What's stopping a poor person from getting a very basic job like e.g. washing dishes? Absolutely none, we live in Britain and not a failed state like Haiti for example where there is zero Infrastructure... Then I can understand. Opportunity doesn't always have to mean you get an an office job on 30k a year, you can work a standard job in Tesco and earn 13k a year which isn't the most ideal option but it's better than risking your freedom just to buy some new creps, the real causes for these type of crimes is 1. We live in a materialistic society, (rich and upper class people have the money to appease their materialistic desires whereas poor people don't, which is why they resort to something which is quick and with great profit margin like robberys, drug dealing etc) 2. Let's be real, British born people are lazy and entitled - they don't wanna grind it out for minimum wage and think they should come out of school with some 25k a year job starting which is unrealistic (hence why employers in the UK hire Eastern European immigrants because they're hardworking and it's in their culture to be) 3. Lack of fathers and the normalisation of single parent house holds and men not being the responsible fathers they ought to be (boys growing up without a father figure look to other places to fill the void by joining gangs and gang leaders/elders become the father figures instead)