How The Social Structure Affect Social Impact Social Apathy And The Lack Of Delinquent Opportunity Within Their Neighborhood Essay

In this research study, we will be examining The Social Disorganization Theory derived from The Chicago School of criminology. The purpose of this study is to better understand the social and ecological characteristics of those whom reside within this community and the environmental influences that may have contributed to the increased crime rate; which has significantly lead to mass incarceration within the urban community. This research will examine how many environmental characteristics impact the community and the particular disadvantages which lead to the increase in crimes? We will also assess the different legislative factors that theoretically contribute to the growing rate in poverty, which ultimately leads to an increase in the incarceration rates? Lastly, we will further explain the correlation between poverty and crime, and how it contributes to greater disparities within the community. These questions will be answered by focusing on impoverished communities consisting of primarily African Americans and Latinos.

There are No Children Here, by Alex Kotlowitz, tells a story about the family of LaJoe and Paul Rivers. The book focuses on Lafayette and Pharaoh, two of the younger children in the family, and their interactions with each other, the neighborhood, their family, their friends, and the police. Following the family over three years shows the importance of neighborhood factors when it comes to crime. According to Sampson and Groves (1989), social disorganization refers to “the inability of a community structure to realize the common values of its residents and maintain effective social controls”. Many aspects in the book exemplify how neighborhood factors, social controls, and community factors have impacts on crime. The book exemplifies how neighborhood disadvantage can lead to informal social controls, which in turn produces crime. Due to these factors, social disorganization is the best theory to explain the crime that occurs in There are No Children Here.

Social disorganization theory was established by Shaw and Mckay (1942) in their famous work “Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas”. The main argument of the social disorganization theory is that, the place where people live will influence the individual’s behavior, and this may lead them to crimes. More precisely, certain characteristics of the neighborhood/community will strengthen or weaken the informal social control within the community, and this has mediating effect on crimes.

To prevent crime, it is imperative that the law enforcement agencies and scholars examine why people commit crime. A number of theories have emerged and many still continue to be explored in exclusion and in combination to seek the best solutions that can ultimately reduce the types and the levels of crime. One such theory that is still being explored is social disorganization theory. According to this theory people's tendency to take part in criminal activities is largely determined by the neighborhood where they are brought up in especially if conditions favorable to crime and delinquency prevail in such places. When communities becomes incapable of realizing common goals and solve problems that its residents face, there is a high likelihood that its residents will engage in criminal activities (Sampson & Grove, 1989). Some of the problems that are likely to increase incidences of crime in neighborhoods when communities fail to address them are poverty, residential mobility, ethnic heterogeneity, and weak social networks. They decrease a neighborhood's capacity to control the behavior of people in public.

Englewood wasn’t always the number one most violent neighborhood ; it became this way due to unemployment rates and gangs evolving throughout chicago . Which leads to the question of “ To what extent were gangs and unemployment rates responsible for the amount of violence in Englewood “ ? Within this historical investigation , research will be done on the amount of and the type of gangs that are associated within Englewood . Everyday someone dies and every second someone gets shot . It’s very essential to know where the conflict derived from and how ; hence , why this topic is so interesting , in most people’s opinion . Also , this is very important to research because most African Americans live in Englewood . It’s come to a point where everyday could be your last and everything you love can all be gone in the blink of an eye. Also , research will be done on the unemployment rate within the Englewood area .

Social disorganization is a macro-level theory which focuses on the ecological differences of crime and how structural and cultural factors shape the involvement of crime. A person’s residential location is a factor that has the ability to shape the likelihood of involvement in illegal activities. The social disorganization theory looks at how socioeconomic status and the environment affects individuals and motivates them to become a part of a gang. Shaw and McKay link area delinquency to three attributes of the social disorganization theory; economic deprivation, residential instability and race and

So far, both theories are able to explain the crime inequality observed insides neighbourhoods; however, when it comes to explaining the difference in crime rates between neighbourhoods with similarly low levels of poverty, social disorganization theory is not able to fully explain why such difference may occur, as it places a greater focus on the internal dynamics of the neighbourhoods than on the external contingencies (Peterson & Krivo, 2010, p. 92). Based on Table 4.5 of Divergent Social Worlds: Neighborhood Crime and the Racial-Spatial DivideI, minority low-poverty areas have roughly two and a half times more violence than their white counterparts (Peterson & Krivo, 2010, p. 88). Social disorganization theory insists that residential instability (percent of those who owns and percent of those who rent) , population heterogeneity (internal differences, including ethno-racial differences), poverty (percent of those who live in poverty), income, deteriorating neighbourhood, and population loss (percent of those who leave due to deterioration) are mechanisms that leads to the absence of informal social control and increases social disorganization, causing the loss of control over youths who then hang out at spontaneous playgrounds and form gangs with delinquent traditions that get passed down through cultural transmission. If such was the case, then one would expect neighbourhoods with similar and comparable local conditions to have similar average rates of crimes. However,

