By Eric King-
Prolonged job centre sanctions in the UK are leading to more crime, according to a survey of unemployed people.
Several people sanctioned for missing appointments have admitted turning to crime to make ends meet, the eye of media can reveal. 14 out of 30 people sanctioned admitted indulging in crime following a long sanction by their job centre. The types of crime admitted include credit card fraud, theft, robbery, and drug dealing. Sanctioned unemployed people were open in their admission of their crimes, one unemployed individual stating ” If your back is turned against the wall, you are going to do what you have to do. I am not a regular thief, but when you are giving a 2 month sanction, you have to find a way round it. Stealing perfumes from Boots is the easiest thing for me, because their security there is very lax.So I targeted 4 Boot stores a day in many parts of the country, and was coming out with up to 12 expensive perfumes a day. I would sell each for £20, but compromise to £10 on some days. I end up with at least £400 a week, which is about 6 times my usual weekly income on job seekers. My 2 months is nearly up, but I think I may be addicted to the stealing now”.
The 26 year old man who insisted on anonymity says he has never been caught in the 2 months of his theft practise. ”I keep a good look for the perfect time to strike”, he told the eye of media.com. ”I don’t go in dressed like a tramp, I dress smartly, and polite to anybody or staff who talks to be there”. Another five claimed they had resorted to burgling homes to cope with sanctions imposed against them. One burgler told the eye of media.com ” I used to be a serial burglar, but stopped four years ago. I have returned to it now because of the dumb and lengthy sanction I was given.
” I was sanctioned for 6 weeks just because I was late for an appointment by 6 mins. I target homes where the doors are left open, I am not one of those who break doors or climb into homes and attack people. I like student accomodations because students are usually high or drunk, or upstairs doing their work.They think they are living in a mini paradise environment with only good people around. So, it is in and out with laptops or mobile phones. They often leave their phones on charge and go to other parts of the home”.
This criminal refused to divulge which student residents he has targeted, or the University in question.”That will be telling, he said, but students residents has been one of my best targets, he said with a cheeky smile. ”I also like homes where they leave their window open and go out. It always seems too good to be true, so I first knock on the door to confirm nobody is in before I strike. In those homes I clear whatever I can, from jewellery to laptops, and ofcourse television. Sounds bad, but I have to live”. When asked if he feels no guilt or sympathy for the victims, he replies ” society feels no sympathy for me, so I don’t know what sympathy is. All I know is that I’ve got to live”, he said.
”Those decision makers in job centres must be on crack if they think people like me will go 6 weeks with no money. I have no family to rely on, nobody to ask for money, it is me myself and I, when it comes to my livelihood, he added. Some of those interviewed were in their late teens, and some admitted turning to drug dealing when faced with sanctions. One 19 year old told the eye of media.com ” I turned to drug dealing when I was given one month sanction. The annoying thing is that I was given two sanctions for lateness that happened two months apart. One was in March and the other in May, but they chucked the sanction to me at one go. So, I thought, fxxx it, I’m not gonna bother with this. This is chicken money, I’m gonna go for real money. My sanction is now up , but I’m not going to go back because I am now earning a wage from dealing, which is faster, much faster and better”.
Decision makers in job centres don’t decide sanctions or the period sanctions should last, a spokesperson at Leytonstone job centre told the eye of media.com. We are given guidelines by the government, which we have to abide by. The idea as far as we understand it to ensure that those in receipt of government money play their part in showing they are co-operating with the system set by the government to get people in work, the spokesperson added.
”I can’t comment much about those who opt to go into crime as a result of being sanctions. It is a matter for the police to deal with, all staff do here is do their job” , the spokesperson added. Leytonstone job centre among another five job centres round the UK, is one of the job centre’s being looked at by the eye of media.com. Whether these people are going beyond guidelines set by the government is worth looking at. Unemployed people in receipt of benefit should indeed be sanctioned if they do not demonstrate enough effort to come out of the very restricted lifestyle government income provides. The welfare state provides the minimum level of money necessary for subsistence, but the pay is insufficient for a fulfilling life. Those who want to live a life of fulfilment , or close to it will need to have a full time job or establish a business.
However, it is important that job centre’s are not dishing out sanctions for the most frivolous of reasons. A few minutes of lateness, is deserving of no more than a warning for a first or second offence. The imposition of sanctions must also not be excessive, otherwise it can lead to the sort of crimes people get into. Sanctions cannot justify or excuse criminal behaviour, but the realisation that there are individuals out there who will turn to crime when faced with a long period without money is worth noting. Sanctions should be given out under reasonable circumstances where the unemployed person has been persistently negligent, or failed to show signs of genuine effort in getting a job. Just because someone has been late for an appointment does not merit a full sanction. Their money can be reduced to reflect the level of lateness, but sanctioning a lot of people completely is counterproductive.
Those decision makers should show more empathy and flexibility before imposing long sanctions on people,