SDSU Social Disorganization Theory Discussion & Responses
Use this book Valenzuela, Sylvia, Paul Kaplan, and Stuart Henry (2013). Crime and Behavior. Cognella Press.
PROMPT
Step 1: Post your response to the following:
Discuss the ways in which the social structural processes described in social disorganization theory influence behavior at the individual level. (Hint: Be sure to include material from the main text as well as Anderson's Code of the Street).
What are some of the race, class, and gender concerns addressed by social disorganization theory? What race, class, and gender concerns go unaddressed in the theory? (Hint: Be sure to include material from the main text as well as Anderson's Code of the Street).
Include your own overall question that you had about the readings.
reply 1
1. Economic status influences behavior at the individual level. As stated in the textbook, “affluent areas offered an atmosphere of social controls, whereas areas of low affluence produced an environment conducive to delinquency because of the diversity of residents” (Valenzuela et al., 2013, pg.131). Area where there is low delinquency, people will not tolerare abnormal behavior (Valenzuela et al., 2013). An example would be if people were smoking marijuana outside, a person living in an affluent community would immediately call the cops. That is because they do not tolerate that kind of behavior. These people care about their community and they don’t want their kids to see this deviant behavior. However, if people were smoking marijuana in a low poverty community, people would just stare and continue with their day. Part of the reason why people don’t call the cops is because they don’t want problems with anyone. “For they know that to complain is to risk an altercation, or to at least heated words” (Anderson, 1999). Also, in areas where homeownership was low, there was high rates of delinquency (Valenzuela et al., 2013). These were areas where the streets were noisy, and you could hear rap music, honking horns, and car screeches (Anderson, 1999). And in areas where homeownership increased, the level of delinquency decreased (Valenzuela et al., 2013). Physical status of an area also influences behavior at the individual level. This focuses on three variables which are population change, vacant and condemned housing, and proximity to industry. As stated in the textbook, “population shifts influenced delinquency because of the process of invasion, dominance, and succession” (Valenzuela et al., 2013, pg.130). When a group settles into a new neighborhood this causes tension between groups. That is because the new group wants to gain dominance and the existing group will not let that happen. An example can be gangs. They want to gain dominance in a certain area and this results in killing one another. It also results in “random gunshots that sometimes come from a passing automobile, and the occasional drug wars that sometimes start up” (Anderson, 1999). High levels of delinquency exist in industrial zones. These are places where people don’t want to live and the one’s who end up living there are people who live in poverty. This is where you see “crumbling houses and abandoned stolen vehicles” (Anderson, 1999), and kids playing in empty parking lots. Living in situations like this drives people to commit crimes.
2. One of the class concerns addressed by social disorganization is that poor communities lack jobs, basic public services, trash pickup, police response in emergencies, and other services (Anderson, 1999). This drives adults and even young people to turn towards crime. There is no sense of a united community because minority groups are fighting for dominance. This happens when “members of one group move into another groups neighborhood” (Valenzuela et al., 2013, pg.130). The disruption will cause a rise in crime until one group gains dominance (Valenzuela et al., 2013). One gender concern is that young black males are more carefully observed by authorities. If a black male walks into a jewelry store, the security guard will keep a close eye on that person. They are not treated the same, as if a white person were to walk inside a jewelry store. Even if a black person is wealthy, white people still feel like they will commit crimes. This causes social disruption between black and white people. One race concern that is addressed by social disorganization is between black and white people. According to the textbook, “the racial reality of street crime affects the relationship between blacks and whites” (Anderson, 1999). This is because white people fear that they might get robbed by a black person. There is still tension between these two races which doesn’t allow social relationships. The races that are not addressed are hispanic and asian people. This theory doesn’t explain tensions between hispanic and white people or tensions between asian and white people. It doesn’t even mention if asians commit crimes. The theory solely focuses on black and white people. It includes class and gender and dives into great detail. Social disorganization theory doesn’t address the concern of how hispanics contribute to delinquency. It also doesn’t address how white people feel if a hispanic family was living in a wealthy community. The theory explains that although some black people live in an affluent community, some white people still have their own perspectives. Although this theory focuses on ethnic diversity, it doesn’t address social relationships between white people and asians or Mexicans. Since this theory focuses on neighborhoods that have high rates of crimes, it should include different races, other than black people. The textbook includes data about the percentage of black people being involved in crimes but it fails to mention other races that contribute to delinquency.
3. My overall question is what percentage of hispanics and asians contribute to crime? The book mentions white and black people, but it doesn’t mention other races (ex. Hispanics, asians). I am just curious to know which race has the highest percentage and the crimes that they commit.
