Order Maintenance Crime 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.

For years, gang crime has been loathed by society, as society has perceived it to threaten the well-being of its members. In addition to the fear of gang violence, concerns have been raised of gangs polluting youth; hence, policing strategies have emerged more increasingly in an attempt to put an end to the delinquency. Nevertheless, for society the causation of gang crime has been discussed to a lesser extent; thus, the objective of this essay will be to depict a viable explanation of gang crime through the use of two criminological theories. To accomplish the task at hand; I shall, define gang crime, provide a description of social disorganization theory, illustrate how the application of social disorganization theory provides an explanation of gang crime, describe differential opportunity theory, demonstrate how differential opportunity theory can explain gang crime, and exemplify as to which theory provides a superior explanation of gang crime. In the end, it will be clear that social disorganization theory is a superior explanation of gang crime in comparison to differential opportunity theory, due to its ability to deliver a more enhanced explanation than the one that is provided by differential opportunity theory.

According to Rachel Boba, “Crime analysis is a law enforcement function that involves systematic analysis for identifying and analyzing patterns and trends in crime and disorder” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime analysis).The information on these patterns can assist law enforcement agencies in the deployment of resources in a more effective manner; it can also help detectives to identify and catch suspects. Crime analysis also plays a role in improvising solutions to crime problems, and developing crime prevention strategies. There are various types of technology that is used in crime analysis. Crime analysis relies heavily on computer technology, and over the past fifteen years there has been a significant improvement in computer hardware and

Social Strain Theory and criminal offending are seen by most theorist as a way of understanding what could be the causes of youth committing crimes. Theorist are very concern if social strain theory really does have the answer to why this is happening, but they also believe that the result may be inconclusive, because of all the different variables and independent variables that could be used in their research. We will take a look at this theory, and see if they and ask our participants from the state of Georgia inner-city neighborhoods a few question that they will supply their own answer to, and then ask them an open-ending question face to face and ask them to choose the answer that best state why they might commit a crime or not. If we are able to understand the results then we hope we can implement it into policy. And by incorporating it into policy, then we might be able to design a strategy that will help LEOs or other agencies to reduce youth offending, deter criminal acts and future crimes. Lastly, so with the implementation of social strain theory into the policy and the evaluation of the data, discussion and the questions we can create a foundation for further research studies to build on our results.

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.

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,

Broken windows, order-maintenance, quality-of-life policing are all ideas that are fast becoming conventional ways to control crime. Social scientists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling are convinced their idea of “broken windows” policing shows a connection between street disorder and serious crime. They believe by police cracking down on any behavior they consider to be disorderly shows the people in the community that law enforcement is watching them and deters criminal behavior from occurring. University of Arizona law professor, Bernard E. Harcourt, argues that the broken-windows theory does not prove that disorder causes crime. In fact, aggressive over-policing has created more problems than it solves. Problems such as a strained criminal justice system, burdening impoverished people with fines for minor offenses, and abuse of power between police and the

The focus of this theory is on the association between social control, the neighborhood structure, and crime (Kubrin & Weitzer, 2003). Social disorganization is the incapability of the community to solve significant problems and achieve common goals. The theory posits that residential mobility, poverty, ethnic heterogeneity, and weak social networks decrease the ability of the neighborhood to manage the behavior of people and hence the likelihood of crime is increased (Kubrin & Weitzer, 2003). Therefore, the social and physical environments of neighborhoods can increase the chances robbery. Factors such as unemployment, vandalized buildings, and poverty can thus be used to explain the occurrence of robbery. When the robbery rates have increased in a neighborhood, an examination of the social and physical environment can yield answers to robbery patterns.

Crime is defined by the Oxford dictionary as ‘an action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law.’ (Dictionary, 2015) Whereas deviance is failing to conform to the expectations held by society without necessarily breaking any laws. Criminal behaviour differs to deviant behaviour as a person can be deviant without committing a crime and vice versa, a person can be criminal without being deviant. For example, speeding is a criminal offense but is not considered abnormal or deviant behaviour as it is committed by the majority of people in society at some point. Likewise, if a man dresses as a woman in public they are considered to be deviating from society but are not breaking any laws and therefore are not criminal. This means that behaviour can be legal, without necessarily being acceptable in society. However, what is considered acceptable in society can change overtime as well as the removal and creation of certain laws. For example, over 50 years ago, homosexuality would have been stigmatised as well as illegal whereas nowadays it is legal and perfectly accepted by the majority in society although some homophobia does still exists. Social order is ‘the totality of structured human interrelationships in a society or a part of it.’ (Webster, 2015) These are the expectations of norms held by society that pressure people to behave in a certain way which keeps the peace within

Social disorganization theory has mostly been used to explain crime in urban areas. Roh (2008) wanted to see if this theory can be used to explain crime in suburban areas. This study hypothesizes that suburban areas will be the same as urban areas when it comes to crime indicators. The indicators tested in this theory are poverty, heterogeneity, residential mobility and family disruption. In this study, they used calls to the police by citizens as their measure of crime. They analyzed the calls for service of four different cities in Texas that were broken up into 55 separate block groups. Poverty, heterogeneity, and family disruption all had a positive correlation with the amount of crime in these suburban blocks. Poverty had the strongest correlation. Residential mobility was the only factor that did not correctly predict crime. Their findings, except for their results on residential mobility, support the social disorganization theory’s assumptions.

When crime occurs we often see that it is analyzed in a microscopic point of view. The emphasis is on the “characteristics, environments, and motivations of individuals who commit criminal acts” (Akers 166). The analysis is then compared with individuals who do not commit crime. However, social disorganization theory serves to look at those differences in our communities with high and low crime rates. Some factors such as poverty hold a potential risk for higher crime rate.

Social this organization to result in violent Behavior. William Wilson study shows this particularly among African Americans in the Inner City. Wilson believed the concentration of poverty is the key to understanding social disorganization within the sectors of large urban areas. 38% of extremely poor African Americans live in the worst inner city neighborhoods. This compares to 7% of extremely poor white people in the US. These neighborhoods are dilapidated areas characterized by high unemployment. They have few opportunities for job training or unemployment. This causes a sense of fatalism to hang in the air. And living for the moment becomes common and intensified. Minor misunderstandings may

The episode “Tango” in the television show “Law and Order” tells a story of an investigation regarding a murder of a teenage girl, including the arrest and prosecution of two different offenders within the criminal justice system. The story line and the characters embody different assumptions and values within their roles and the crime. There are many different restorative assumptions and values that are could have played a vital role in healing and resolution, but were unfortunately missing from the storyline. The portrayal of the criminal justice system that is represented in “Tango” does have an impact on viewer’s faith and perspective of the system and its effectiveness. These arguments are active in an analysis of the “Law and Order” episode “Tango” through a restorative justice lens.

This theory also focuses on the variables of physical, economic, and population status. Physical status consists of population changes, which Shaw and McKay found to correlate with an increase in crime. Economic status has to do with the cost of living in the area and the number of families receiving governmental assistance, it was found that as social assistance increased, minor crime also increased. Population status included the finding that households with the highest rates of delinquency were run by foreign born or minority individuals. Yet, an important factor of this theory is that it rejects the factor of race playing a role in crime. It's not necessarily people of one race that are committing crimes, but the people of one community that are, which is usually in the inner circle, or intercity. Another factor of the social disorganization theory is that many individuals with deviant behaviors will pass this behavior down to younger individuals which contributes to juvenile crime. When families can't make ends meet,

Social disorganization theory states that communities that are in disarray are open to crime because social controls become broken down. This leads to a criminal culture becoming prevalent