CCJS 105 midterm 2 UMD

History of Chicago - the Chicago School

• late 1800s, early 1900s

• chicago was the fastest growing city

• high crime and delinquency rates with few social agencies to fix the problems, leaving communities responsible for their own problem

• dept of sociology at u-chicago emerged

park and burgess

human ecologists who:

• viewed the city as an organism

• created “natural areas”

• believed chicago businesses and factories took over residential areas so the city grew from the inside out (concentric zone model)

human ecology/social ecology

studying the interrelations of humans and the environments they live in

"natural areas”

where groups generally flock to 

The concentric zone model

1. central business district

2. zone of transition

3. working class zone

4. resident zone

5. commuter zone

central business district

business buildings, chambers of commerce, government buildings

zone of transition

most crime occurs here

factories, deteriorated housing

working class zone

modestly priced appartaments

resident zone

nicer more expensive homes

commuter zones

suburbs

social disorganization theory (SDT)

created by shaw and mckay in 1929

some specific areas will have more crime than others, and these areas have common problems 

• physical deterioration

• population heterogeneity

• poverty

• high residential mobility

what does social disorganization lead to

high crime rates

strengths of SDT

• well supported by research and the findings hold up over time and in different places

• influential in policing

• resulted in one of the largest delinquency reduction programs

weaknesses of SDT

• doesn’t explain why most youths don’t commit crime

• ecological fallacy, you can’t say everyone in these areas WILL commit crime

chicago area project

added program centers to crime ridden areas in chicago with 3 main focuses 
- recreation
- improve neighborhood environments 
- help delinquent youths

SDT update by sampson et al

Socially disorganized neighborhoods have 

• unsupervised youth

• sparse local friendships

• lack of organizational participation

• low collective efficacy

what does high collective efficacy lead to

low crime rates

collective efficacy

Shared belief between a group that they have the ability to achieve their goals

broken windows theory (wilson and kelling, 1982)

Links disorder to crime because disorder leads to fear

Says that untended disorder leads to further disorder and more serious crimes

why is broken windows theory influential in policing

there can be agreed upon norms and cooperation between citizens and the police
they use order maintenance policing rather than zero-tolerance policing

strengths of broken windows theory

• compatible with community policing

• explains the fear of crime

• disorder can be addressed

weaknesses of broken windows theory

• can be misconstrued and zero-tolerance policing can be implemented

• can differentially target populations

• some people don’t want the police spending time on “petty crimes”

• incompatible with the desire to decrease misdemeanor arrests

social structure

the invisible framework or system that shapes how people in a society interact and relate to each other

social capital

the web of social networks that connect people and breed norms of reciprocity, trustworthiness, and belonging

what reduces social capital

population diversity

Durkheim’s division of labor in society

crime is not only normal but necessary because it 

• defines moral boundaries in society 

• identifies rule breakers leading to a bond between rule followers

mechanical societies

societies with a simple distribution of labor and few jobs that everyone fits into. members of these societies think and act the same

organic societies

societies with a very specific distribution of labor and many jobs. members tend to have less agreement about societal roles

how do mechanical societies view the purpose of punishment?

to reinforce conformity of the group

how do organic societies view the purpose of punishment?

to regulate peoples interactions and provide restitution to those who have been harmed

collective conscience

a set of beliefs, values, and feelings that most members of a society have in common

anomie

a state of normlessness where societal rules and values breakdown, leading to an increase in crime

what leads to anomie

society going through an abrupt change and being unable to regulate desires and expectations as well as a weak collective conscience 

merton’s strain theory

there is frustration (strain) when there’s. disjoint between the goals of society and the legitimate means for achieving that goal

primary societal goal in mertons strain theory

financial success/material wealth 

adaptations to strain

• conformity

• innovation

• ritualism 

• retreatism

• rebellion

conformity adaptation

a person accepts both the goals and the means, this is where most people are

innovation adaptation

the person accepts the goals but use illegal means to achieve them because they either don’t have access to or aren’t willing to use legitimate means

ritualism adaptation

simply go through the ritual of life. they reject the goals of society, but accept the means they have to keep using anyway

retreatism adaptation

they reject both the means and the goals. they know they won’t achieve the goals and they don’t bother trying, they’ve given up. this is where drug users and alcoholics may fall 

rebellion adaptation

they create new goals and new means of achieving these goals

which adaptations are criminogenic?

innovation, retreatism, rebellion

strengths of mertons strain theory

• accounts for macro and micro level factors

• support for the idea that inequality in a community is related to crime rates, especially homicide

weaknesses of mertons strain theory

• doesn’t explain the age-crime curve

• hard to pin a direct relationship between strain and crime without looking at the influence of other variables

• doesn’t explain crime committed by those not experiencing economic strain

institutional anomie theory (messner + rosenfeld 1994)

when economy is the dominant institution in society and others (family, polity, religion, education) are undervalued, crime will be higher than in societies where economy is less dominant

weakness of institutional anomie theory

not a lot of testing for it

general strain theory

people experience other frustrations that are relevant to crime 

• failure to achieve goals

• presence of negative stimuli

• removal of positive stimuli

notes that strain can be experienced, anticipated, or vicarious

according to GST, what strains are more impactful?

ones that:

• are high in magnitude

• are unfair/unjust

• are associated with low social control

• create pressure for criminal coping

according to GST what leads to crime?

