Ecological Criminology and Social Disorganization Theory

Flashcards based on the lecture transcript covering the history and components of ecological criminology, including the Chicago School, Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory, and collective efficacy.

Ecological criminology (or social structure criminology) focuses on the type of __________ rather than the type of person who commits crimes.

places

Adolphe Quetelet used crime statistics to show that crime was not randomly distributed but exhibited __________ and patterns of regularity over time.

grouped commonalities

André-Michel Guerry found that groupings of crime in France seemed to be related to social data such as education, charitable donations, and __________.

illegitimate births

Robert E. Park and Ernest Burgess wrote the book titled __________, which compared human competition for space to the growth of plants.

The Growth of a City

In the ecological process described by Park and Burgess, __________ occurs when a minority population enters a community and eventually becomes the majority (over 50%).

dominance

According to the concentric zone model, factory workers lived in the __________ because they needed to be close to work due to transportation limitations.

transitional zones

Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay's study of delinquent males in Chicago found that crime rates persisted in the same areas regardless of which __________ inhabited them.

group

The ability of a community to control crime and delinquency through mutual trust and social cohesion is known as __________.

collective efficacy

Bursik and Grasmick (1993) identify three types of social control: informal and private, institutional and parochial, and __________.

public social control

According to social disorganization theory, __________ weakens collective efficacy because different cultures and languages may hinder communication and increase distrust.

racial heterogeneity

Sampson and Groves (1989) added __________ and urbanization as characteristics that weaken collective efficacy and social control.

family disruption

Elijah Anderson's concept of the __________ explains that respect is at the heart of the rules followed in disorganized neighborhoods.

code of the streets

The __________ theory suggests that visible signs of decay, such as uncut grass or unrenovated burnt houses, signal a lack of surveillance and invite crime.

broken windows

Social disorganization theory is criticized for failing to explain __________ crime that occurs in affluent neighborhoods.

white collar

A historical policy known as __________ involved marking certain areas as unfit for loans, which exacerbated poverty in disorganized neighborhoods.

redlining