How Does Group Dynamics Play A Major Part In Criminal Behavior

The Social Disorganization theory was developed by two sociologists, Shaw, and McKay who were associated with the University of Chicago. The purpose of the Social Disorganization theory is to understand the crime rates based on different levels of ecological communities. According to this approach, crime rates vary through the structural and cultural factors across different communities. The Social Disorganization theory goes far beyond the classical and positivist criminology theories. Instead, it is mutually independent and it links to the aspects of the social structure theory.

In my opinion, The Social Process theory seems to best describe why people commit crimes. The major premise is that people learn to commit crime from exposure to antisocial definitions. In other words, it is believed that rather than being a product of their environment or social structure they are shaped by interactions with social institutions, social groups, and family. The following three reasons, I believe will justify my position.

Social control theory and life course theory focus on people’s lives and how they interact with one another.

Criminologists are scientists who study crime. In order to do this they attempt to use the scientific method whenever possible. In the scientific method an individual first puts through a hypothesis to explain why something happens or even why something is. In the case of criminology the main question being asked is “why does crime occur?”, but some theories also attempt to answer another equally interesting question “if being a criminal is the easy choice, why are so many people law abiding?” in order to understand criminal behavior. In order for a hypothesis to be moved forward into the category of a theory it must first be tested, and those tests must be able to be reconfirmed. In the case of criminology most of this testing is

In the television show “Power”, organized crime is the most prevalent form of crime displayed. Organized crime can be defined as a methodically unlawful activity for profit on a city-wide. interstate and worldwide scale. The act of engaging in criminal activity as a structured assembly is called racketeering in the United States. The premise of this project is to research social disorganization theory as it pertains to the television series “Power”. “Power” catalogs the life of James St. Patrick, who is also known as “Ghost”. Ghost has become a powerful figure in New York City’s biggest drug network. The series follows Ghost as he struggles with living a double life and his quest for legitimate business ventures. As Ghost gets closer to legitimacy, a string of violent crimes began to take place within and around his network. My research will incorporate the first two episodes of the first season. This paper will present an analysis of organized crime from a sociological standpoint and uncover that social disorganization creates a need for organized crime i.e drug networks and street gangs which increases the occurrence of violent crime and other social disparities . I will investigate the relationship between the presence of organized crime and social disparities n a disorganized society in my analysis of “Power”.

Our society is at the will of two fundamental forces: deviant behavior and social control. Behaviors that are not deemed as socially acceptable, or that do not fall in line with what society calls “normal”, are deviant. Social control aims to influence people’s behaviors and is a means of moderating, as well as preventing deviance. The two forms of social control are informal and formal social control. The former consists of “self-control” and “relational controls” (Owen, Fradella, Burke, & Joplin, 2012, p. 103) while the latter uses governmental resources to deter deviance in its citizens. In my opinion, informal social control is a better deterrent of criminal behavior since your own will and how you are raised can be the greatest forces driving a person to live a good life or choose to start one.

Social Disorganization Theory implies that the crime and deviance are rooted within societal structures that lack shared values, local community involvement and an organized structure of addressing and resolving issues within the social structure. The theory initially compared Social disorganization theory, or more specifically, a problematic societal structure to a diseased organism that was contrary to overall functioning within societal norms. The theory asserts that racial diversity, inequalities, housing instability, increased transition and economic opportunities, among other factors in social disorganization will increase the probability of crime in these social structures. Supportive principles within social disorganization include cultural transmission, which theorizes that deviance and criminality is inherently transmitted to the next generation. Criminology of place, which asserts that factors, such as hotspots, geographic location, defensible spaces (including the broken window thesis) and close proximity cohabitation increases deviant behavior.

Criminology is a science that gathers and analyzes data on various aspects of crime and criminal behavior (Walsh & Hemmens 2014). The scientific method often used in criminology, allows theories to be developed that relate to crime. These theories about crime are intended to explain certain crime facts. A theory is a set of logically connected prepositions explaining and predicting a phenomena (Walsh & Hemmens 2014). A number of hypotheses can be derived and tested using a developed theory. Thus, these hypotheses can be tested in the criminal justice system. In criminology, examining why people commit crime is very important so that crime can be prevented. Many theories have developed from criminologists that seek to answer questions concerning crime. Often times, the victim of a crime wants to know the reason behind the criminal act. However, it takes many years of analyzing data to develop these theories. One of the theories that has developed is the labelling theory. This essay will contrast the labelling theory, and will show its strengths and weaknesses using various case-studies.

Social Disorganization Theory emphasizes the concern of low income neighborhoods and the crime rates within those areas. It concludes that individuals from these poorer areas are more likely to engage in criminal activity therefore the said area will have a higher crime rate. The article, Social disorganizations and crime rates in U.S. central cities: Toward an explanation of urban economic change by Joong-Hwan Oh, explains how certain areas in society are linked to crime by analyzing crime rates in central cities depending on the urban economy. Joong-Hwan Oh brings to light the importance of urban economic change in central city social disorganization and crime rates in those areas. The purpose of this study is to discuss the changes in

Understanding why crime occurs requires a special desire to put together the puzzle of the human mind. Behavior can not be determined by one factor, but influenced by a party of many factors. Scholars have argued that not all individual differences are completely represented in criminal populations. For example, individuals who are impulsive, daring, and aggressive are found to be more indulging in criminal populations than individuals who delay gratification, are cautious, and are sensitive to the needs and wants of others. Criminology refuses to acknowledge the relationship between personality and crime are connected. This omission lies

Crime is a social construct because it is an idea that is established by a society to control the behaviors of the people within the society (“Radical Concept of Crime”). What is considered to be criminal varies within different area and cultures and even time. Things that were legal two hundred years ago are illegal now. For example, in the 18th and 19th century when slavery was allowed in America, there were a lot of people who saw nothing wrong with it because they had been socialized to accept and justify it. If you ask most Americans now about slavery, they would say that it was a tragedy or that they just cannot understand how it happened. This is because we are now being socialized to think of slavery as wrong. Even though many citizens

In “Code of the Streets,” Elijah Anderson talks about influenced crime in urban neighborhoods by social institution. Some Social Institutions that stood out to me were about families, peers, and the justice system. These social institutions affect everyone in society and needs to be addressed before things get out of line.

Mr. Reploge, I agree with your point of view. Criminal behavior is a learned behavior, not inherited. Gabriel Tarde challenged the concept of the born criminal developed by Cesare Lombroso. He believed that one becomes a criminal through their environment, not birth. Group dynamics validate this theory. The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision-making and criminal behaviors. It allows the principle of differential association to be examined through the rule of law.

Crimes are offensive acts committed by individuals or organizations that are unlawful and punishable in accordance to a state’s laws (Gehring, 2017). Acts of crime in most countries around the world including the United States have caused more injuries, loss of property, and death as compared to a collection of other events such as natural disasters. The social disorganization theory is a notable example of concept that explains why different places experience different levels and cases of crime. This essay will explore the theory’s tenets, summarize an empirical test that supports it, and identify its various strengths and weaknesses. It will also describe the assumed notions of the policy behind the theory.

The area of research is on the factors that cause and propagate the current social group dynamic trends that are prevalent within the United States International University Nairobi campus ( hereby referred to as USIU).