Questions On Crime

This breakdown of organization and culture within a community leads to a lack of informal social control which in turn leads to higher crime rates especially in the juvenile population (Simons, Simons, Burt, Brody, & Cutrona, 2005). Social disorganization theory asserts that strong levels of connection within a community along with a sense of civic pride motivate individuals to take a more active role in the community therefore acting as a deterrent to crime.

The social disorganization theory claims that communities that lack social control or structure have an increased amount of crime. In addition, the theory proposes that the level of income, resident mobility, level of social network and ethnic heterogeneity all have an affect on the amount of crime in an area (Kubrin & Weitzer, 2003). Many studies have been conducted and have supported the theory that the organization and control of a neighborhood has an affect on the level of crime within that neighborhood. However, there are some limitations to the social organization theory in explaining crime. The social disorganization theory fails to look at cultural factors that influence a neighborhood and areas outside the city (Kubrin & Weitzer, 2003). Another limitation to this theory is that it does not explain how a motivated offender turned his wants into actions and committed the crime, but instead looks at the area around an offender (Rice & Smith, 2002). The final limitation that one must look at is that the social disorganization theory does not examine formal controls, but solely relies on informal controls, which can be problematic in the sense that formal controls are the ways authorities enforce laws, which could influence crime (Kubrin & Weitzer,

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

Each one of these issues signaled a breakdown in the social fabric. Which led people in the community more likely to be involved in criminal activity. (Warner, 2003) The social disorganization theory are based on assumptions.

His interest wasn’t so much why someone deviates but why the rates differed dramatically from one society to another. Merton also changed the concept to where there is an apparent lack of fit between cultures norms, about the apparent lack of success and the appropriate goals to achieve them. He believed the United States puts more emphasis on success, and anomie –strain becomes the explanation for high rates of deviant behavior in the U.S. compared with other societies, and also an explanation for the distribution of deviant behavior across groups defined by class, race, and ethnicity. The U.S., in fact, Merton sees as an example of a society in which success goals (often defined primarily in monetary terms) are emphasized for everyone in the culture, and people are criticized for not performing to their best ability.

Some of these theories put the focus on the crime while others focus on the criminal. Some of the major sociological theories include the strain, social learning, control, labeling theory. These theories also differ from one another in several ways that they focus on slightly different features of the social environment, as well as different accounts of why the social environment causes crime. We can

The theories of sociological impact focus on external factors as they relate to crime, conversely, the previously studied theories focused on the internal factors (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). The external factors of crime have been noted as influences, including neighborhood organization, which create delinquency, moreover, criminal actions. These types of theories study the environment surrounding individuals to determine how they may influence crime. The majority of sociological theories share the same beginnings related to the works of Emile Durkheim who argued single individuals were not the cause of crime conversely society created the opportunities, if not incentive, for criminal actions.

The search for causes of crime forms the basis of most criminological studies. There are numerous explanations for crime: psychological, evolutionary, genetical,

There has always been a fascination with trying to determine what causes an individual to become a criminal? Of course a large part of that fascination has to do with the want to reduce crime, and to determine if there is a way to detect and prevent individuals from committing crime. Determining what causes criminality is still not perfectly clear and likewise, there is still debate as to whether crime is caused biologically, environmentally, or socially. Furthermore, the debate is directly correlated to the notion of 'nurture vs nature'. Over time many researchers have presented various theories pertaining to what causes criminal behavior. There are many theories that either support or oppose the concept of crime being biological rather

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.

This essay will attempt to trace the development of the ecological studies of crime found by the Chicago School and how the findings have shaped our understanding of crime in the 21st century. Firstly by introducing the Chicago School theory, also known as the, Theory of Social Disorganisation and the Ecological School Theory.

Criminologists and social researchers focus on the factors that make individuals deviate from groups and society norms relating their criminal conduct. This is because sociologists have advanced theories of social structures in an effort to connection social disorganization and behavior patterns. Stemming from the social structure theory is the popular social disorganization theory, which "contends that a crime happens when the systems of social groups are deliberately weakened. The theory of social disorganization was pioneered Henry W. McKay and Clifford X. Shaw. The two, in their theory, suggest that disorganized groups and communities featured by ethnic heterogeneity, poverty, and residential mobility weaken group stability (Thornberry, 2004).

1. When reviewing these incident summaries, what type of analysis are you performing, tactical, strategic, or administrative, and why?

Many people have different theories as to why crime exists. Some believe crime happens because of the individual’s culture, education (or lack there of), or even their race. Others believe crime is associated with whom we surround ourselves with. There are three sociological theories that suggest why crime happens in society; they are social learning theory, social control theory, and social reaction (labeling) theory. These theories suggest it is our relationships and social interactions that influence our behavior.

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.