Good social disorganization theory

Avoidance behaviors

Actions that involve changing one’s daily routine or restricting activities to reduce exposure to perceived risks of crime 

the concentric zone theory of city growth

Robert Park and Ernest Burgess

• Zone A: Central business district , creates ton of politician, factories 

• Zone B: Transitional zone, industries, business but mixed with residential homes, inexpensive houses that are close together, poor living conditions, loud, pollution 

• Zone C: the working class zone, the working class, blue collar workers, making more money but not luxurious, much nicer than transition zone, people are going to get a home in the inner circle but the goal is to move out

• Zone D: residential zone, middle class families, newer single family homes, more space between houses, more green space less pollution, people have vehicles

• Zone E: commuter zone, people with more money, larger homes and backyards, more quiet and peaceful, no industries, drive into the city for work, no pollution and noise

Shaw and Mackay’s research

Used spatial maps to analyze where delinquency occurred 

found that crime was highest in the transition zone 

and lowest in the commuter zone 

Crime rates consistently got lower the further away from the transition zone, regardless of the ethnic composition of the residents

Characteristics of the transitional zone

Racial and ethnic diversity 

Challenges with communication due to different languages 

-different customs and norms due to different cultures 

-groups of a similar ethnicity would stick together and not interact with groups that were different 

-Residential instability, people don’t invest into the community because they know they’ll leave 

-they don’t know their neighbours which means they don’t look out for one another 

-poverty is going to cause stress that weakens family but also neighbour bonds 

-less tax due to lower income which means lower funding schools, libraries, after school programs, kids have to find a way to entertain themselves 

Broken windows theory

• Visible signs of disorder send a message that no one cares, which encourages more disorder and eventually serious crime 

Social disorganization

A socially disorganized neighbourhood is one where people don’t trust or help each other, community institutions are weak, and crime or problems aren’t controlled without outside help.

lacks policy implications, social capital and collective efficacy

Collective efficacy

the community’s capacity and willingness to organize and work together to achieve common goals 

When the neighbour can’t come together to recognize shared goals this creates low social control and therefore crime 

Social capital

The networks, trust and relationships that connect people in a community 

In order to have collective efficacy you need to have social capital

Private social capital

The density and strength of relationships in the neighbourhood, personal relationships 

Parochial social capital

 The relationship between residents and semi formal organizations, ex: schools, churches, community centres 

Public social capital

The relationship that residents have with institutions usually formal that are outside of the neighbourhood ex: government figures, political figures, police

Critique of social disorganization theory

• Not all crimes are reported, so it misses a lot of crime

• It ignores that police may enforce laws differently in different areas.

• It can’t explain crimes by wealthy or powerful people (like white-collar or corporate crime).

• It only focuses on the neighbourhood or environment, not individuals.

• It sometimes overestimates crime in certain areas.
  
  

Operant Conditioning

How any behaviour is learned or modified based on the consequences that follow them 

-Behaviour + reward = repeat 

-Behaviour + punishment = not repeated 

Positive reinforcement

increases the likelihood of a behaviour by adding something pleasant

Negative reinforcement

increases the likelihood of a behavior by removing something unpleasant 

Positive punishment

decrease the likelihood of a behaviour by adding something unpleasant 

Negative punishment

Decreases the likelihood of a behavior by removing something pleasant 

Differential reinforcement theory

says we learn criminal or bad behavior by interacting with others. If people around us reward certain behavior, we’re more likely to do it; if they punish it, we’re less likely.

Social learning theory

-learning can take place without any (direct) form of reinforcement or punishment 

How?

-behaviour is learned by observing, imitating and modeling others 

4 key processes to learning through observations 

-Attention: notice the behaviour 

-Retention: Remember the behaviour 

-Reproduction: you have to be able to reproduce it, the ability (mentally, physically) to perform the behaviour  

Motivation: you have to want to do this behaviour, motivated to do it (rewards for performing the behaviour, someone else is getting rewarded for the behaviour)