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Social Disorganization Theory

Essay IV

Social disorganization theory was introduced by two sociologist, Henry McKay and Clifford Shaw. These two men linked life in trasitional slum areas to the inclination to committ crime. There are six factors in social disorganization they are poverty, social disorganization, breakdown of social control, criminal areas, cultural transmission and criminal careers. Most of these factors are linked to almost all other theories about crime. Poverty in social disorganization plays the role of development of isolated lower-class areas, lack of conventional social opportunities and racial and ethnic discrimination. Social disorganization deals with breakdown of social institutions and organizations such as school and families, lack of informal social control. Breakdown of social control implies there will be a development of gangs and groups along with peer group replacement of families and social institutions. Criminal areas shows neighborhoods becoming crime prone, stable pockets of crime develop and lack of external support and investment. Cultural transmission brings adults to pass norms to younger generations creating stable lower-class structures of culture. The last one is criminal careers which states that most youths age out and become married with children but seem to still engage in a criminal lifestyle.
When certain parts of the city began to deteriorate and the wealthy established citizens came about in this change it caused a widespread belief that the immigrants of the areas were prone to a life of crime. There were places in the areas called transitional neighborhoonds and in these neighborhoods people suffered high population rates and could no longer defend them selves and their neighborhoods from criminal groups. shaw and Mckay also developed concentric zones which discuss the idea that distinct ecological areas had developed in the city comprising a series of of five concentric zones and that there were stable and significant differences in interzone crime rates. The areas of heaviest concentration of crime appeared to be the transitional inner-city zones where large numbers of citizens had settled. This is according to the text. Also that the zones farthest from the city's center had correspondingly lower crime rates. There were multiple cultures and it was very divers in the inner-city and this caused deviant values to remain abundant. The children would see a person chosing a deviant lifestlye was most reveared and financally stable and this made them chose that lifestyle inturn to be a part of. Shaw and Mckay felt that crime is a creature of the destructive ecological conditions in urban areas and criminals are not biologically inferior. Crime is a constant fixture in areas of poverty. This is in the same sense as New York's idea of repairing broken windows that a neighborhood left in poor condition will only perpetuate the cycle because noone will care for it and continue to act in the same manner because life won't get better for them and this is the way they need to make a living and live their lives so they leave the streets with graffitti and abandon vehicles and the violence will stay move or clean the neighborhood up and create a sense of ownership and pride and people will be more likely to care more activly for their community.

Posted: May 13, 2005 



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