Theories Of Social Disorganization Theory

Theories Of Social Disorganization Theory
Social Disorganization 1
Social Disorganization and High Crime Rates
Brianna Reyes
CRJU 3170–01
Professor Flores
November 26, 2017
Social Disorganization 2
Introduction
The two theorist that developed the social disorganization theory were Clifford Shaw and Henry D. Mckay according to their book "Juvenile
Delinquency in Urban Areas" they created this theory throughout research they were doing. The two theorists of the social disorganization theory were
criminology researchers from the "Chicago School". Social disorganization theory is at the macro level. It looks among different communities and
neighborhoods. And it studies many people in the neighborhoods not just one single individual. This theory is the most valid at the macro level because
crime rates are explained better in this theory than any other. How Shaw and Mckay created...show more content...
One policy implication of the theory is community project and create social organizations. Some of the ways they can do this is clean up disorder, have
recreation programs for youth and increase influence over politicians. Another policy implication is gang intervention. This is where trained gang
intervention workers connect with gang members to provide crisis intervention to stop future violent situations, make peace treaties between rival
gangs and provide positive opportunities to gang members like occupational training, employment and drug alcohol abuse treatment. Last policy
implication of the theory is crime prevention and treatment. When neighborhoods try to get all the residents living in that neighborhood to join
together to improve the neighborhood and solve local
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Social Disorganization Theory Essay
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.
Instability– Based on Osgood and Chambers research, criminal behaviors are high and the rates of juvenile violence in both rural and urban areas
would increase. According to the article when the population is changing constantly, residents would have less time to develop a strong bond with each
other. "Osgood and Chambers found that residential instability is associated with higher rates of rape, aggravated assault, weapons violations, and
simple assaults as well as the overall violent crime index." (Osgood and Chambers pg. 22) If there is no communication or understanding within a
community, how can it stand as a strong fold. Ethnic Heterogeneity – Ethnic Heterogeneity also known as ethnic diversity is another variable
associated with social disorganization theory that I consider to be one of the...show more content...
Nothing is wrong with a female being the head of the household, if that is the only parent raising a child. However, in a two parent household
parenting should be shared among the adults. If there is a strain to give your time, energy and support to your child, they will eventually find it
elsewhere. More or so likely by joining a gang or committing criminal activities to feel as though they belong. "Given the coefficient of 5.31 for the
violent crime index, an increase of 13% in female–headed households would produce a doubling of the offense rate, the strongest relationship in the
model." (Osgood and Chambers pg.

The Chicago School theory, also known as the social disorganization theory, was first developed in 1920 at the University of Chicago (Bohm & Vogel,
2011). This theory wa developed in an attempt to identify environmental factors as they related to crime, comparing neighborhoods as well as crime
statistics to determine their influence upon one another. The focus is centered on reducing opportunities for crime to take place.
Following this study, there were two derivatives of the Chicago School theory (Bohm & Vogel, 2011). The first is the situational crime prevention
theory, this theory examines the opportunities to commit a crime which is attributed to Robert Clarke. The theory placed an emphasis on poorly
designed structures, moreover, the

Essay on Social Disorganization Theory
"SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION THEORY"
Written by Andrew Lien & Henry Nunnery
J201 Section: 23607 Theoretical Foundations of Criminal Justice Policies
Tuesdays, 06:00P–08:40P Instructor: Mark T. Berg, Ph.D.
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...show more content...
Lander used the Baltimore juvenile court to use as the center of his research to come to his conclusions (Walker, 2009).
The Social Disorganization Theory evolved further when, David Bordua started his research in 1959 trying to replicate Lander's research. His goal
was to clear up criticism brought forth from Lander's outcomes during his research study. Lander and Bordua were trying to prove identical outcomes
with their study however; they used a couple of different variables to get their findings. For example, Lander used foreign born and non–white
individuals for his study who also were homeowners, while Bordua used everyone in the population and included people who rented their home.
Another difference is that Lander was using a census from the 1940s' while Bordua chose to do his research based on the 1950s' census. Bordua
used the data from the Detroit, Michigan juvenile court as the basis of his research. He ended up with the same general conclusions as Lander's 1954
research and mostly contradictory to Shaw and McKay's 1954 studies. Bordua found a relationship between overcrowded areas and juvenile
delinquency, not necessarily was crime based on below standard housing. He also concluded that income did not play a significant role of the
indicators of delinquency, but being foreign born did have a high correlation with delinquency. (Walker, 2009).
Social Disorganization Theory expanded once