negative emotionality (anger)

strengths of GST

• brings in more than one type of strain

• can account for middle and upper class offending better than merton’s

weaknesses of GST

• there’s a lot of components so it’s harder to test

• less support for anger leading to crime 

mechanical solidarity

social solidarity occurring in mechanical societies in which individuals share common experiences and common values so they develop strong emotional ties to the collectivity 

organic solidarity

there’s a weaker normative consensus in organic societies because of the high occupational specialization

decommodification

the process of removing some economic costs for things (free healthcare, etc) to make lives easier, and therefore reduce strain

short-run hedonism

seeking immediate gratification of desires without regard for long term consequences

status frustration

low income youths experience this when they can’t meet middle class criteria but desire approval and therefore seek status via alternate means 

opportunity structure theory

low income youths join gangs as a path to monetary success

conflict gangs

generated in slum areas with a high degrees of transience and instability

commit senseless acts of violence and vandalism

retreatist gangs

more escapist in their attitude, almost all members abuse drugs or alcohol, can’t make it in conflict or criminal gangs

subcultures

come from within a dominant culture but have their own norms

ex: gangs, prisoners, cults

culture conflict theory (sellin, 1938)

crime results when values in a dominant culture clash with values of a subculture

key assumption of middle class measuring rod theory (cohen, 1955)

middle class values are pervasive throughout u.s. society and no one is immune

middle class measuring rod theory (cohen, 1955)

in school’s, students are held to middle class values but the lower class can’t measure up so they experience status frustration and reaction formation 

middle class values expected of students

academic success

respect for authority

delayed gratification

responsibility 

college boys

work hard and strive to achieve
see adversity as a challenge to over come
part of middle class measuring rod theory

corner boys

just trying to get by, know they don’t measure up but they don’t care 
engage in mischief (drinking, truancy, etc.)
part of middle class measuring rod theory

delinquent boys

respond to lack of measuring up with reaction formation
continue engaging in crime even as they leave school 
part of middle class measuring rod theory

key assumption of differential opportunity theory (cloward and ohlin, 1960)

not only is there unequal access to legit means to achieve success, there is unequal access to illegitimate means to success

criminal gangs

engage in crime for economic benefit

differential opportunity theory (cloward and ohlin, 1960)

3 kinds of “gangs” (kids who commit crime together)
- criminal
- conflict
- retreatist
conflict and criminal gangs can only occur if your neighborhood has them and older members can mentor you

focal concerns (FC) theory (miller, 1958)

6 focal concerns, the process of achieving them indirectly leads to crime (LEASTT)

• luck

• excitement

• autonomy

• smartness

• toughness

• trouble

luck FC

things just happen and you have no personal responsibility

excitement FC

seeking out fun, risk, and thrill

autonomy FC

being independent and having no authority

smartness FC

street smarts, being clever and cunning, not able to be taken advantage of

toughness FC

having a reputation of not looking weak

trouble FC

getting in trouble, but also staying out of legal trouble

criticisms of subcultural theories

• minimal testing, some of the theories mention schools and neighborhoods but studies don’t examine these things

• generally can only explain male delinquency

• can’t really explain lower class delinquency

subcultural theories

middle class measuring rod theory

focal concerns theory

differential opportunity theory

key assumption of a new subcultural theory (anderson, 1999)

wanted to know how poor black youth function in lower class neighborhoods

code of the streets

• people don’t lose desire for status and respect

• violence is accepted and expected in many situations

• violence is necessary to gain and keep respect

a new subcultural theory (anderson, 1999)

defined two types of families, decent and street, and defined a code of the streets

states that a new subculture can emerge from blocked access to legitimate means

street families

accept the code of the streets and teach it to their children

decent families

don’t actively teach the code of the streets but they do teach code switching (don’t start violence but stand up for yourself and fight back if necessary)

symbolic interactionism

views society as composed of symbols, with people acting based on the meanings they assign to these symbols through social interaction

differential association theory (sutherland) (DAT)

asserts that criminal behavior is learned through association with others who communicate their values and attitudes 

9 propositions of DAT

1. Criminal behavior is learned

2. Learned via interaction with others

3. Learning occurs w/in intimate groups

4. Learning includes: techniques of committing the crime and the specific direction of motives, drives, rationalizations, and attitudes (when to commit, what to commit, what’s okay and whats not)

5. directions learned from definitions (attitudes) of law/legal codes as favorable/unfavorable

6. a person becomes delinquent b/c of an excess of definitions favorable to violation of the law over definitions unfavorable to violation of the law

7. differential associations may vary in frequency, duration, priority (how early in life), intensity

8. process of learning involves all mechanisms involved in any other learning

9. criminal behavior is an expression of, but not explained by, general needs and values

strengths of DAT

• useful for explaining how people are influenced by groups and those they interact with

• research finds that young offenders are mentored by older ones

• research found some support for differential association variables

weaknesses of DAT

• many principles are vague and hard to understand

• possible that crime leads to associations, not the other way around

• doesn’t account for other influences such as video game characters

Akers social learning theory

a theory to explain how people learn criminal behavior using operant conditioning

differential reinforcement

good social rewards lead to the repetition of the behavior whereas bad social punishments make it less likely that you’ll repeat it

Akers SLT says law violations occur when these 4 things happen

Imitation

definitions (attitudes)

differential associations

differential reinforcement

operant psychology

learning theory that behavior is governed by its consequences

reinforcement

can be positive or negative, leads to the repetition and strengthening of a behavior

punishment

can be positive or negative, leads to the weakening or eliminating of a behavior

discrimination

term given to stimuli to determine whether a behavior is likely to be followed by a reward or punishment

social control

mechanisms designed to minimize non conformity and deviance

social bond theory (Hirschi, 1969)

focusses on a persons bonds to others

attachment

commitment

involvement

belief

SBT attachment

emotional bonds existing between individual and key social institutions

SBT commitment

a lifestyle which one has invested considerable time and energy into the pursuit of a lawful career