Over the past twenty years, the prison system has grown and crime has increased dramatically. Since last year, violent crime rates have increased 15% and property crime rates have increased 12%. Police are now present in nearly every public corner, in every school, in every workplace and in every community across the nation, but crime rates continue to rise. The “militarization of the police” in America is doing little to help decrease crime rates and is becoming a major part of American life today (Madar). As a social problem, crime represents a deviation from social norms and is the result of lack of education, unemployment rates, and problems with the legal system. Problems with education begin “early in the academic system” (Vindis). By fourth grade, 31% of students are behind National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) standards, with the trend affecting eighth grade students as well. Without adequate education, people lack the skills needed to enter the adult world, attend college, and obtain well-paying jobs to support themselves and their families, resulting in crime. Neighborhoods and cities with high crime rates also tend to have high school dropout rates, high levels of poverty, and high levels of unemployment. For example, East St. Louis, IL is a city in the United States with high crime rates. The average education level in the United States is five and ten are the most educated. St. Louis's education level is ranked at three; below the national average. It is also among the 15% lowest income communities in America, with 34.6% of children in poverty and a school district with 85.6% of the student body economically disadvantaged. In East St. Louis, vio...... middle of paper .......d. Network. December 10, 2013. Ellis-Christensen, Tricia and O. Wallace. “What are some social problems?” WiseGeek. Conjecture, November 11, 2013. Web. December 10, 2013.Grabmeier, Jeff. “Higher Crime Rate Linked to Low Wages and Unemployment, Study Finds.” Higher crime rate linked to low wages and unemployment, study finds. Ohio State University, April 10, 2002. Web. December 10, 2013."Increasing Educational Productivity." US Department of Education. Ed.gov and Web. December 10, 2013. Madar, Chase. “America's Over-Surveillance.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, December 9, 2013. Web. December 10, 2013. Snyder, Michael. “Crime is getting worse: Violent crime in America increased 15% last year.” Infowars. Infowars.com, 25 October 2013. Web. 08 December 2013.Vindis, Miha. “The Decline of American Education.” House. University of Texas at Austin, July 25, 2012. Web. December 09. 2013.