Social disorganization

Disruption or breakdown of the structure of social relations and values resulting in the loss of
social controls over individual and group behavior, the development of social isolation and
conflict, and a sense of estrangement or alienation from the mainstream of one's culture; the
condition or state of anomie.

Social disorganization is defined as an inability of community members to achieve shared

values or to solve jointly experienced problems (Bursik, 1988)

In the 1942, two criminology researchers from the Chicago School of criminology, Clifford
Shaw and Henry D. McKay developed social disorganization theory through their research.

The theory of social disorganization states a persons 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 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.

Social Disorganization Theory and Delinquency

Poverty is the mother of crime.Marcus Aurelius

Shaw and McKay discovered that there were four (4) specific assumption as an explanation of
delinquency.

1. The first assumption is the collapse of community based-based controls and people living
in these disadvantaged neighborhoods are responding naturally to environmental
conditions.
2. The second is the rapid growth of immigration in urban disadvantage neighborhoods.
3. The third is business located closely to the disadvantaged neighborhoods that are
influenced by the ecological approach of competition and dominance.
4. The fourth and last assumption is disadvantaged urban neighborhoods lead to the
development of criminal values that replace normal society values.

Social disorganization theory suggest that a persons residential location is more significant than
the persons characteristics when predicting criminal activity and the juveniles living in this
areas acquire criminality by the cultures approval within the disadvantaged urban neighborhoods.
Therefore, location matters when it comes to criminality according to social disorganization
theory.
Community Correlates of Youth Violence Outside the City

Social disorganization theory specifies that several variablesresidential instability, ethnic

diversity, family disruption, economic status, population size or density, and proximity to urban
areasinfluence a community's capacity to develop and maintain strong systems of social
relationships. To test the theory's applicability to nonmetropolitan settings, this Bulletin
examines the relationships between these community variables and rates of offending because
the same relationships provide the core empirical support for the theory in urban settings. This
section discusses the relevance of each factor to delinquency rates in the social disorganization
framework.

Social Disorganization Theory

The Future of the Theory

Social disorganization theory has received a lot of attention within criminology discipline since
the theory was first introduced in 1942. Many studies in U.S. large cities have duplicated the
findings of Shaw and McKay orginal study.

Social disorganization theory studies can help government and law enforcement policy-makers
make informed decisions from the evidence to form strategies that help prevent criminal activity
in disadvantaged communities to make it safer for all.

Criticisms

The model has been challenged by many contemporary urban geographers. First, the model does
not work well with cities outside the United States, in particular with those developed under
different historical contexts. Even in the United States, because of changes such as advancement
in transportation and information technology and transformation in global economy, cities are no
longer organized with clear "zones" (see: Los Angeles School of Urban Analysis).

It describes the peculiar American geography, where the inner city is poor while suburbs
are wealthy; the converse is the norm elsewhere.
It assumes an isotropic plane an even, unchanging landscape.
o Physical features land may restrict growth of certain sectors; hills and water
features may make some locations unusually desirable for residential purposes.
Commuter villages defy the theory, being a distant part of the commuter zone.
Decentralization of shops, manufacturing industry (see Industrial suburb), and
entertainment.
Urban regeneration and gentrification more expensive property can be found in
formerly 'low class' housing areas.
Many new housing estates were built on the edges of cities in Britain.
It does not address local urban politics and forces of globalization.
The model does not fit polycentric cities, for example Stoke-on-Trent.