Chapter 6 - Summary Criminology PDF

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Chapter 6 Social Disorganization Theory links crime rates to neighborhood ecological characteristics. Identify and discuss these characteristics. Economic Structure and American Society: People in the United States live in a stratified society; social strata are created by the unequal distribution of wealth, power, and prestige. Social Classes Are segments of the population whose members have a relatively similar portion of desirable things and who share attitudes, values, norms, and an identifiable lifestyle. Stratified Society Grouping according to social strata or levels. American society is considered stratified on the basis of economic class and wealth. Minority Group Poverty -Many Americans are able to take full advantage of the educational and vocational opportunities in American society however, the door to these advantages is often closed to racial and ethnic minorities. -Many urban European Americans use their economic, social, and political advantages (white privilege) to live in sheltered, gated communities patrolled by security guards and police, most minorities do not have access to similar protections and opportunities. White Privilege The assumed societal privileges that benefit Caucasians and provide them with opportunities not available to non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances. Black Lives Matter (BLM) A movement whose aim is to reduce institutional violence and perceived systemic racism toward black people. Problems of the Lower Class: the crushing lifestyle of lower-class areas produces a culture of poverty that is passed from one generation to the next. Culture of Poverty A separate lower-class culture, characterized by apathy, cynicism, helplessness, and mistrust of social institutions such as schools, government agencies, and the police, that is passed from one generation to the next. Social Structure Theory: The view that disadvantaged economic class position is a primary cause of crime.

Social Structure Theories: -Social structure theories have a basic theme: a person is the product of his or her environment. -These theories view the cause of crime through the lens of poverty, income inequality, hopelessness, and despair. Important The essay questions. THREE main factors that lead too social disorganization: Low SES, Residential mobility, racial H The social structure perspective encompasses three independent yet overlapping branches: 1- According to social disorganization theory, crime flourishes in a disorganized area in which institutions of social control, such as the family, commercial establishments, and schools, have broken down and can no longer perform their expected or stated functions. 2- Strain Theory holds that crime occurs when members of the lower class experience anger and frustration over their inability to achieve success. 3- Cultural Deviance Theory combines elements of both strain and social disorganization: in disorganized neighborhoods, the presence of strain locks people into an independent subculture with unique values and beliefs. Social Disorganization Theory Branch of social structure theory that focuses on the breakdown in inner-city neighborhoods of institutions such as the family, school, and employment. Strain Theory Branch of social structure theory that sees crime as a function of the conflict between people’s goals and the means available to obtain them. Strain The anger, frustration, and resentment experienced by people who believe they cannot achieve their goals through legitimate means. Cultural Deviance Theory Branch of social structure theory that sees strain and social disorganization together resulting in a unique lower-class culture that conflicts with conventional social norms. Subculture A set of values, beliefs, and traditions unique to a particular social class or group within a larger society. Important: Social disorganization theory links crime rates to neighborhood.

Transitional Neighborhoods: Areas undergoing shifts in population and structure, usually from middle-class residential to lower-class mixed-use. Social Ecology School: an interdisciplinary approach to the study of interdependent social and environmental problems that cause crime. Contemporary social ecologists believe that crime rates are associated with community deterioration: disorder, poverty, alienation, disassociation, and fear of crime POVERTY CONCENTRATION: Working- and middle class families flee inner-city areas where poverty is pervasive, resulting in a poverty concentration effect in which the most disadvantaged population is consolidated in the most disorganized urban neighborhoods. Concentration Effect As working-class and middle class families flee inner-city poverty-ridden areas, the most disadvantaged population is consolidated in urban ghettos. Collective Efficacy A sense of mutual trust, a willingness to intervene in the supervision of children, and the maintenance of public order. There are three forms of collective efficacy - informal social control, institutional - social control, and public social control - and all three contribute to community stability.

Public Social Control -One primary source of public social control is the police. -Public social control—they are better able to reduce the effects of disorganization and maintain lower levels of crime and victimization. The Effects of Collective Efficacy In areas where collective efficacy remains high, children are less likely to become involved with deviant peers and engage in problem behaviors. Street Efficacy A concept in which more cohesive communities with high levels of social control and social integration foster the ability for kids to use their wits to avoid violent confrontations and to feel safe in their own neighborhood. Adolescents with high levels of street efficacy are less likely to resort to violence themselves or to associate with delinquent peers.

