Introduction to Criminology Instructor: Jorge Pierrott CRJ 270 Instructor: Jorge Pierrott

7 Social Structure Theories

Chapter Objectives After reading this chapter, students should be able to answer the following questions: What is the nature of sociological theorizing, and what are the assumptions upon which sociological perspectives on crime causation rest? What do sociologists mean by the term social structure, and how might the organization and structure of a society contribute to criminality? What three key sociological explanations for crime are discussed in this chapter, and what are the characteristics of each? What are the policy implications of the theories discussed in this chapter? What are the shortcomings of the social structure approaches to understanding and preventing crime?

Major Principles of Sociological Theories Social structure theories examine institutional arrangements within a social structure and social processes as they affect socialization and have an impact on social life Macro focus stress types of behavior likely to be exhibited by group members Some suggest that the negative influences of the social environment predispose certain people to lives of crime and that such negative influences may remain active even when people’s circumstances change B. This perspective emphasizes the idea that crime is a social phenomenon and that the role that society, social institutions, and social process play in the development and control of crime is central to any understanding of crime

Key Sociological Explanations For Crime Social structure theories Crime is the result of an individual's location within the structure of society Social process/social development theories. (Social learning, inappropriate socialization, and interpersonal relationships.) Crime is the end product of various social processes Conflict theories Crime is the product of class struggle Social Structure Theories You can take the person of a bad environment, but you can’t take the bad environment out of the person. Focuses on: the social and economic conditions of life, including poverty, alienation, social disorganization, weak social control, personal frustration, relative deprivation, different opportunities, alternative means of success, and deviant subcultures. Social Process Theories Interaction between and among different social institutions, groups, and individuals. This approach stresses inappropriate socialization and social learning as well as interpersonal relationships, strength of the social bond, lack of self-control, and personal group consequences of societal reactions to deviance as contributing to crime. Class struggle – this perspective emphasizes existing power relationships between social groups, distribution of wealth within society, ownership of the means of production, and economic and social structures of society as they relate to social class and social control.

Social Structure Theories Look at formal and informal economic and social arrangements of society as the root causes of crime and deviance See the negative aspects of social structure as producers of criminal behavior Family disorganization Poverty or Income inequality within the economic arrangements of society and disadvantages due to lack of success. continued on next slide

Social Structure Theories Highlight arrangements within society that contribute to low SES of identifiable groups as significant causes of crime Theorists groups believe that these groups are more likely to commit crime, and they see economic and social disenfranchisement as fundamental causes of crime. Factors: Poverty, lack of education, subculture values The social structural perspective sees crime as primarily a lower-class phenomenon, while the criminality of the middle and upper class is frequently considered to be less serious, less frequent and less dangerous.

Social Disorganization Theory Depicts social change, social conflict and lack of social consensus as the root causes of deviance) Associated with the ecological school of criminology Human ecology – describe the interrelationship between human beings and the physical and cultural environments W.I. Thomas and Florian Znaniecki Found crime rates rose among displaced persons Suggested cause was social disorganization resulting from immigrants' inability to successfully transplant norms and values from home cultures into the new one Studied Polish immigrants in the early 1900’s.

The Chicago School Social ecology Robert Park and Ernest Burgess Links structure, organization of human community to interactions with its localized environment Social pathology-based disease model Social Pathology Robert Park and Ernest Burgess Viewed cities as having five concentric zones, each with unique characteristics and populations Social pathology – defined as “those human actions which run contrary to the ideals of residential stability, property ownership, sobriety, thrift, habituation to work, small business enterprise, sexual discretion, family solidarity, neighborliness and discipline of will.