The Theory Of Social Disorganization
In 1942, the theory of social disorganization was developed by two criminology researchers by the name of Clifford Shaw and Henry D. McKay.
Social disorganization theory focuses on a person physical and social environments are what causes their behavioral choices. This means that if a
person is placed in a neighborhood where there is a high crime rate, or the neighborhood is not dynamic, this can cause them to participate in such
crimes, or make the wrong behavioral choices within the youth. In the rural poor communities with high crime rate, children who are not supervised
or are not giving rules, are likely to participate in juvenile crimes. Merton's anomie theory can best be explained as a strain that is placed on
someone when they culturally pressured by society. For example many people desire to achieve the American Dream, which to live a wealthy
lifestyle, or have a certain amount of income. When a person cannot achieve those goals, they become mentally strained, which leads to participating
in such behaviors so they can achieve the feeling of their goals. In juxtaposition to Mertons anomie theory, Robert Agnew general strain theory
identifies that a person who has been through struggles are more likely to experience behavioral problems. Agnew's general strain theory is based on
the general idea that "when people are treated badly they may get upset and engage in crime". These behavioral acts may be caused by certain factors
that consist of, parental influences or

Social Disorganization Theory By Shaw And Mckay
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.
In 1925, Park et al. published a study of the city of Chicago, focused on its industrialization and urbanization. They found out that the industrialization
changed labor, economics and adolescence of the youngers. The immigration who came to the city were...show more content...
Hence, as they argued, delinquency was not "constitutional", but was to be correlated with the particular ecological environment in which it occurs.
Therefore, it was highly possible that the ethnic diversity interferes with communication among individuals from different ethnic backgrounds because
of their different culture and customs, as well as the lack of shared experiences. This would possibly lead to the fear, mistrust, even conflict within the
community, and therefore, increased the crime/delinquency rates. They also advocated the influence and determination of the criminal subculture by
saying that this problematic subculture would promote the delinquency and worsen the situation.
However, this generation of social disorganization theory did not define what "social disorganization" was, which was nearly unacceptable. Moreover,
they only used official data of delinquency in their research, which had obvious middleclass bias, and overlooked social stratification. Besides these,
this generation of social disorganization theory could not explain why many people in the Zone II did not commit crime and only a small fraction of
whom committed most of the crimes, aka "good boy in the bad neighborhood" problem.
Kornhauser (1978) criticized this social disorganization theory and indicated that the cultural transmission was problematic. If the crime could be
cultured, then it could be organized, it could promote itself,

Social Disorganization Theory
Ethnographic researchers has long studied the motivations and similarities between offenders and career criminals. There is a parallel relationship
within persistent offenders escpically the factors that influences them to commit or recommit certain crime, it is important to understand that there are
many factors that influences persistent offenders such as financial motivation, social factors, emotional state. Many offenders get caught in the get rich
quick scheme, It is also important to understand that most of habitual offenders have about 70% rate of reoffending. As stated by many researchers,
crime is a product of social dysfunction; This best fits the Social disorganization theory. In which a detracting economic culture could possibly fuel the
need for one to constantly commit crime to meet the their own endeavors, in...show more content...
Furthermore some even commit crime because of the heavy stigma that has been put on them by the society . Hence it is hard for a person to serve
their time and come back to a certain community with open arms, the stigma of the crime that the person committed still hovers over them. This
could possibly lead the offender to recommit because the offender does not feel to be part of the community, some companies will not hire someone
with a felony charge in their background or with even a misdenmor charge in their background, furthermore some felons are not allowed to vote. This
stigma in of itself can be the driving factors for many to backslide into old lifestyles causing the offender to identify with what they have always
known, which is a criminal lifestyle and and the only profession skills they know is committing crime to survive. Incidentally it is hard to predict who
will become a habitual offender, but Ethnographic researchers has come up with ways that could possibly change the prediction, according to

There are a variety of theories that have been proposed both at a macro and micro level in order to explain juvenile crime. The different theories that
have been proposed are Social Disorganization theory, Differential Social Organization theory, Social Control theory and Differential Association
theory. In order for people to determine which of the proposed theory is more valid, one must be able to answer the question of what inspires the
juveniles to be involved in criminal activities . One must seek to answer the question in regards to whether they participate in criminal activities
because of what they have learned from other people or how they are controlled i.e. in terms of family upbringing and the societal values. In Mercer L.
Sullivans book, Getting Paid YouthCrime and Work in Inner City, it makes a suggestion that in terms of the learning theories that both at the macro
level, Differential social organization, and micro level Differential association theory, present a more accurate analysis of the two types of theories.
Social Disorganization theory is a major sociological theory, which is used to explain crime at the macro level. The theory answers the question of
how various aspects of the structure of a community contribute to social control. It is important to note that, in a community which unable to achieve
common values, it will have a high rate of delinquency. Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay proposed this theory and they looked at various variables
such as

