The Social Aspect And Environment

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

Using criminological terms and concepts, focus on a jurisdiction, neighborhood, or geographic locale with which you are familiar. Regarding a human behavior which you select to focus on in that geographical space, write two concise yet comprehensive paragraphs on how social disorganization theory can inform your understanding of behavior and place, and one weakness which would find your understanding somehow lacking, and why. Then write two equally compelling paragraphs on how routine activities theory would foster your understanding, and one weakness which might leave your understanding lacking, and why.

Based on the social disorganization theory; Shaw and McKay account for high crime begins with poverty, low socioeconomic status and the inability to “control the teenage population,” (Sampson, 2016). Shaw and McKay also knew that within the community, delinquency was a trait that was picked-up by and from other delinquents. Furthermore, if the ability to control young

As we look at social disorganization theory we knew that they were using spatial maps to look at the locations of juveniles. As Shaw and McKay, found out that the rates of crime were not evenly spread out across areas of the city, and around the city. Though the theory was that crime was around certain city’s and remained stable within certain areas despite changes in the populations where certain people lived in the community. Though as they showed that areas with high crime rates were high regardless of ethnic group

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.

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.

Neighborhood's ecological conditions shape crime rates over and above the characteristics of individual residents. Communities that have been invaded by businesses and industry cease to function effectively as a means of social control. Their traditional norms and standards eventually weaken and disappear. The community's resistance to

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.

Social Disorganization theory is the most prominent in the film. Shaw and McKay used this theory to describe areas within a society that would be more susceptible to crime. The area that was deemed more likely for criminal activity to occur was the “zone in transition” (Lilly, 2012, p. 40). This zone consisted of “rows of deteriorating tenements” and was considered the “least desirable living area” (Lilly, 2012, p. 39).

The first factor that often leads to juvenile delinquency involves the child’s social influences within their communities. The community of individuals that a child is normally around on a normal basis includes family, friends, and neighbors. Depending on the overall quality of the relationship that the child has with each member of their community, they maybe more or less inclined to commit crimes. According to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, juveniles who experience abuse or neglect from any member of their community may be more inclined to become deviant (n.d.). For example, if a father abuses his child, the odds of the child’s willing to resort to deviance becomes significantly higher than a father who treats his son like a normal parent. Another way a child can be socially exposed to deviance is through example. If a parent is always in a run with law enforcement on a constant basis, that child may grow up to be just like them simply because that is how they were raised. The third and final social influence comes outside of the family circle where the actions that a child’s friends partake in can also determine whether or not the child will pursue acts of deviance. The influence of a friend’s actions can either be positive or negative depending on the values of the friend. For instance, say a child named Johnny hangs around a group of troublemakers who always wreck havoc, smoke joints, and talk trash about everyone. This kind of relationship between Johnny and his friends can lead Johnny to becoming just like the troublemakers because of peer pressure.

In 1942, Clifford Shaw and Henry D. McKay produced Juvenile Delinquency and Urban Areas, which aimed to explain crime in urban communities using social disorganization theory. Elliot and Merrill (1934) define social disorganization as “a breakdown in the equilibrium of forces, a decay in the social structure, so that old habits and forms of social control no longer function effectively” (p.20). Using this definition and the ecological approach, Shaw and McKay argue that low economic status, ethnic heterogeneity, and residential mobility led to the disruption of community social organization (Shaw and McKay 1942). This disruption is what essentially leads to delinquency and further crime. Numerous empirical studies and tests were conducted in order to determine the validity of the theory. Studies done in the United States and in other countries have also shown support for the theory. In addition, the theory has been extended and revised by multiple scholars and applied to nonmetropolitan areas. The numerous studies and tests of social disorganization theory will prove whether the theory is applicable to other metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas and whether the theory is still applicable to the modern era.

In the 1942, two criminology researchers from the “Chicago School” of criminology, Clifford Shaw and Henry D. McKay developed social disorganization theory through their research. The theory of social disorganization states a person’s physical and social environments are primarily responsible for the behavioral choices that a person makes. At the core of social disorganization theory, is that location matters when it comes to predicting illegal activity. Shaw and McKay noted that neighborhoods with the highest crime rates have at least three common problems, physical dilapidation, poverty, and higher level of ethnic and culture mixing.

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

20). This illustrates that not only is persons' genetics contributing to criminal behaviour 'but' also the environment in which the they are socialised can initiate deviancy.