Crim
Social disorganization, illustrated by Shaw and McKay, is the theory based on understanding crime through examining the context of neighborhoods within a city. After studying a map of the city of Chicago, it was found that delinquency is concentrated in specific areas. This area where crime is concentrated (as ascribed by Park and Burgess) is known as Zone 2 the zone in transition. Shaw and McKay found that crime is concentrated in zone 2 and as you move out into zones 3, 4, and 5 delinquency decreases accordingly. Park and Burgess separated Chicago into concentric zones. Zone 1 is the central business district and is served primarily as industrial space. Zone 2 is the zone in transition. This is where crime is most likely to occur because it is where social conditions cause disorganization. Migrants and immigrants come to this zone upon first moving into the city. Zone 3 is the working class. People here have jobs that enable them to live on outskirts of the city. Zone 4 is comprised of single family homes and is named the residential zone. Even a lesser amount of crime is committed here. Zone 5 is the commuter zone which is suburban still however it is approaching rural areas. Zone two, as stated earlier, repeatedly had a higher amount of crime. Shaw and McKay concluded that “delinquency was caused by the nature of the environment in which immigrants lived rather than by some characteristics of the immigrant groups themselves.” (Schmalleger). There are four main components that a neighborhood possesses in line with the social disorganization theory created by Shaw and McKay, who used earlier research on concentric zones of Park and Burgess. Poverty is the first component which exists in a neighborhood with social disorganization. This characteristic displays the low motivation of people living here and lack of incentive to take care of things. Also the existence of poverty relates to the lack of opportunities available to people. This may cause
Cited: Schmalleger, Frank. Criminology Today: An Integrative Introduction. Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2004.