The social disorganization theory also emphasises the importance of social relationships and interaction with our neighbors when preventing crime and
deviance (Kornhauser 1978, Sampson and Groves 1998). This explains the reason for high crime rates in urban areas, as it is often that they do not
have good relations with their neighbors. The social disorganization theory outlines that the cultural diversity in many urban areas means that they fail
to be able to work together. This causes them to care less about what their neighbors think and therefore draws them to commit more crime, which
highlights how crime can be seen as a social construction as the lack of social relationship has meant that people living in urban areas are condemned to
...show more content...
This is a theory based on the legal system that arose during the eighteenth century Enlightenment, a time where globalization was increasing and the
opportunity to commit different types of crime had risen, for example, trafficking. The classicism theory demonstrates the idea that society is a
self–interested one, with most people pursuing actions that benefit themselves, however, they have an element of rational choice and this guides
them when deciding to commit a criminal act. This is supported by Felson and Clarke's (1993), 'rational choice theory,' which believes that a
potential criminal will weigh up the benefits and drawbacks before deciding to follow through with a crime. The Classicist theory believes that the
legal system helps to ensure that societies rational choice is guided in the morally correct direction, with it arguing that by having a structure of
punishments for particular crimes, this will act as deterrence and potentially cause for a decline in crime. This identifies how crime can be seen as a
social and ideologically construction, in the way that the legal system contributes to people's decision regarding whether or not they should commit a
crime. However, this theory is criticised as it assumes that all criminals think about what they are doing before they do it, yet, many crimes are often
pursued out of

Social Disorganization And Strain Theory
Hi Will,
I really liked how you've highlighted the asked question, by separating it in several parts. I also use to do it in such a manner, it's a great way to help
ourselves to divide our response on what is less and more important.
I think, You've hit an important point, while you spoke about the influence of our environment and location. The environmental theory is one of my
personal choice, which I find to have the most of the logic in it's application to the practice of our everyday life, regarding the crime disposition and
setting. In my work I gave an example of "settled neighbourhood" as well.
Actually, we have a lot in common in our works and way of thinking regarding the possible solutions. Me too, I think that economic criterion has very
heavy weight (draws heavily) for general significance of delinquency.
Personally, I would add Subcultural theory to the two, you've chosen the social disorganization and strain theories, in explaining the reasons of gang
strength....show more content...
Legal or illegal. Surely, the legal immigrants won't risk their status in exchange of the criminal prospectives. They have something more valuable for
them to lose and may be the good contributors to the society development in general. While, the illegal may have in some cases no choice to meet the
legal means other than proposed by the gangs. They may think the collective activities, even if criminals, may benefit them. And what do you think
about the idea of legalizing a part of the illegal immigrant, who lives in the US for a long time? Do you think this will contribute to the stability of the

Social Disorganization 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. A society with an internal consensus of social norms and cultural values is essentially the BASIS of a
social system. Contrarily, this system is labeled socially disorganized when there is a breakdown in social control or SOMETHING among its
elements. The theory suggest the absence or reduction of cohesion and solidarity in a community, will result in a increase of crime rates and deviant
behavior. To support these

There are various reasons why people are drug addicted or drug dealer. Experts create theories based on the data from drug activities in the area. Social
disorganization and Cultural transmission explain why people became drug addicted or drug dealer. People turn to drug because feeling hopelessness,
peer's influence, and culture.
Drugs are a way to escape from feeling alienated. This can occur in all ages. Social disorganization theory defined as the "decline of influence of
existing social rules of behavior upon individuals within a group "(Wong). In other words, the person lost the capacity to act communally and freely
expressing their moods and desires in delinquent behavior. Individuals would feel hopelessness, sadness, and isolation. Some factors affecting the
individual are "racial prejudice, low socioeconomic status, lack of positive self–esteem and uncharitable urban surrounding" (Lyman). In the result,
people relied on drugs to relieve these overwhelming feeling. For example, "a line of cocaine or two, might temporarily relieve some symptoms"
(Zwolinski et al., 2013). People have a difficult time overcoming their distress....show more content...
Cultural transmission theory explained how information passed from individual to another through social learning such as "imitation, teaching or
language" (Mesoudi & Whiten, 2008). Each person "must acquire most of the knowledge it needs to thrive in the local environment on its own"
(Kline et al., 2013). In order to gain knowledge, the person is influence by his or her family, friends, or colleagues. Children who associate regularly
with criminals and drug dealer look at them as role models (Lyman). Younger children would assume this type of behaviors and action is