Strain Theories Strain theorists view crime as a direct result of frustration and anger among the lower socioeconomic classes. Although most people share similar values and goals, the ability to achieve personal goals is stratified by socioeconomic class. Theory of Anomie The view that anomie results when socially defined goals (such as wealth and power) are universally mandated but access to legitimate means (such as education and job opportunities) is stratified by class and status. SOCIAL ADAPTATIONS Merton argues that each person has his or her own concept of society’s goals and his or her own degree of access to the means to attain them.  Conformity: when individuals embrace conventional social goals and also have the means to attain them, they can choose to conform. They remain law abiding.  Innovation: when individuals accept the goals of society but are unable or unwilling to attain them through legitimate means, the resulting conflict forces them to adopt innovative solutions to their dilemma: they steal, sell drugs, or extort money. Of the five adaptations, innovation is most closely associated with criminal behavior.  Ritualism : Ritualists gain pleasure from practicing traditional ceremonies, regardless of whether they have a real purpose or goal. The strict customs in religious orders, feudal societies, clubs, and college fraternities encourage and appeal to ritualists.  Retreatism: Retreatists reject both the goals and the means of society. They attempt to escape their lack of success by withdrawing, either mentally or physically, through taking drugs or becoming drifters.  Rebellion: Some individuals substitute an alternative set of goals and means for conventional ones. Revolutionaries who wish to promote radical change in the existing social structure and who call for alternative lifestyles, goals, and beliefs are engaging in rebellion. Rebellion may be a reaction against a corrupt, hated government or an effort to create alternative opportunities and lifestyles within the existing system. General Strain Theory (GST) The view that multiple sources of strain interact with an individual’s emotional traits and responses to produce criminality. MULTIPLE SOURCES OF STRAIN Agnew suggests that criminality is the direct result of negative affective states— the anger and frustration that emerge in the wake of destructive social relationships. He finds that negative affective states are produced by a variety of sources of strain.

American Dream The goal of accumulating material goods and wealth through individual competition; the process of being socialized to pursue material success and to believe it is achievable Cultural Transmission Process whereby values, beliefs, and traditions are handed down from one generation to the next. Delinquent Subculture A value system adopted by lower- class youths that is directly opposed to that of the larger society.  The “corner boy” role is the most common response to middle-class rejection. The corner boy is not a chronic delinquent but may be a truant who engages in petty or status offenses, such as precocious sex and recreational drug abuse. His main loyalty is to his peer group, on which he depends for support, motivation, and interest. His values, therefore, are those of the group with which he is in close contact  The “college boy” embraces the cultural and social values of the middle class. Rather than scorning middle-class measuring rods, he actively strives to succeed by those standards.  The “delinquent boy” adopts a set of norms and principles that directly oppose middleclass values. He engages in short-run hedonism, living for today and letting “tomorrow take care of itself.” Differential Opportunity The view that lower-class youths, whose legitimate opportunities are limited, join gangs and pursue criminal careers as alternative means to achieve universal success goals. According to this concept, people in all strata of society share the same success goals; however, those in the lower socioeconomic class have limited means of achieving them. People who

perceive themselves as failures within conventional society will seek alternative or innovative ways to succeed. all opportunities for success, both illegal and conventional, are closed for the most disadvantaged youths. Because of differential opportunity, young people are likely to join one of three types of gangs: 1- Criminal gangs. These gangs exist in stable neighborhoods where close connections among adolescent, young adult, and adult offenders create an environment for successful criminal enterprise. 2- Conflict gangs. These gangs develop in communities unable to provide either legitimate or illegitimate opportunities.176 They attract tough adolescents who fight with weapons to win respect from rivals and engage in unpredictable and destructive assaults on people and property. 3- Retreatist gangs. Retreatists are double failures, unable to gain success through legitimate means and unwilling to do so through illegal ones. Social Structure Theory and Public Policy Social structure theory has significantly influenced public policy. If the cause of criminality is viewed as a schism between lower-class individuals and conventional goals, norms, and rules, it seems logical that alternatives to criminal behavior can be provided by giving inner-city youth opportunities to share in the rewards of conventional society. Broken Windows Social structural views can be seen in so-called broken windows policing, more commonly called community policing, which is based on the belief that police administrators would be well advised to deploy their forces where they can encourage public confidence, strengthen feelings of safety, and elicit cooperation from citizens....