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Crime rate social disorganization theory
Crime rate social disorganization theory
Crime is a social phenomenon
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In the newspaper paper article, “No Sanctuary in Chicago’s street Gang wars,” Kass (2017) focuses on a recent murder in Chicago. Kass states that Chicago is a place of death do to the ongoing gang wars that Chicago is experiencing. Kass (2017) further points out Chicago gang crime is an “intergenerational problem, of grandfathers and fathers and sons and mothers and daughters wearing their gang colors.” Kass’ statement about in gang crime being an intergenerational problem is consistent with prior gang research. Intergenerational gangs is not a new phenomenon.
How well Wes Moore describes the culture of the streets, and particularly disenfranchised adolescents that resort to violence, is extraordinary considering the unbiased perspective Moore gives. Amid Moore’s book one primary theme is street culture. Particularly Moore describes the street culture in two cities, which are Baltimore and the Bronx. In Baltimore city the climate and atmosphere, of high dropout rates, high unemployment and poor public infrastructure creates a perfect trifecta for gang violence to occur. Due to what was stated above, lower income adolescent residents in Baltimore are forced to resort to crime and drugs as a scapegoat of their missed opportunities.
Elijah Anderson, a Yale professor, developed the concept or theory entitled the “code of the street” which explains the reasoning for high rates of street violence among African-American juveniles in a Philadelphia community. The “code of the street” is the way of life for many living in poverty-stricken communities which attempt to regulate behaviors. Anderson observed that juveniles in inner-city neighborhoods who are exposed to racial discrimination, economic disadvantages and alienation from mainstream society may lead violent behavior. The strain, social learning, and labeling theories are all directly related to Anderson’s work.
In "Teenage Wasteland", Donna Gaines has done research that examined specific details of the lives and deaths of the four teens in Bergenfield, New Jersey. She studied suicides by spending time with the teens in the community in order to understand their problems. Donna Gaines establishes a social question concerning about how the “burnouts” have been influenced by the social factors. Social factors, including their personal relationships with others, economic situations- no opportunity for advancement, lack of legitimate hang-out space, drugs, alienation from school and parents, high expectations from parents, and negative judgments influenced the situation in which teens wanted to be isolated and thought suicide was their answer.
(Action has taken place) These steps shaped the criminal behavior, and gives Akers reason of criminal behavior and how it happens. 2. How would Anderson explain street level drug sales and date rape? Anderson theory explained that criminal behavior is formed in the inner city neighborhoods, and caused by a lack of employment living wages, drug use, drug trafficking and more.. • Street Codes (Norms/respect) Selling drugs for an individual is more so about trying to prove how tough one is.
Sometimes in the wind of change, we find our true direction. In the short story, The Street, by Ann Petry, a relationship between the nature of an uninhabitable, brutal environment and a woman, Lutie Johnson is characterized through her ironic adversary with the urban setting. Through characterization, imagery, and personification, Petry depicts the complex relationship between Lutie and a brutal urban city. Ann Petry establishes and introduces a harsh, negatively characterized urban city through the use of personification with the wind.
Anderson discussed the Code of the Street as it pertains to inter-city morality, assessing that these attitudes either fall in the categories of decent or violent (Duncan, pg. 111). The “Code of the Street” is what Anderson would classify as the violent and is used as the law of the street that governs the community behavior particularly interpersonal violence and aggression. In the areas that fall into the arena of “Street Code” opportunities are limited due to the social isolation and economic oppression of these communities (Duncan, pg. 112). Due to the moral internalization of adult males to provide adequate financial support to their families, when social isolation creates a loss of jobs and opportunity the adult male is unable to adequately provide for his
In Chapter 12 of Readings for Sociology, Garth Massey included and piece titled “The Code of the Streets,” written by Elijah Anderson. Anderson describes both a subculture and a counterculture found in inner-city neighborhoods in America. Anderson discusses “decent families,” and “street families,” he differentiates the two in in doing so he describes the so called “Code of the Streets.” This code is an exemplifies, norms, deviance, socialization, and the ideas of subcultures and countercultures.
At the beginning of this assignment, I choose inner city culture because I was under the impression that I knew at least a little about it. I live in the suburbs of Chicago, and my parents have often worked in the inner city, and so I have heard many stories. However, completing this project has shown me how little I know about other cultures, and how important it is to research before meeting a client. To begin, I have often been told that violence and poverty in the inner city are partially caused by bad parenting and drugs. While those can be a cause of problems in the inner city, just like they can be anywhere, none of my research identified those aspects as ultimate causes.
Families that are poor or have a low income are more likely to commit crimes for the purpose of their own needs to survive. “It is a fact that neighborhoods where the poor are concentrated are more prone to high crime rates, and poor residents are the most common victims of crimes” (1). The best explanation for this is that poorer people have the same needs as a regular middle-class citizen. The poor citizens need certain things to help him or her live a healthy life, such as healthcare, food stamps, and more employment options. One may argue that healthcare is too expensive and that food stamps have been taken away from many people.
Decent families tend to focus more on the future. They tend to accept mainstream values more often and attempt to instill those in their children. Parents from decent families tend to be stricter, but only because they are aware of the danger that lurks around their neighborhood, and they do not want their kids going down the wrong path. I found it interesting that while they are stricter, they will buy their children more expensive things, even if they cannot really afford them, just to try to keep the temptation of the street away. Anderson states that a single mother runs most decent
I personally believed that the disparity of wealth and inadequate support and assistance of street children are the major causes accounted for the occurrence of antisocial behaviour. According to The Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong (2012), “the Gini coefficient of Hong Kong in 2011 was 0.475”, which is above the aware line of 0.4 and is compatible to other big countries. The statistics indicated that income inequality is a serious problem Hong Kong. When referring to the news of street children engaged in crime and violence, most cases were occurred in grass-root community or the area of public housing estate (low rent apartment provided by the government to assist the poor). Therefore, children living in a low income family are more likely to become street children as most of their parents are busy at work and are unable to monitor
If at a young age, a child learns that their parents are not trustworthy or reliable, they will be skeptical of their parent’s warnings to not hang out with those bad kids across the street. Consequently, their resentment towards their parent(s) will lead them to disregard their opinions and possibly hang out with those kids they were warned about just to spite their parents. In addition, to their lack of identity, their inability to evaluate character leads teens to crumble under peer pressure and ultimately make illegal decisions that will prompt their unfortunate encounter with the punitive justice
In the article The Role of Attenuated Culture in Social Disorganization Theory, Warner provides several interesting findings about crime in certain neighborhoods. The first theory is higher informal social control leads to peace. The second theory is lower informal social control creates trouble. According to the text, she points out how children with different social status act in their communities. Warner explains that children in middle-class neighborhoods are most likely going to behave the way they should be because this is what they learn from their parents and teachers.
Youth Violence Prevention in America Many people believe that there’s only one type of violence, adult violence. But what many people don’t know is that youth violence is the second leading cause of death for young people between the ages fifteen to twenty-four, behind only accidents such as car crashes, unintentional injuries. Many causes of youth violence are bullying, fighting, weapon use, electronic aggression and gang violence. People at risk of youth violence are people with prior history to drugs, alcohol, tobacco use, delinquent peers, poor grades, and poverty in their community.
