Lately, numerous shootings linked to drug trafficking have surfaced in the news. Although the reasons that bring certain people to these environments are diverse, money is often one of the elements that encourages young people to engage in illegality.
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According to police figures, in 2013, 48,452 drug-related incidents were recorded, compared to nearly 59,000 in 2023. This is a fairly significant increase. This is why the police are using more and more resources to fight against trafficking, and many officers work on these cases every day. But overall, the rate of control of this type of activity has increased. “The more drug checks we carry out, for example, the more people in possession of illicit substances will be arrested and therefore the more fines will be issued. An increase in the figures for such crimes therefore does not necessarily mean that there is also, really, an increase in these crimes. The developments are more of an indicator of police activity“, explains the police in a report in 2023.
Money, a motivation?
Many young people, or not so young people, engage in different types of trafficking for economic reasons, but also in order to have a “reputation“in their neighborhood, and”to be respected“. The reasons are multifactorial. Overall, other facts have emerged over the years, in particular, online scams. All this with one goal: to make money.
But does money buy happiness? For some, yes, at least, it contributes to it. This is what emerges from certain figures published by Statbel. “Those who gave 8/10 or higher on overall life satisfaction, financial situation and personal relationships are in the most satisfied group. Just under a quarter of Belgians (23%) find themselves in this situation in the second quarter of 2024. The indicator shows clear differences between social groups. The highest level of general satisfaction is found among the highest income groups (33.7%) and people with high education levels (29.9%). The lowest general satisfaction is found among the unemployed (1.5%) and the long-term sick (4.7%)..”
Different factors can come into play in the desire of some people to do anything to earn money illegally. “There are also the effects of income when things change in their environment. Happiness depends on your income, but also that of the people around you. If you are the only one with a constant income and everyone around you has an increasing income, your happiness takes a hit. People compare themselves very strongly with those around them, their feeling of being satisfied in their life is negatively affected if the people around them become richer than them. This is an important element, which can perhaps encourage people to turn to money that they find easy“, explains François Maniquet, economist, professor at UCLouvain.
