1. Sociological Theories of Crime

2. Sociological Theories of Crime
Social Disorganization Theory
Theory of Anomie (Merton’s Theory)
Institutional Anomie Theory
Relative Deprivation Theory
Theory of Focal Concerns
Theory of Delinquent Subcultures (Cohen)
Theory of Differential Opportunities

3. Social Disorganization Theory
Crime is caused primarily by social factors
The city is a perfect natural laboratory (Chicago reflects society as a whole)

4. Social disorganization definition
Social disorganization is defined as an inability of community members to achieve shared values or to solve jointly experienced problems (Bursik, 1988).

5. CONCENTRIC ZONE THEORY
Park and Burgess (1920s)
They saw cities as consisting of five zones (CBD - Central Business District, transition, workingman, residential, and commuter)
Their "zonal hypothesis" was that delinquency is greatest in the zone of transition

7. Shaw and McKay (1930s) They never said that poverty causes crime
They only said that "poverty areas" tended to have high rates of residential mobility and racial heterogeneity that made it difficult for communities in those areas to avoid becoming socially disorganized

8. Shaw and McKay's Model Residential Mobility Poverty
Racial Heterogeneity
Disorganization
Crime

12. Sampson and Grove (1989) Residential Mobility Low Economic Status
Racial Heterogeneity
Family Disruption
Population Density/Urbanization
Unsupervised teen-age peer groups
Low organizational participation
Spare local friendship networks
Crime

13. Residential mobility
When the population of an area is constantly changing, the residents have fewer opportunities to develop strong, personal ties to one another and to participate in community organizations

14. Ethnic diversity
According to Shaw and McKay (1942), ethnic diversity interferes with communication among adults. Effective communication is less likely in the face of ethnic diversity because differences in customs and a lack of shared experiences may breed fear and mistrust (Sampson and Groves, 1989).

15. Family disruption
Sampson (1985) argued that unshared parenting strains parents' resources of time, money, and energy, which interferes with their ability to supervise their children and communicate with other adults in the neighborhood
The smaller the number of parents in a community relative to the number of children, the more limited the networks of adult supervision will be for all the children

16. Economic status
Areas with the lowest average socioeconomic status will also have the greatest residential instability and ethnic diversity, which in turn will create social disorganization (Bursik and Grasmick, 1993)
Many studies have found that urban neighborhoods with high rates of poverty also have greater rates of delinquency (Warner and Pierce, 1993).

17. Population density
High population density creates problems by producing anonymity that interferes with accountability to neighbors

18. Collective efficacy and neighborhood safety
Robert Sampson (1990)
Concept of “collective efficacy” captures “trust” and “cohesion” on one hand and shared expectations for control on the other
Collective efficacy is associated with lower rates of violence

19. Merton’s Anomie
Anomie is a disjunction between the socially-produced and encouraged ends or goals and the means through which they could achieve these desirable ends

20. Strain Theory: R.K.Merton.
In simple terms, they were socialised into the "American Dream" of health, wealth, personal happiness
American society is structured to ensure that the vast majority of people could never realistically attain these ends through the means that American society provided in legitimate ways - hard work

21. Merton’s theory Because of this tension anomie occurs
In a situation whereby people desired success - yet were effectively denied it - he argued that people would find other, probably less legitimate, means towards desired ends.

22. Merton’s typology
Merton elaborated five basic responses to the anomic situation which he claimed to see in American society
He classified these types of conformity and deviance in terms of acceptance and denial of basic ends and means

23. Merton’s typology + - Response: Means: Ends: 1. Conformity
2. Innovation -
3. Ritualism
4. Retreatism
5. Rebellion
Rejects means
Rejects ends

24. Merton’s Conformity
Conformity applies to the law-abiding citizen
These people accept both socially-produced ends and the socially-legitimated means to achieve them

25. Merton’s Innovation
Innovation is deviant behaviour that uses illegitimate means to achieve socially acceptable goals
Drug crimes, property crimes
and some white collar crimes would
be examples of innovation

26. Merton’s Ritualism
3. Ritualism might refer to someone who conforms to socially-approved means, but has lost sight of the ends (or has come to accept that they will never achieve them)
Such people are likely to be elderly and they probably enjoy a reasonably comfortable lifestyle.

27. Merton’s Retreatism
An example of retreatism is someone who "drops-out" of mainstream society. The drug addict who retreats into a self-contained world, the alcoholic who is unable to hold-down a steady job

28. Merton’s rebbellion
Political deviance is a good example of the rebellion response, whether this is expressed in terms of working for a revolutionary group or through political terrorism

29. Assessment Monetary success is the only one motive mentioned by Merton
Some criminals are engaged into deviant activities for no apparent reason (enjoyable)
White collar crime is not explained
If the strains of life really operates as suggested by Merton, why it is most member of society engage in law-abiding activities

30. Cohen’s “Deliquent Boys” (1955)
Lower class boys want to achieve success and higher social status, just like middle class boys
Hard work, relying on oneself, controlling aggression, using individuals skills to get ahead, etc
Lower class boys cannot compete with middle class kids (verbal and social deficiencies)
They fell despair and anger

31. Cohen’s Delinquent Boys
Boys can respond in one of three ways
“The college-boy” response (conforming middle class expectations)
“The corner-boy” response (angry-smoking, drinking, hooliganism)
The “delinquent-boy” response (like Merton’s innovation and rebellion, have contradictory values and behaviors to middle class, gain status through deviance)

32. Cloward and Ohlin’s “Delinquency and Opportunity” (1960)
Anomie because of inability to achieve socially desirable goals
Try to find illegitimate ways of achieving what they want
Lower class juveniles have differential opportunities to achieving success through illegitimate means
Delineated three possible delinquent subcultural responses

33. Three types of juvenile gangs
The “crime-oriented gang”
The “conflict-oriented gang”
The “retreatist-oriented gang”

34. The Criminal Subculture
Legitimate aspirations of juveniles are satisfied in some slum neighborhoods where a criminal subculture already existed
Adult criminals, role models, weapon
Theft, robbery, violence, fraud, extortion

35. The Conflict Subculture
Poor, disorganized, transient, unstable
Malicious and violent activities that symbolize the protest against the social structure
The activities make it visible to media and public
Interpersonal violence, fighting, gang warfare, physical destruction of property

36. The Retreatist Subculture
This is the last avenue for boys who experience failure in both legitimate and illegitimate activities
Juveniles who given up on the struggle for success (blame both society and themselves)
Turned to drugs

37. Assessment
Neither Cohen nor Cloward and Ohlin specified why some lower-class boys choose to identify with a delinquent subculture while others select a college-boy adjustment

38. Relative Deprivation Theory
Messner and Rosenfeld, 1997
To fell anomie a person should see/feel deprivation
People with the same social standing can have different sense of deprivation
The poorest Americans are far richer in terms of material possessions that the average citizen of many third world nations

39. Relative Deprivation Theory
Inner-city inhabitants develop an increased sense of relative deprivation because they can witness well-to-do lifestyle in nearby neighborhoods
People start question their place in the reward structure of society
Sense of injustice is the source of strain that can lead to criminal behavior