The Importance Of Social Disorganization
Sutherland stated that social disorganization, the context in which individuals are embed, regulates criminal involvement (Lilly, Cullen, &Ball, 2014;
p. 44). Society that has disorganization comes with a higher rate of criminal activity, due to the people living in the area. Sutherland and his differential
association claimed that crime was associated with the learned behavior that came from one's social groups and community. Thus, resulting in the
spread of criminality when there are people within the society that fall into criminal behavior. Shaw and Mckay used term social disorganization as to
describe neighborhoods which controls have been weakened and criminal traditions rivaled conventional institutions (Lilly, Cullen, &Ball, 2014; p.44).
Sutherland stated that differential association is present in community's criminal culture and conventional culture that take place inside the community.
The criminal activity in a society can vary in amount and severity in different locations. Cultural conflict has a role in the idea of the growth of criminal
behavior. Ronald Akers also believed that criminal behavior was learned through social interactions. Aker's learning theory revolved around
Sutherland's theory but also built on it. Aker's theory included differential association along with the definitions and social reinforcement. The focus
was the definitions used to describe criminal behavior, which was the platform of his theory. Akers discussed that there are general and

History has had many theorys and espeially in criminal justice , every one knows that no system is perfect . and if it is they just haven't found it yet.
but we come with many thoerys and one that stock to me was the social thoery that we are infuneced by the people and things around us ,we all
know it it can be from a ganag to a tv show to our parents, to our every day hero but one criminal justice that stock to me was the social theories the
(social disorganization) part. The fact that the social disorganization theory is pretty much you will that one one individual is influence of the people
around him if he is in a neighbor hood known of robberies then the individual is more than likely going to be doing robberies. that is one example
...show more content...
i remember walking in a bathroom a couple of times in my high school freshmen year and seeing kids doing and taking drugs. i asked my self how
could anyone do that to themselves and I believe that their hurt by something other than drugs. that influences every one and they have been
influenced by someone older like a parent, older sibling , and/or a friend . You don't just one day every just pick one random day to influence your
self to do something like that, you have to be influenced by someone or something.Thats why i think we should have a program to inform and
possibly prevent teenagers from doing such terrible things to themselves. Then poverty is a big problem in this nation . I believe that poverty
plays a big issue in people stealing since they pretty much have nothing but the clothes on their back . We say we are a great nation ,but with
greatness is bigger problems since poverty is a really big issue in this nation. I believe we should have more finical support on the lower class since they
have to deal with all these problems and i feel like were forgetting about them , i think we need to have a bigger on schools as well because some
schools lack the help of the aid that this nation should be

Shaw And Mckay's Social Disorganization Theory
I have identify two separate criminological theories that will operate at multiple levels of analysis. I have chosen are social disorganization theory and
the theory of anomie. These theories are considered to be separate branches of the social structure theory, the differences between them are identifiable.
Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory examines the failure of social institutions, organizations in low economic communities and
neighborhoods. The theory explores the relations between the individual and their environment and the study of ecology. This line of inquiry was
developed most clearly by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay (1942), who worked at the Institute for Social Research in Chicago and who were deeply
influenced...show more content...
Our primary aim lies in discovering how some social structures exert a definite pressure upon certain persons in the society to engage in
nonconformist rather than conformist conduct (Cullen, Agnew & Wilcox, 2014, pg. 178). Among the elements of social and cultural structure, two
are important for our purposes (Cullen, Agnew & Wilcox, 2014, pg. 179). These are analytically separable although they merge imperceptibly in
concrete situations (Cullen, Agnew & Wilcox, 2014, pg. 179). The first consists of culturally defined goals, purposes, and interests (Cullen, Agnew &
Wilcox, 2014, pg. 179). The second phase of the social structure defines, regulates, and controls the acceptable modes of achieving these goals (Cullen,
Agnew & Wilcox, 2014, pg. 179). To say that these two elements, culture goals and institutional norms, operate jointly is not to say that the ranges of
alternative behaviors and aims bear some constant relation to one another (Cullen, Agnew & Wilcox, 2014, pg.

