The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, incarcerating 1 in 100 people. With such rates you would expect the United States to have the lowest crime rates in the world, yet crime still exists in the United States. It is undeniable that something is done wrong. The United States is incarcerating the wrong people, or incarcerating individuals for minor crimes and not those who actually commit serious crimes. The United States' high incarceration rates show no progress in decreasing crime, which may be because the solution to ending crime is not to put more people in prison but instead find a way to keep people off the streets , while decreasing poverty and racial discrimination. is the action of committing an illegal act, whether delinquency, kidnapping, murder, or any minor misdemeanor. Sociologists use three theoretical explanations to define why crime occurs. The individual level explanation, the social structure explanation and the interactive explanation (Becken 2013). There are two aspects of explanation at the individual level, the biological and the psychological/psychoanalytic. The biological level uses contemporary neuroscience to explain crime, while the psychoanalytic level uses Freud and personality theories to explain serial killers and abusers. The explanation of social structure is defined by two theories, one that states that society needs crime to define the normal “us” versus “them” to build social cohesion, and the other states that courts and laws they protect the rich and punish the poor to help maintain economic growth (Durheim et al via Becken 2013). Interactive explanations state that people commit crimes because of their community and the opportunity to commit crimes (...... middle of paper ...... oled and belittled. The solution to stopping crime is not simply to increase incarceration rates, there are more important issues that need to be resolved before a solution is found to stop crime. Although crime does not consist exclusively of drugs, drug use and distribution is a major reason why so many people are in prison helping those living in low income neighborhoods stay off the streets, away from bad influences, is critical. As a nation we must find a way to reduce poverty across the country by helping people stay off the streets We can start by providing help to low-income people with equal educational opportunities, programs that help people focus on learning or sports instead of selling drugs on the streets or getting involved in gangs. This way we can start attacking crime at the root.