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Social Disorganization Theory: Its History and Relevance to Crime Prevention

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Book cover Preventing Crime and Violence

Part of the book series: Advances in Prevention Science ((Adv. Prevention Science))

Abstract

Studies in criminology consistently demonstrate that crime and other social problems tend to cluster in particular types of neighborhoods. Social disorganization theory and its more contemporary reformulations contend these neighborhoods provide fertile ground for the development of serious crime. Specifically, scholars argue that residents living in disadvantaged, residentially mobile and ethnically diverse neighborhoods lack the ability to regulate unwanted or criminal behavior. This chapter reviews social disorganization theory and considers the utility of this theory in crime prevention initiatives, with a focus on the Chicago Area Project and other programs that focus on enhancing the capacity of local residents to prevent crime. It concludes with the limits of social disorganization theory and notes the difficulties associated with engaging communities and maintaining the involvement of the community in crime prevention efforts in areas that need them the most.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Kasarda and Janowitz (1974) were the first scholars to refer to the systemic model of community regulation. This model positions the neighborhoods as comprising a complex system of social relationships, both formal and informal, and that these relationships are concerned with enhancing family life and encouraging the prosocial socialization of young people (see also Sampson 1988; Sampson and Groves 1989). Yet it was Kornhauser (1978) who strongly demonstrated the relevance of this concept to social disorganization theory and its usefulness in explaining the differential concentration of crime and disorder in urban neighborhoods.

  2. 2.

    According to Raudenbush and Sampson (1999), ecometric measures differ from psychometric measures in that the former indicate an individual’s perceptions of a collective attribute, whereas the latter relate to an individual’s perception of an individual attribute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Rebecca Wickes

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  1. Rebecca Wickes
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Correspondence to Rebecca Wickes .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Brent Teasdale

  2. Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA

    Mindy S. Bradley

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Wickes, R. (2017). Social Disorganization Theory: Its History and Relevance to Crime Prevention. In: Teasdale, B., Bradley, M. (eds) Preventing Crime and Violence. Advances in Prevention Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44124-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44124-5_6

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44122-1

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