Theories Of Social Disorganization
Social Disorganization in many communities there are different problems, crime rates are different in many areas. It has become social disorganized,
the residents in have no social control in which it allows youths to engage in criminal activity, like joining gangs, not obeying the law, and destructive
behaviors. These types of crimes happen mostly in low class neighborhood, youth goes out and commit crime with no problems. Juvenile delinquency
is a primary social problem like family, school, no jobs, low income and quitting school.
According to (Siegel and Welsh 2012, p.135). "The social organization they want to fixed and focus on the unchangeable pattern". As to stop these
crimes from being repeated, by the repeaters and those who are...show more content...
The view call problem behavior syndrome, for the people who suffer from these conditions typical exhibit several symptoms of the rest.
There are varieties of delinquency behaviors which it includes violent, stealing, drug offenses that is a part of generalized, and indicating all forms of
antisocial behavior that has similar developmental patterns. For those who suffer problem behavior syndrome are prone to have more difficulties in
the general population, they can find themselves with a range of personal dilemmas from using drugs accident prone, needing more health care and be
hospitalize as well as to become a teenage parent/parents ad to having mental issues. Pathway to Delinquency the trajectory is recognize as the career
of delinquency that many may specialize in criminal activities like violence, extortion, also some might be involving in fraud, theft. While others will
engage in variety of acts in delinquency, authority will have some conflict pathway–pathway to delinquent deviance that will begin during early age
along with there are stubborn behavior that will lead to disobedience. Staying out late, running away, and truancy dealing with authority

Social disorganization theory is a perspective on crime and deviance that examines the community and how it influences crime. Overtime there have
been several school shootings and other crime on college campuses throughout the US. People have been left wondering how such crimes can happen
in an educational community. Barton, Jensen, and Kaufman break down the variables that go into a college community such as Greek life, race, and
age in their article "Social Disorganization Theory and The College Campus". The authors try to find out what influences cause crime on college
campuses and how to deter it. Social disorganization theory is based on the community and how it influences crime. According to Oxford dictionary
a community is defined as "A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common" ("Definition of Community in
English"). A college campus has many factors pointing to being a community. For example, most colleges have dorms or apartments on campus and
in some cases the college requires their students to live on campus for the first year in attending the school. This causes their students to be more
social and interact with a large group of people. Another factor the supports the fact that colleges are a community is the culture. Most colleges have
their own sports teams and have school spirit which brings the community together as a whole. Everyone that comes to college lives a unique life and
this is what makes

Introduction The argument in which this paper is intended to argue is that those individuals who live in poverty have a greater chance at committing
crimes than those who do not. There are many possible factors and reasons as to why people who live in poverty can commit more crimes that those
who do not and this essay will attempt to explain that. The independent variable for this argument would be the poverty that individuals have to endure
and live through, while the dependent variables are crime rates in that neighborhood.
Although various theories can be used in order to explain the link between poverty and crime, the one that best fits would be social disorganization
theory. Social disorganization theory is a theory, which emphasizes environmental impacts of living in neighborhoods that are high in crime and also
stresses that this is the reason that criminal activity increases (Tibbetts & Hemmens, 2015). The Chicago school theory is otherwise known as the
theory of social disorganization as well. Chicago was the fastest growing city in America back in the 19th century (Tibbetts & Hemmens, 2015). This
theory aimed at explaining why such rapid growth of a city caused so much crime in areas that were growing (Tibbetts & Hemmens, 2015). This is
important to the reader as it shows that there is a major social aspect to the problem of crime in which the environment of an individual, if living in
poverty, may influence the way in which they socialize, live and ultimately

Community And Social Disorganization Theory
Community and Social Disorganization In the early part of the twentieth century, some social observers criticize that "while criminal anthropologists
Lombroso and Hooton focused their attention on discerning whether criminals had larger foreheads or more tattoos than non criminals, they ignored
the larger changes in society that were occurring around then" (Cullen, 97). In other words, these social observers indicate that the traditional
criminology, such as the biological theory, is established without considering the presence of the society. Thus, researchers start to focus on examining
the social factors, such as education level, age, and social class to explain criminality in the context of the community. In this paper I will argue that in
the frame of the social disorganization theory, the social characteristics, such as instability of high crime community are factors of social
disorganization, and crime is viewed as a phenomenon that is caused by social disorders. As a result, the criminal justices agencies tend to implement
laws and policies that stress the importance of "collective efficacy." Nevertheless, as one of the key stages in criminal justice system, incarceration may
increase the potentiality of instability, and may lead to more crime activities. In his book, Crime And Public Policy, James Wilson states that a
neighborhood is " a collection of both people and institutions occupying a spatially defined area influenced by ecological, cultural, market and

Theories Of Social Disorganization Theory

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