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Chicago School Of Criminology

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The Chicago School of theory, in the 1920’s engaged in an effort to identify environmental factors associated with crime. (Bohm & Vogel, 2011) “The Chicago School of Criminology is identified with neighborhood studies of crime and delinquency that focus particularly on the spatial patterns of such behavior, especially as reflected in maps of their spatial distributions” (Bursik, 2012, para. 2). Therefore, the Chicago School of criminological theory aimed to move past the simple hard line classical explanations of crime; therefore, introducing the idea of socialization as an explanation for criminal activity. (Act of Libraries, 2017) However, the theorists of the Chicago School attempted to find out the relationship between neighborhood’s crime …show more content…

Instead of focusing on the individual, social structure theories consider that people are influenced by social interactions and other environmental forces around them” (Act of Libraries, 2017, p. 2). "The theorists explain that the characteristics of neighborhoods with high crime rates are presented by the social control theory, which these characteristics contribute to crime" (Bursik, 2012, para. 1) The model was taken from “Ecology” a branch of biology in which plants and animals are studied in its natural environment. However, the Chicago theorists wanted to propose that organic and biological analogy, that there are similarities between the organization of plants and animals life in nature and the structure of human beings in societies. (Bohm & Vogel, …show more content…

However, the theory of Chicago School presumed relationship among social disorganization, detachment from conventional groups, and delinquency. Most cities do not proliferate. Many factors contribute to declining cities which are the old practice of “redlining” where banks refuse to give loans for improvements in specific areas because of race or ethnicity of the inhabitants. (Bohm & Vogel, 2011) Inner city neighborhoods tend to have higher rates of unemployment, dropout, poverty, single-parent households, crime, and among other factors. Any of those things could be contributing to the higher rates of delinquency. Therefore, neighborhoods depreciated and land developers were in conjunction with political leaders to buy land and make a fortune in the process which caused social disorganization, detachment from conventional groups, and delinquency or perhaps not intentionally, by their decision

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364 Words | 2 Pages

Social structure and social factors are a huge component in the creation of criminogenic environments. Using a structural approach in explaining the creation of criminogenic environments “helps us understand why poor urban areas have higher street crime rates than wealthy suburbs” (page 128). There are many different theories and ideas that can help us explain this structural approach and what roles they have in creating a criminogenic society. Durkheim’s theories are extremely known in today’s society. His theories on socialization and social ties help us to explain how the structure of society can contribute to the crime in those areas.

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1898 Words | 8 Pages

Specific theories that indicate the linkage of behavior to the community are Merton’s Strain Theory, Agnew’s Strain Theory, Social Disorganization Theory, Elijah

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684 Words | 3 Pages

The CNN documentary “Homicide in Hollenbeck” centered around crime in the Hollenbeck neighborhood of Los Angeles. The documentary focused on the LAPD and the challenges and experiences they face in controlling crime in Hollenbeck. As the title suggests, the documentary focuses on violent crime, specifically homicide, and the causes of crime. The documentary implemented multiple perspectives and different points of view to paint a complete picture of the issues they were covering, such as from police officers, former gang members, family members, and a priest. Although there are many theories that could explain the crime shown, in my opinion, Sutherland’s Differential Association Theory of crime best accounts for the examples of deviance depicted in the

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1324 Words | 6 Pages

“The theory of social disorganization states a person’s physical and social environments are primarily responsible for the behavioral choices that a person makes. At the core of social disorganization theory, is that location matters when it comes to predicting illegal activity. Shaw and McKay noted that neighborhoods with the highest crime rates have at least three common problems, physical dilapidation, poverty, and a higher level of ethnic and culture mixing. Shaw and McKay claimed that delinquency was not caused at the individual level, but is a normal response by normal individuals to abnormal conditions. Social disorganization theory is widely used as an important predictor of youth violence and crime.”

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625 Words | 3 Pages

Criminal and conflict gang whose primarily intent of crimes for tangible gains. Social structure theorists consider that the main components to illegal behavior are the ascendancy of social and economic influences that are distinguished in rundown communities where the population is predominantly lower-class citizens (Siegel, 2010). This following theory goes into helping us comprehend ways the human behavior, is the result of physical

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740 Words | 3 Pages

1. As you watch Streetwise—a documentary about the lives of Seattle street kids in the early 1980s— consider the explanations of juvenile delinquency offered by strain/anomie theories and control theories (including social disorganization theory and social bonds theory). First, choose the branch of theory that you believe BEST explains the delinquency of the kids featured in the film. Next, choose the single theory along your chosen branch that you believe offers the best explanation. For instance, if you think strain theories offer the best explanation, you should decide whether Merton’s theory or Agnew’s theory best explains the kids’ delinquency.

