Jose Ortiz Professors name Course title Criminology Esssay The theory of social disorganization that explains higher rate of crime in low income neighborhoods of inner city, have incorporated many features of biological and social approaches in criminology, although in modern times it tries to operate exclusively in social terms. It applies notion of socially disorganized to the societies that lack social order and stability. For example, people can leave their small children in Reykjaviks (Island) central park without any supervision for hours, without the fear that they might be kidnapped. In majority of urban neighborhoods in America, such idea would be thought of as utterly inappropriate, as it would only take a few minutes for the small children to be abused, if left without supervision. It points out to the fact that American society lacks social solidarity, which is a common attribute of racially homogenous societies. The irony lies in fact that even though that social disorganization theorists, such as Cullen and McKay, point out to the lack of social solidarity as the main factor that contributes to the high rate of delinquency in inner city, they deny that it has anything to do with racial dynamics.
In my opinion, the socially disorganized society is best described as such where ethnic, cultural and class secularism causes such society to lose its integral unity. This leads to the existence of high crime urban areas with peaceful, predominantly White neighborhoods, within the same city. Gary LaFree in his study On Immigration and Crime suggests that: There are important reasons to believe that immigrants should be involved in crime to a greater degree than native-born Americans. For example, immigrants face acculturation and assimilation problems that most natives do not (LaFree, p.485).
The Essay on Social Organized Crime Perspective
Social Institution is defined as an organizational system which functions to satisfy basic social needs by providing an ordered framework linking the individuals to the larger culture. This paper will provide more information as to how social institutions apply to organized crime, also which empirical and speculative theories are most applicable when applied to organized crime and criminal ...
It is a good example of how political-correctness tries to undermine the validity of otherwise legitimate criminological theory. Society that tries to impose law and order is described as restrictive and as such that prompts people to engage in illegal activity.
There is no doubt that the theory of social disorganization helps to explain the occurrence of street violence. It is also very helpful when it comes to anticipation analysis of criminal activity in urban areas. It has been noticed that the rates of criminal misbehavior in lower class neighborhoods were the highest in the areas with the closest proximity to the inner city. The crime rate decreases towards the outskirts, even though that the living standards there might be even lower. Therefore, the police officer must especially be prepared to pull out his gun in the areas on the verge of residential and commercial housing. These are the areas with the highest delinquency ratio, as the theory of social disorganization describes them.
Also, this theory tells us that the crime rate in lower class urbanized areas is the least affected by racial demographics. Ronald Akers in his book Criminological theories: Introduction and evaluation says that the proponents of social disorganization theory agree that: The same pattern of declining rates of delinquency as the distance from the inner city neighborhood increased was found within each racial or ethnic group (Akers, Ch. 8).
I think that is has to do with the fact that anti-social elements from every ethnic background are simply drawn to the area. The social disorganization theory does not provide answer to what causes high crime rate in low income inner city neighborhoods, although it tends to explain everything from social prospective. It appears that even though that we still might be far away from explaining the essence of this phenomenon, the biological roots of criminal behavior are undeniable. At the end of 19th century Lombroso had developed the scale of anthropological features that usually define potential criminal visually.
The Term Paper on Theories Of Crime part 1
Theories of Crime Name Course Professor Date Theory can have different meanings depending on the field of knowledge that it is used as well as the kind of methodology and context of its discussion. Common usage defines theory as an opinion or a speculation. It may not be based on facts and may not even be a description of reality. There are several criteria for a good theory. In order to determine ...
If his theory was combined with the theory of social disorganization, it would provide the law enforcement with powerful practical tool to prevent crime by eliminating its socio-biological predispositions. The theory of social disorganization alone cannot be fully effective, as it is simply based on observations that do not provide criminologist with a means to forecast crime dynamics in future.
Bibliography:
Akers, R. (2003).
Criminological theories: Introduction and evaluation (4th ed.).
Los Angeles: Roxbury. Ch. 8., p.2.
Cullen, F. & Agnew (2003).
Criminological theory: Past to present (2nded.).
Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Publishing. LaFree, G. (2000).
On Immigration and Crime. Criminal Justice. Retrieved October 30, 2005 from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/criminal_justice2000/ vol1_2000.html.