It is expected, based on social disorganization theory, that census tracts with high concentrations of gang members will also be high in disorganization. As seen in figure 1 this will be established by creating a contour line hot spot of gang member locations and drug violations overlaid on a map showing social disorganization. Social disorganization will be based on low education levels and high unemployment rates, which are generally accepted measurements of disorganized neighborhoods (see Gottfredson, Mcneil & Gottfredson, 1991; Teasdale, Clark & Hinkle, 2012). The map clearly shows that gang members live in

But the highest crime rates were taking place inside the city of Chicago. What they also noticed is that the building structures were significantly different in the higher crime rated areas than the lower crime rated areas. Because the city was going through a change, crime was more prominent to happen in their neighborhoods. So, because of the change, it caused the areas to be socially disorganized. Juvenile delinquency crime in the neighborhood of Chicago caused plenty of disrupting and anger amongst the community.

Those that side with Social Disorganization Theory state that this disparity exists because minorities tend to live in communities that lack organization therefore are likelihood to turn to crime. Studies like those conducted by Clear et al. state that Social Disorganization can be used to explain the overrepresentation of African Americans and Hispanics in the criminal justice system because links have been found between residential mobility and minorities (Clear et al., 2003, p.37) (Rose & Clear, 1998, p.448). Social Disorganization also explains the effect of single parent homes on delinquency stating that as incarceration rates increase chances of moving out of a troublesome neighborhood decreases because more costs are thrown on the shoulders of the single parent out of jail (Clear et al., 2003, 38). Clear et al. also hypothesized that high-incarceration can spread easily which would in turn damage informal social control (1998, p.39) (Rose &Clear, 1998,

Social disorganization theory explains the ecological difference in levels of crime, simply based on cultural and structural factors that influence the social order in a given community. Social disorganization is triggered by poverty, social stability, ethnic heterogeneity, and a few key elements. Although Clifford Shaw and Henry D. McKay (1942), were known for social disorganization theory, in 1947 Edwin Sutherland introduced the notion of a ecological differences in crime that is the result of differential social organization. Despite similar arguments on social organization, Shaw and Mckay argued that the cultural integration explained the ecological variation in crime rates as a result of the negative impact on the community. Also elaborating on structural socioeconomic factors shaping informal control like poverty, heterogeneity, and residential mobility. Later Robert Sampson and Byron Groves (1989), refined the work of Shaw and Mckay by highlighting on the importance of social ties and new measures of social disorganization.

Ruth D. Peterson and Lauren J. Krivo are two researchers who used the National Neighborhood Crime Study to observe the racial-spatial dynamic of violence in neighborhood. The two looked at thirty-six cities in the U.S. and discovered that not only do the economic conditions that are present in these neighborhoods have an effect on the violence that happens in the area but also the proximity to more disadvantaged or racially privileged areas can also have an influence on violence formed in varies neighborhoods of color.

The main assumption of Social Disorganization Theory is the ability to explain why crime committed by lower class communities is more prominent than neighborhoods from communities in better economic areas. This theory is the relationship of the destabilization of urban communities and neighborhoods through Shaw and McKay’s study (Quoted in Siegal, 2010) that used the analysis of Ernest Burgess’s Concentric Zones Model. This model generates ideas that the closer to “zone 2”, individuals in a community have more stress factors

Social Disorganization theory connects crime rates to neighborhood ecological characteristics. Based on the research and according to Osgood and Chambers, social disorganization theory specifies three important variables; residential instability, ethnic Heterogeneity, female-headed households. These three variables are considered to be the most criminogenic.

Although my personal experiences are not involved in gang like activity, or serious deviant behavior, it still resembles the actions children make when they are left unsupervised. These behaviors become so normalized in these inner cities, which people just become accustom to delinquent behavior because it is so embedded within communities. This theories concern is only with how the “characteristics of geographical areas, such as whether they are disorganized, influence crime rates” (Cullen). Although I think that this is an interesting aspect to consider upon looking at crime rates, I do not think it is accurate to study a community without studying the characteristics of those who make up the community as well. Sampson and Wilson argue that social disorganization is linked to racial inequalities rather then it being a natural part of city growth. I think that this is an accurate statement, because racial inequality is what creates such a tremendous divide among communities, and I believe that if racial inequality did not exist, we would not have as much disorganization within communities. It has also been argued that “cultural values emerge that do not