATA REPORTED SLIGHTLY LOWER RATES OF VERY LOW INCOME (UNDER $5,000) FOR DISABLED (7.0%) OVER NON-DISABLED(10.2%) Statistics Canada. Table Total income for adults with and without disabilities, by age group and sex, Canada, provinces and territories, CANSIM

 IN 2005 CANADIAN WITH DISABILITIES HAD AN AVERAGE INCOME OF $33,600 ; ALMOST 10% LOWER THAN NON- DISABLED CANADIANS ($37,200).  IN % OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES HAD EARNINGS BELOW $5,000, COMPARED WITH 12.4% OF PEOPLE WITHOUT DISABILITIES.  SOURCE: COLLIN, C. AND JENSEN, H. (2009). A STATISTICAL PROFILE OF POVERTY IN CANADA. OTTAWA. ON: LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT, PARLIAMENTARY INFORMATION AND RESEARCH SERVICE

 POVERTY HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO BE A SIGNIFICANT DETERMINANT OF PERPETRATION OF CRIME; BUT THE RELATIONSHIP IS INDIRECT, OPERATING THROUGH SEVERAL PATHWAYS: › CONFLICTUAL AND STRESSFUL FAMILY ENVIRONMENTS › SOCIAL EXCLUSION FROM ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURES › RESIDENCE IN SOCIALLY DEPRIVED DISORGANIZED NEIGHBOURHOODS RELATIONSHIP IS STRONGEST FOR VIOLENT CRIME

 RESEARCH HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT POVERTY INCREASES VULNERABILITY TO VICTIMIZATION THROUGH: › OVER-REPRESENTATION IN DEPRIVED HIGH CRIME NEIGHBOURHOODS › OVER-REPRESENTATION OF FAMILIES WITH HIGH LEVELS OF STRESS AND CONFLICT IN WHICH VIOLENCE IS MORE LIKELY TO OCCUR › MARGINALITY RESULTING IN LACK OF PROTECTIVE RESOURCES › OVER-REPRESENTATION IN SOCIALLY DISORGANIZED NEIGHBOURHOODS WITH LIMITED SOCIAL SUPPORT › STIGMATIZATION AND LOW POSITION IN STATUS HIERARCHY

 POOR PERPETRATORS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE DETECTED  WHERE THERE IS SPACE FOR POLICE AND PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION THE POOR ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE CHARGED  POOR ARE LESS LIKELY TO BE DIVERTED TO NON-JUDICIAL REMEDIES  POOR ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE HELD IN CUSTODY AWAITING TRIAL  POOR HAVE LESS ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY LEGAL REPRESENTATION  POOR ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE CONVICTED  POVERTY IS ASSOCIATED WITH MORE SEVERE SENTENCES, INCLUDING LONGER INCARCERATION

 RESEARCH HAS ESTABLISHED POVERTY AS A CAUSAL FACTOR IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY MEDIATED THROUGH A RANGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK FACTORS  IN THE U.S. IT HAS BEEN ESTIMATED THAT ELIMINATION OF CHILD POVERTY WOULD PREVENT 10% OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY.  SOURCE: Emerson, E. (2007). Poverty and people with intellectual disabilities. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 13(2),

 LABOUR MARKET POLICY › ADEQUATE MINIMUM WAGES › CREATION OF WELL-PAYING JOBS › ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND TRAINING › ACCESS TO WORK PLACE DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS

 ADEQUATE INCOME SUPPORT AND SUPPLEMENTATION PROGRAMS  GOOD PUBLIC SERVICES › PUBLIC, SOCIAL AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING › DEVELOPMENTAL CHILD CARE › ACCESSIBLE HEALTH CARE, INCLUDING PHARMACARE › ADEQUATE ACCESS TO LEGAL AID  COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO DECREASE BOTH MATERIAL AND SOCIAL DEPRIVATION OF NEIGHBOURHOODS WHERE POOR ARE OVER- REPRESENTED