Zone I – contained retail businesses and light manufacturing. Figure 7-2 Chicago’s Concentric Zones Source: Robert E. Park, Ernest W. Burgess, and R. D. McKenzie, The City (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1925), p. 55. Copyright © 1925 University of Chicago Press. Reprinted by permission. Zone I – contained retail businesses and light manufacturing. Zone II - Surrounding the city center, was in transition from residential to business uses. Zone III – contained mostly working class tenements. Zone IV – was occupied by middle class citizens with single family homes. Zone V – the suburbs, was called the “commuter zone”

Shaw and McKay Applied concentric zone model to the study of juvenile delinquency Found offending rates remained constant over time within zones of transition (studies from 1900 – 1933) They concluded that delinquency was caused by the nature of the environment in which the immigrants lived rather than by some characteristic of the immigrant groups themselves continued on next slide

Shaw and McKay Cultural transmission Traditions of delinquency are transmitted through successive generations of the same zone Key contribution of ecological school Society has a major influence on human behavior Shaw and McKay developed the concept of cultural transmission: traditions of delinquency are transmitted through successive generations of the same zone

The Criminology of Place Environmental criminology Emphasizes the importance of geographic location and architectural features as they are associated with the prevalence of victimization “Hot spots” of crime – certain neighborhoods, specific streets and even individual houses and businesses continued on next slide

The Criminology of Place Broken windows thesis (Wilson and Kelling) Physical deterioration and unrepaired buildings lead to increased concerns for safety among area residents Led to increase in “order maintenance policing” and crackdown on quality-of-life offenses

The Criminology of Place Defensible space The range of mechanisms that combine to bring an environment under the control of its residents Architectural changes that enhance barriers, define boundaries, and remove criminal opportunity can reduce the risk of crime Places can be criminogenic because of the routine activities associated with them or because they provide the characteristics that facilitate the commission of crime Some crime prevention programs are combining ideas from criminology of place with spatial mapping techniques continued on next slide

The Criminology of Place Location can be as predictive of crime as the lifestyles of victimized individuals or social features of victimized households Places can be criminogenic

Strain Theory Strain Anomie (normlessness) (Robert K. Merton) The pressure that individuals feel to reach socially determined goals Anomie (normlessness) (Robert K. Merton) A disjunction between socially approved means to success and legitimate goals Crime results from attempts to achieve legitimate goals through illegitimate means

Table 7-1 Goals and Means Disjuncture Conformity – signifies acceptance of the goals that society holds as legitimate for everyone, with ready availability of the means approved for achieving those goals. Innovation – arises when an emphasis on approved goals achievement comes with a lack of opportunity to participate fully in socially acceptable means to success. Ritualism – refers to the type of behavior arising when members of society participate in socially desirable means but show little interest in goal achievement. Retreatism – describes the behavior of those who reject both socially approved goals and the means. Rebellion – describes the actions of a person who wishes to replace socially approved goals and means with some other system, political radicals, revolutionaries and antiestablishment.

Relative Deprivation Messner and Rosenfeld blame crime on inconsistencies in the American Dream Relative deprivation The economic and social gap that exists between rich and the poor who live in close proximity continued on next slide

Relative Deprivation Distributive justice An individual's perception of his or her rightful place in the reward structure of society

General Strain Theory (GST) Robert Agnew reformulated strain theory into a comprehensive perspective Crime seen as a coping mechanism enabling those who engage in it to deal with the socioemotional problems generated by negative social relations

Central Propositions of GST Strain refers to events and conditions that are disliked by individuals Strains increase the likelihood of particular crimes primarily through their impact on a range of negative emotional states Poor conventional copings skills and resources Availability of criminal skills and resources Low levels of conventional social support Routine association with criminal others Personal beliefs and values favorable to crime Frequent exposure to criminal behavior continued on next slide

Central Propositions of GST Those strains most likely to cause crime (a) are perceived as high in magnitude or (b) as unjust; (c) are associated with low self-control; and (d) create some pressure or incentive to engage in criminal coping continued on next slide

Central Propositions of GST The likelihood that individuals will react to strains with criminal behavior depends on a range of factors Patterns of offending over the life course, group differences in crime, and community and societal differences in crime can be partly explained in terms of differences in the exposure to strains conducive to crime Ability to engage in legal coping Costs of crime and Disposition of crime continued on next slide

Central Propositions of GST Crime can be reduced by reducing individuals exposure to strains that are conducive to crime and reducing their likelihood of responding to strains with crime

General Strain Theory Expands upon traditional strain theory Widens focus Strain may have cumulative effect on delinquency More comprehensive account of adaptations to strain More fully describes wide variety of factors affecting choice of delinquent adaptations to strain continued on next slide

General Strain Theory GST has been further refined to incorporate the possible existence of biological factors that may make some individuals particularly susceptible to effects of strain Behavioral factors – juveniles who measured high in negative emotionality and low in constraint were more likely to react to strain with delinquency and noted that incorporation of such traits into GST represents an integration between strain theory and rapidly growing research on behavior genetics and crime.

