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That is my point -- policing, prosecution, along with general morality and habits instilled by family and community -- is what matters for crime. The level of material well-being matters much less, if at all, it is rounding error compared to other factors.
Sure, but that is not the same as "District A has income of $10,000 per family, District B has income of $15,000 per family. District B is better-off compared to District A, but District A has a lower crime rate, therefore poverty is not the reason".
If crimes are not being reported in District A, then the true rate is higher. If there are more cops on beat patrol in District A, then there is a disincentive to commit crime. If District A is newly built council housing and District B is an uncleared slum, same. A lot of factors can go into "District A has less crime than District B". Think of the infamous bike cuck cartoon - if people in San Francisco no longer bother reporting bike theft, car break-ins, shoplifting and the like, then simply looking at 'reported rates' or 'arrests made' could lead someone in the future to think "One hundred years ago, San Francisco had less crime than modern Brownville" (if they didn't have access to all the media about how crime is running rampant, etc.)
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