Cloward & Ohlin’s Differential Opportunity Theory Delinquent subcultures flourish in lower-class areas because opportunities for illegitimate and conventional success are equally lacking. Members of an outlaw motorcycle group photographed leaving a courthouse. ©2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. LO5

Delinquency and Opportunity Two key assumptions of this theory: Blocked opportunities are related to delinquency. The type of lower-class gang depends on the type of neighbourhood in which it emerges. ©2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. LO5

Differential Opportunity Theory Gang types: Criminal gangs: develop in areas where conventional and illegitimate values are integrated. Conflict gangs: develop in neighbourhoods characterized by transience and instability, where there are few opportunities to get ahead in organized criminal activities. Retreatist gangs: members of these gangs are double failures as they have been unsuccessful in both the legitimate and illegitimate worlds. ©2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. LO5

Gang Presence in Canada Source: 2006 CISC Annual Report on Organized Crime in Canada. Reproduced with permission of the Ministry of Government Works and Public Services, Canada 2008. ©2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. LO5