Social Disorganization Theory
Understanding the Spatial
Distribution of Crime
• Why do crime rates differ from place to
place within a city?
Chicago School Social Ecology
Park and Burgess (1928)
• Studied Chicago in the early 20th century
• Wanted to understand the spatial
distribution of social problems
Chicago School Model
Concentric zone model
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CBD
Zone of Transition
Working Class Zone
Residential Zone
Commuter Zone
Growing cities expand outward
as people compete for good space
Crime and the Chicago School
Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay
• Mapped addresses of juvenile delinquents in
Chicago from 1920-50 in conjunction with
other social variables, including:
– Poverty
– Residential mobility
– Ethnic heterogeneity
• Found substantial correlations
Chicago School Findings
• Crime was highest in zone of transition (Zone 2).
where poverty, mobility, and ethnic heterogeneity
also were highest
• High crime persisted in Zone 2 regardless of
which ethnic group lived there
• Over time, ethnic groups that left Zone 2
committed less crime, ethnic groups that entered
committed more crime
Why did the zone of transition
have the most crime?
• Poverty
• Ethnic heterogeneity (foreign born)
• Residential mobility (in and out)
Shaw and McKay’s Conclusion
• Place matters
• Crime was NOT due to inferior biology or
ethnic pathology
• Sociology is a relevant discipline
The Social Disorganization
Model
Structural Characteristics
Poverty
Residential
Mobility
Ethnic
Heterogeneity
Social
Disorganization
Crime
Criminal
Subculture
What exactly is social
disorganization?
• Social disorganization:
– Sparse local networks, weak social ties
– Low organizational participation
• Translates into:
– Inability to solve local problems
– Breakdown in surveillance
– Adults less able to socialize and control youth
Recent Conceptualization:
Social Control thru Social Ties
• Private ties– close knit - friends, family, and
neighbors – avoid their disapproval
• Parochial ties – less frequent - schools, churches,
and voluntary associations – enhance surveillance,
information flow
• Public ties – ties to government agencies – shape
policing methods to suit community needs,
acquire other social programs
How do Networks Work?
• Disorganized community – few social ties
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Gov’t institutions
X’s are people in a neighborhood, lines are social ties
How do Networks Work?
• Private social ties dominate, social control
limited to immediate network members
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Gov’t institutions
How do Networks Matter?
• Parochial and public social ties dominate
–> social controls has a wider reach
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Gov’t institutions
How do Networks Matter?
• Private, parochial and public social ties
dominate –> maximum social control
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Gov’t institutions
Criminal Justice Policy
• Disorganized communities are the largest
contributors to the prison population
• Can removing and returning criminals from
a community be bad for the community’s
social organization?
Implications for Crime Control
Structural Characteristics
Poverty
Residential
Mobility
Ethnic
Heterogeneity
Social
Disorganization
Crime
Criminal
Subculture