Criminology WEEK 4 - Chicago School Notes PDF

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Chicago school notes - Criminology, Law LLB, concise notes...

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CRIMINOLOGY WEEK 4 – CHICAGO SCHOOL NOTES Context:  From the 1920’s economic depression – 1) poverty and deprivation, 2) high levels of crime  Crime is concentrated in certain areas (i.e. criminogenic areas)  All because people were moving from rural areas to bigger cities  Explored by Department of sociology at the University of Chicago  Chicago is second largest city in America  There were rapid and significant social economic, cultural changes Criminogenic areas: o Areas with a greater amount of crime in comparison to other areas within the same city & other rural areas o There are certain characteristics of that environment, of that areas that make them criminogenic o Look at social factors and characteristics o ‘Spatial’ distribution of crime- crime isn’t distributed uniformly and is only concentrated in certain areas.

Shaw and McKay’s (1942):  

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They observed patterns concerning the social and geographical distribution of crime and delinquency Neighborhoods tend to be relatively stable in their status of crime, these levels of crime carry on for many years and not a short period of time Crime and delinquency rates lower in areas of high socio-economic status and higher in areas of relative socio-economic deprivation.

Zonal Hypothesis (Burgess, 1925):  Zone 1 = most money  Zone 2 = Zone of transition, this is the criminogenic area  Zone 3,4,5 = the further you get from the middle the less criminality there is etc. they are more residential areas  When financially secure many people try to escape to outer zones Zone of Transition: o Highest rate of crime o Deviant behavior and social problems: crimes, prostitution, high infant mortality, poor health, poverty etc. o Further from zone of transition the less crime there is

CRIMINOLOGY WEEK 4 – CHICAGO SCHOOL NOTES o To understand why these areas are filled with crime we need to understand the movement of people Zone 2:  The area that people from Europe tend to move to and its close to economic center for their jobs etc.  Also, a cheap place to live as the houses are not the best & not well taken care of  People are likely to move to these areas as they may know someone there or their community is there Zone of transition pt. 2: 1. Characterized by poverty, most people move here as they don’t have enough money 2. Different racial groups, so in a small zone there will be a lot of diversity and no common values because if this 3. Mobility of residents 4. Senses of community cannot be developed 5. People don’t know their neighbours as it is changing all the time 6. Because of this we lose informal social control (e.g. someone breaking into your neighbours house as you know they’re on holiday) Crime: o Crime in the zone of transition is due to social disorganisation (characterized by poverty, residential, mobility, and racial heterogeneity) o Low delinquency rates = similarity in attitudes (conventional values) o Low economic status with high rates of delinquency = wide diversity in norms and standards of behavior Cultural Transmission:  

Values, including delinquent values are transmitted from generation to generation Certain areas will become established as delinquent – they don’t condemn certain acts but accept them instead

Differential association Sutherland:...