Investigating The Behavior Of An Offender Within The Criminal Justice System

This week reading discuss social disorganization and collective efficacy. Higgins (2010) stated that the social disorganization theory where a person live is important in deciding if their is weakness to commit crime. In both text, it stated that social disorganization theory came from the Chicago School's social ecology movement. The theory stated that many factors such as "geography, population movement, and physical environment" and the combination of these factors can cause criminal behavior (Higgins, 2010, p. 30). In explain social disorganization theory, it is broken into zones. The concentric zones explain crime because these are the zones where individuals worked and lived. By having this view it can tell that crime is probably

Frank Schmalleger explains the theory of social disorganization as one that depicts both social change as well as conflict, and lack of any agreement as the origin of its cause for both criminal behavior as well as nonconformity to society and closed associated with the ecological school of criminology (Schmalleger, 2012, p. 152). The philosophy behind the organization and structure of a society and how that contributes to criminal behavior within society is by stressing poverty, economic conditions, lack of education, lack of skills, are not sought-after in the work place, and divergent cultural values. Criminal behavior is the result of the person’s assignment of location within the structure of society.

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.

One theory in criminology that attempts to explain crime is conflict theory. This theory says that crime is rooted in social conditions that favor those who

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.

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

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.

Different theories exist about why people commit crime, as well as, types of political views such as conservative and liberal; each have different opinions on the causes and ways to control crime. I would fall more into the liberal view, because I agree with most theories that involve this type of view. The reasons I think that people commit crime are as follows; type of environment, who they saw as a role model or grew up with, and their economic status. On the other hand, liberal thinkers have their certain believes on why people commit crime and ways we can control crime. There are unending theories on why people commit crimes.

I do believe that environmental and social conditions influence crime. Between all of the factors above, I believe that social factors play one of the biggest roles in crime. Many teenagers and young adults follow the labels that society gives them Where a person is living can also have a big impact on what they do. If they live in a very poor neighborhood, they would feel the need to steal or rob in order to live a good

The social structure theory is a theory that makes use of several assumptions. The first assumption is that the criminal behavior begins during the youth of the perpetrator. The other assumption is that the perpetrator of the crime comes from a disadvantaged class. There must also be a group dynamic where the crime could develop. The other assumption is that there exists a social structure that its degree of organization contributes towards the occurrence of criminal behavior (Hirschi, 2017).

Social disorganization and psychological theories are two of several theories associated with criminology and the attempt to understand the criminal mind. There are numerous components to the social disorganization theory, human ecology, social pathology, social ecology, cultural transmission the environment and the broken window theory (Schmalleger, 2015). Collectively these components define social disorganization theory as social change, conflict and local of social consensus as the cause of criminal deviance (Schmalleger, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to expand upon the social structure theory and the influence it has on the development of a psychopath.

Bursik (1988) states that, “… there persists a notable tendency in sociological theory to attribute the malfunctioning of social structure primarily to those of man’s imperious biological drives which are not adequately restrained by social control (p. 97). The concepts of social structural theory are based on the foundation of strain theory and social disorganization theory. The aspects of society can cause criminality, because of the various circumstances that are preventing opportunities for prosperity. Social structural processes are happening because of the various roots society has created for crime to take place, the various neighborhood effects of crime, and structural barriers that antecedents to crime. Also, individuals go beyond measures to coordinate with society new procedures; however, if that means committing a crime is a result, then all measure will be met.

The theory of Social Disorganization states that a person’s physical and social environment are responsible for the behavior a juvenile chooses. When it comes to predicting crime the highest crime rates have similar problems, poverty, houses in neglect, and culture mixing. The Social Disorganization theory states that a persons’ residential location is more significant that the persons characteristic when predicting criminal activity and the juveniles living in these locations acquire criminality by the cultures approval within the disadvantaged neighborhoods. Therefore, when it comes to criminality location matters according to social disorganization

Social Disorganization theory is one of the most important theories by the school of Chicago, it was found by two sociologists Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay. In their perspective, they believe social disorganization delinquency was caused by nature of the environment rather than individual characteristics. (Rafter brown, 69.) It refers to the lack of ability of local communities to realize the common values of their residents. Furthermore, residents of neighborhoods with high rates of crime and violence feel more vulnerable and threatened and are more likely to be open to stressful life events.

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.