Anderson, E. (1999). Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City.
W.W Norton & Company
Reply 2
This theory focuses on individual statuses structure that are considered to be the core courses in relation to crime. Instances of illiteracy levels, skills which are not marketable, instances of higher rates of poverty and deviant increase in values of sub-culture all make up in the disorganization theory of individual level of behavior. Classes of poverty is a case of one to full reasons as to why people commit crimes. Class in poverty is full of abuse of drugs, higher rates of unemployment, therefore, pushing most of individuals in committing crimes which are unnecessary (Jones, 2020). In our society, these types of situations have resulted to increase in number of poorer and levels of poverty. In terms of seriousness, lack of education in classes of poverty and parenting which is poor results to an individual class of poverty drop hence, fail out or drop out.
Lack of skills which are marketable seems to drive an individual towards dropping out of schools before successful completion of the school’s curriculum. Therefore, an individual turns to stress in order to provide for the family to jobs so that food can be put on the table. This are similar classes of individuals who are deviant to sub-cultures consisting of drug usage and sales.
Social disorganization might result to social rules violation by an individual. As per Kingston, Huizinga & Elliott (2009) statement, if rules and regulations fail to keep individual under control, a setting of disorganization projects in. Violation of rules in society are always rampant. Therefore, resulting to disorganization effect to some social institutions. Not unless these violations are checked, otherwise, they might course death of such institutions. Therefore, without these values of social, neither organization nor social disorganization would come to existence.
Social disorganization theory has an explanation to low levels of economic stability and economic statuses which are low in neighborhood and lawbreaking of an individual. For instance,
in areas that has a higher rate of economic deprivation, crime rates might tend to be higher. The pinpoint as per this point is to allow the government to have a law enforcement to be adequately able to resolve higher rate of crimes to youth people. Therefore, depicted that delinquency of poverty and juvenile goes one on one.
Conflict of means and goals. Most individuals tend to share goals which are dominant in the society. If there is lack of achieving means of goals by legitimate means, some individuals may resort to illegitimate and illegal means. Therefore, crime may result hence, social disorganization by crime and other means of expression.
Race being the central part of social disintegration theory is a contemporary significance category of criminological research. For instance, in what come to be known in Chicago school, scholars came and took conceptions of Durkheimian of social disruption and solidarity therefore explaining change happening within them and the city (Ciobanu, 2016). Many of the transitions were happening in northeastern, midwestern as well as Chicago but the most concern was about dramatic shifts of demography as a result of migrations. The streams of earlier migrants come the United States predominantly from North and Western Europe with cultural feature as a social practice and behavior pattern being not similar from the natives. This were major concerns as a result of race.
Schleiden et al., (2020) views class of poverty most of community seminal characteristic related to
crime issues, and mobility of poverty. Under the model systematic, poverty is yet underdeveloped. But as per most recent studies, poverty is a stronger mobility of crime rates prediction section by this theory. This is as a result that there are some issues that force operation in urban environment to operate and hence creating class issues related to criminal interactions therefore, sociological criminology. Gender concern addressed. The theory explains that delinquency, deviant behavior and crime are class products rather than people individual differences.
Gender is well known in correlating risks of victimization. In this theory, there has been a tendency in that women separately experience violence differently than men. Therefore, resulting to creation of attention on the instances of violent victimization. Some of the identified areas within theory are; neighborhood, family and individual factors
These theory points that crime are characterized by heterogeneity and residential mobility to maintain neighbors’ control. The theory however does not specify how the central cities have changed. For instance, economic influx, and how jobless have overcome prospects of economy in many urban areas. Hence remains to be unaddressed issue.
The current effects of sociological factors do not provide concreate of class and its features like poverty, poor education and crime as the direct roots of social deprived groups. This is because even in some of most expensive cities nowadays a real estate is in downtown of central business
district. There need to have a concreate explanation on how this is done to address whole of issue
The theory fails to correlate on how crime and women status of absolute and inequity of gender on how it has shown violence against women. There need to address on the social disorganization within women, inequity of gender, violence in families and women’s absolute statuses all at a go. This is because they are major hindrances of gender disparities. What is theory of Social Disorganization? What do you know about the current state of Global economy, what about the rates of unemployment? How about housing and how do you think this will result to increased crime in our society in next couple of years? Does disorganization theory make sense today?
Valenzuela, S., Kaplan, P., & Henry, S. (2013). Crime and Behavior. Cognella Press.