1. The Chicago School Emphasis on “ecology of crime”
The root of control / social learning
Social Disorganization Theory

2. Chicago School University of Chicago Social Context
Department of Sociology (but others also)
Social Context
Chicago as a microcosm of change in America
“Individual (especially biological) explanations seemed foolish

3. Earnest Burgess and Robert Parks
City comparable to “ecosystem” (Parks)
How does a city grow and develop?
Concentric Zones
Industrial zone
Zone in transition
Residential zones

4. Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay
Juvenile Delinquency in Urban Areas
Mapped addresses of delinquents (court records)
Zone in transition had stable and high delinquency rates over three decades
Even through occupied by different waves of immigrants!!
Therefore, not “feeble minded” immigrants or the “City” in general.

5. Social Disorganization
What were the characteristics of the zone in transition that may cause high delinquency rates?
Population Heterogeneity
Transient Population
Physical Decay
Poverty/Inequality
Why might these ecological characteristics lead to high crime rates?
Shaw and McKay not clear on this point…delinquent values…lack of control?

6. Shaw and McKay II
Why are the crime rates stable in the zone of transition?
1. Cultural Transmission of Values
Roots of Sutherland’s Differential Association (micro) and Subculture of violence theories (macro)
2. Lack of Informal Social Control
Roots of control theories (micro) and modern social disorganization (macro)

7. Social Disorganization 1960-1980
Fell out of favor in sociology
Individual theories gained popularity
Hirschi (1969); Burgess and Akers (1968)…
Criticisms of Social Disorganization
Are these neighborhoods really “disorganized?”
Cannot measure “intervening variables”
Cannot get neighborhood level measures
“Chicago Specific”

8. Modern S.D. Theory Interest rekindled in the 1980s (continues today).
Theory Recast as a “macro” version of informal social control
Sampson and Groves (1989)
Ecological characteristics social control
Population turnover Street supervision
Poverty / inequality Collective efficacy
Divorce rates / single parents Friendship networks

9. Sampson and Groves British Crime Survey Data (BCS)
Survey done based on neighborhood, so neighborhood measures of:
Poverty, Family disruption, Residential Mobility
AND
Supervision of street corners, friendship networks,participation in community organizations

10. Sampson et al. (1997) Replicated results in Chicago
In areas with “concentrated poverty,” communities lack “collective efficacy”
After controlling for “composition,” collective efficacy predicted:
UCR homicides
Perception of Neighborhood Violence
Violent Victimizations

11. Sampson and Wilson
Why are African Americans “trapped” in the inner city, whereas other immigrants “escaped”
Barriers disrupted “natural flow”
Rekindle “delinquent culture” ideas, but place them in proper context
“Cognitive Landscape”

12. Review of Social Disorganization
Macro (Ecological) Theory
Explains why certain neighborhoods have high crime rates
Ecological variables (population density/turnover, poverty…) influence a neighborhood’s ability to “bond” and engage in informal control.

13. Policy Implications? Build neighborhood “collective efficacy”
How do you do this?
Address ecological characteristics that ruin collective efficacy
Family disruption, concentrated poverty, residential mobility

14. Note the “Control Theory Assumption” in S.D.
Unless controlled, delinquency will fester in neighborhoods
Similar to individual level control theory
Different from Anomie theory