Crime and Region Offenders tend to be concentrated in particular regions. Crimes tend to occur in particular areas.

The Chicago School Cities have distinctive neighbourhoods. Divided Chicago into 5 zones, drawn at 2 mile intervals, radiating outwards in concentric circles from the central business district.

Found zone 1 has the the highest rate of delinquents. Characterised by a high population turnover and a mixture of different cultures. This is where accommodation is cheapest. People move out to higher income areas once they have become established. Zone 1 has:- Little social cohesion Little sense of community Weak mechanisms of social control

Evaluation When applied to a number of different cities similar results were produced. The rate of delinquents corresponds closely to economic factors.

Croydon Terrence Morris (1957) found area offender rates reflected local authority housing policies. Concentrations of delinquents were found on estates where the council had housed ‘problem families’.

Offences In traditional cities offences tend to be clustered in and around the city centre. In residential districts offence rates tend to be highest in low-income, inner-city areas and in high-income areas which are close to areas with high offending rates.

Explanations Most offences occur a short distance from the offenders’ homes. Patricia and Paul Brantingham (1984) suggest we have cognitive maps in our heads which contain the places we are familiar with. They go on to suggest that most offenders will commit crimes in areas they are familiar with.

Evaluation Much research supports the connection between familiarity, cognitive maps and offence location eg Rengert and Wasilchick, 2000, Carter and Hill, 1979 in America and Wiles and Costello, 2000, in Sheffield. Low offender rates and high offence rates areas tend to occur in high-income neighbourhoods close to areas regularly used by offenders.

Shaw and McKay’s Theory of Social Disorganisation High population turnover and cultural heterogeneity led to social disorganisation which results in weak social control.

Evaluation May explain crime and region in America. Does not fit all British examples.

Wilson’s Broken Windows Informal mechanisms of social control tend to break down when buildings are left in a state of disrepair. Graffiti spreads, vandalism grows. Law-abiding members leave the community.

Evaluation Fails to explain how the disorder which tips a neighbourhood into decline starts in the first place.