Culture Conflict Theory Thorsten Sellin Root cause of crime found in different values about what is acceptable or proper behavior Conduct norms provide the valuative basis for human behavior and are acquired early in life through childhood socialization Clash of norms between variously socialized groups results in crime continued on next slide

Culture Conflict Theory Types of culture conflict Primary: a fundamental clash of cultures. (Immigrant father kills his daughter’s lover following Old World tradition that demand a family’s honor be kept intact.) Secondary: smaller cultures within the primary one clash. (Middle class values find fault with inner city or lower class norms)

Subcultural Theory Subculture Subcultural theory A collection of values and preferences communicated to participants through a process of socialization Subcultural theory Sociological perspective emphasizing the contribution made by variously socialized cultural groups to the phenomenon of crime Smaller groups within the larger culture may have values that do not conform to the national culture and may even encourage deviant activity. Example – Cornerville – a three year study of 1,313 gangs in Chicago in 1927. This included racketeering and bookmaking.

Focal Concerns Walter Miller identified existence of a lower class culture: A long established, distinctively patterned tradition with an integrity of its own Behavior that upholds lower class norms may be seen by the middle class as deliberately nonconforming He outlined six focal concerns or key values of delinquent subcultures (trouble, toughness, smartness, excitement, fate, and autonomy) continued on next slide

Focal Concerns Violation of middle-class norms is a byproduct of actions primarily oriented to the lower-class system He concluded that subculture crime and deviance result from specific values characteristic of such subcultures Miller’s work was based on a study of black, inner-city delinquents in Boston and may not generalize well to other places or times continued on next slide

Focal Concerns Trouble Toughness Smartness Getting in, staying out, dealing with trouble Toughness Concern with masculinity Smartness Ability to outsmart or con others and avoid being duped continued on next slide

Focal Concerns Excitement Fate Autonomy Search for thrills The concept of luck, being lucky Autonomy Taking care of oneself, not getting pushed around

Delinquency and Drift Sykes and Matza Members of delinquent subcultures also participate in the larger culture Offenders use neutralizing self-talk to mitigate shame and guilt associated with violating social norms continued on next slide

Figure 7-5 Techniques of Neutralization Source: Schmalleger, Frank J Figure 7-5 Techniques of Neutralization Source: Schmalleger, Frank J., Criminology. Printed and Electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Denying responsibility – They point to their background of poverty, abuse and lack of opportunity. The trouble they get into is not their fault. Denying injury – They explain that everyone does it or that individuals or companies can afford it. They’re so rich, they’ll never miss it. Denying the victim – They justify the harm done by claiming that the victim deserved the victimization. Condemning the condemners – They assert that authorizes are corrupt or are responsible for their own victimization and that society has made them what they are and must now suffer the consequences. They’re worse than I am. They’re all on the take. Appealing to higher loyalties – They use defense of their family, honor, gang, girlfriend, or neighborhood. I have to protect myself.

Delinquency and Drift Delinquents tend to drift between crime and conventional action – choose the most expedient Use techniques of neutralization to keep from being alienated from larger society Lois Presser and Orly Turgeman-Goldschmidt’s neutralization theory Interviewed 27 men who had committed serious violent crimes they found the following: Victims were to blame for harms that resulted from provoking the offenders. Victims were themselves offenders or deserving of harm. Harm to a victim that was not premeditated or intended carried no blame. The legal sanctioning of an offender negated any harm. Harms to the offender and his or her family stemming from the crime negated any harms caused the the offender. continued on next slide

Violent Subcultures Ferracuti and Wolfgang violence is a learned form of adaptation to problematic life circumstances Learning to be violent takes place within the context of a subculture emphasizing violence over other forms of adaptation continued on next slide

Delinquency and Drift Soft determinism: Delinquents are neither forced to make choices nor entirely free to make choices Neither forced to make choices because of fateful experiences early in life nor entirely free to make choices by their reality of their situations. Israeli computer hackers Attacked al-Qaeda web sites Al-Jazeera news network Israeli computer hackers

Violent Subcultures Group's value system constitutes a subculture of violence Southern subculture of violence Black subculture of violence They suggest that for members of these violent subcultures, violence can be a way of life and thus the users do not feel guilt about their aggressive behavior. According to Clarke, many black males learned from earlier generations to seek status through their ability to harm, intimidate and dominate others.