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436 Words | 2 Pages

Having received genetic markers for violent tendencies and aggression from his parents and lacking a supportive and caring home were contributing factors which ultimately added to the outcome of Kuklinski. It is interesting that in comparing Kuklinski’s case to the Chicago School Theories, it would appear that as a youth residing in what would appear to be a zone 2, Kuklinski’s behavior was consistent with that which was anticipated for the area; however, as he gained affluence and moved from zone 2 to that of zone 4 or 5, the outward appearance of criminal behavior diminished as predicted, although as indicated reported activities in these zones were not accurately recorded . As stated by Shaw & McKay, delinquency was the result of environmental factors associated with particular neighborhoods, and such factors within the environment affected the behavior of the delinquents, citing (1) the absence or lack of controls for delinquents; (2) The behaviors are often condoned/ sanctioned by parents or other adults in the neighborhood; (3) the readily availability of opportunities to commit such unacceptable behaviors; and (4) lack of motivation, training, or opportunity for gainful employment (Bohm & Vogel,

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1185 Words | 5 Pages

The social learning theory for instance shows Manson leant deviance in his early childhood from his mother, who was incarcerated when he was five. This implicates the environmental control and that of close persons. It depicts that behavior modification can be achieved through enhancing the social environment for criminals. The social conflict theory explains that individuals engage in crime when the legal system, which is under the control of the wealthy, identifies their acts as being unlawful (Lionell & Rawlins, 2005) Labeling theory

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1193 Words | 5 Pages

The initial thought of why crime was so bad in the past is because of segregation and what role it played. Blacks were being treated less than whites, where white people were making more money than blacks. These conditions sparked violence in the city. Another cause of violence was the work environment and how it was being left unnoticed.

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776 Words | 4 Pages

Undoubtedly, the study of crime and understanding the underlying cause of it has been around for centuries. From Edwin Sutherland’s differential association, criminal behavior is learned through peers, or Travis Hirschi’s social control theory states that if one has strong relationships- crimes are less likely to be committed and vice versa. Yet, those theories focus more on communication/bonds than W.E.B. DuBois- whose belief was that crime was happening due to racial/power dynamics within communities that have harsh environments. Indeed, DuBois stated that “crime is a difficult subject to study, more difficult to analyze into its sociological elements, and most difficult to cure or suppress. It is a phenomenon that stands not alone, but rather

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759 Words | 4 Pages

As seen in the Nightline clips about gang violence in Chicago, the inner city has been submerged in crime, drug abuse, and a culture of poverty. In order to reduce crime rates and the cycle of urban poverty, I believe that more job training and internship programs should be implemented in and around inner city areas like Chicago. Social structure theory is a view that states that the primary cause of crime is disadvantaged economic class position. The levels of crime and poverty portrayed in the Nightline clips of Chicago positively support this theory. Another view that is discussed in chapter 6 of the textbook is called differential opportunity.

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1513 Words | 7 Pages

The Chicago Metropolitan Area has an unfortunate reputation for being dangerous, particularly in certain regions of the city, such as the south side and the west side. Generally, crime rates can be explained by a number of factors, such as education, income, politics, and more; however, explaining how those factors have come to be and how they influence the safety of a city can be a bit more complex. When examining both historical and modern policies, it becomes possible to discover the correlation between these policies and the factors such as education and income that can be seen influencing crime rates in modern cities. To break this down further, the West Chicago neighborhood, West Garfield Park, will be examined to see if a correlation

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749 Words | 3 Pages

In addition, people can make themselves safer by observing individuals’ walking habits and watch one’s surroundings while they are in a parking area. A suspect has a chance of stopped in their tracks by people and officers of the law if they take the necessary precautions to guard against crime. Clark did not hesitate to share his concept with the “Chicago School”. Clark believed that crime rates are higher within communities that have low income housing such as HUD. On the other hand, those who have better monetary means live in areas that are nicer and crime is rated lower.

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2505 Words | 11 Pages

Continuing, with social disorganization, there is a key causal model that helps us understand a series of crime. There are four main keys that impact the person affected. There is usually some sort of disruption in this person's social life, which we see happen to these criminals. Whether this be experiencing homelessness or poverty-stricken inner-city neighborhoods, these criminals had disruptive social change in their childhood. The next key is conventional institutional breakdown.

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474 Words | 2 Pages

The geographical locale that I am familiar with is West Tennessee. This geographical locale is made up of both, urban and rural areas. Therefore, the criminal activities that transpire in this geographical space vary. However, it is my opinion that the causation is linked to biological behavioral patterns. With that being said, the human behavior theory that I have selected as my point of focus, is that of biological behavioral patterns and its association with the social disorganization theory.

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