Hispanics in the United States have experienced the greatest rise in poverty of any minority group during the 1980's. As a result, Hispanics have also experienced an increase in crime in their communities. Many of the Federal Government's opportunity-creating programs in employment, education, and neighborhood development have been abolished or drastically cut back since 1981, even though the best way to fight crime is to provide jobs. Providing funding for job-training programs is a more cost-effective strategy for crime prevention over the long term than is paying $30,000 per year to incarcerate an individual convicted of a crime committed because that individual had no money. (Author abstract modified)