Differential Opportunity Theory Cloward and Ohlin (1960) blended subcultural thesis with strain theory Two types of socially structured opportunities for success Legitimate Illegitimate continued on next slide

Differential Opportunity Theory Members of lower-class subcultures may be denied access to legitimate opportunities Illegitimate opportunity structure Pre-existing subcultural paths to success not approved of by the wider culture continued on next slide

Differential Opportunity Theory Delinquent behavior results from Ready availability of illegitimate opportunities Replacement of cultural norms with expedient subcultural rules

Types of Delinquent Subcultures Criminal subcultures Criminal role models readily available Conflict subcultures Status through violence Retreatist subcultures Drug use and withdrawal from wider society

Types of Lower Class Youth Type I: Desire entry into middle class by improving their economic position Type II: Desire entry to middle class but not improvement in economic position continued on next slide

Types of Lower Class Youth Type III: Desire wealth without entry to middle class Type IV: Dropouts who retreat from mainstream through drug and alcohol use

Reaction Formation Albert Cohen Youth held accountable to norms of wider society through “middle class measuring rod” of expectations Expectations: School performance, language proficiency, cleanliness, punctuality, neatness, nonviolent behavior, and alliance to similar standards. Not everyone is prepared to effectively meet such expectations continued on next slide

Reaction Formation Reaction formation The process in which a person openly rejects that which he wants, or aspires to, but cannot obtain or achieve

The Code of the Street Elijah Anderson Decent vs. street families Contemporary street code stresses a hyperinflated notion of manhood resting on the idea of respect Street culture's violent nature means a man cannot back down from threats Decent vs. street families

Gangs Today Modern gangs are involved in serious and violent crimes Gangs can be big business Traditional criminal activities Drug dealing Distinctions between gangs and violence Co-offending especially prevalent in the lives of gang members

Policy Implications of Social Structure Theories Chicago Area Project attempted to reduce social disorganization in slum neighborhoods by creating community committees Mobilization for Youth provided new opportunities and tried to change the fundamental arrangements of society, addressing the root causes of crime The Chicago Area Project was developed in the 1930s by Clifford Shaw as a way of reducing delinquency in transitional neighborhoods The project attempted to reduce social disorganization in slum neighborhoods by creating community committees staffed with local residents The project had three objectives: Improve the physical appearance of poor neighborhoods Provide recreational opportunities for youth Involve project members directly in the lives of troubled youth through school and courtroom mediation A 50-year review of the program declared that it was effective in reducing rates of juvenile delinquency The Mobilization for Youth program was based on differential opportunity theory It tried to provide new opportunities and to change social arrangements so as to address the root causes of crime and delinquency The program emphasized community action that attacked entrenched political interests continued on next slide

Policy Implications of Social Structure Theories War on Poverty tried to reduce crime rates by redistributing wealth in American society

Critique of Social Structure Theories Some argue the inverse of the “root causes” argument – suggest poverty and social injustices are produced by crime If so, addressing poverty and social inequity as the root causes of crime is and ineffective crime prevention strategy

Critique of Ecological Theories May give too much credence to the notion that spatial location determines crime Seems unable to differentiate between social disorganization and the things it is said to cause Many crimes occur outside of socially disorganized areas

Critique of Strain Theories Original formulation less applicable to modern society Delinquents do not report being more distressed than other youth

Critique of Subcultural Theories Seen as lacking in explanatory power Seen as tautological (circular) Hs been criticized or being racist

Other Critiques of Social Structure Theories Social structure theories link low SES to high delinquency – not supported by empirical studies Overemphasis on environments creates bias against looking elsewhere for possible causes Cannot predict which individuals, or which proportion of given population, will turn to crime