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Violent Crimes: Social Disorganization Theory

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Violent crimes can be explained through social disorganization theory and strain theory. Social disorganization theory states that crime occurs when the mechanisms of socialism control are weakened. Crime is more likely to be in communities that are economically deprived, large in size, high in multiunit housing, high in residential mobility, and high in family disruption. Residents in these communities often lack skills and resources to effectively assist others, they are poor, and many are single parents. These communities exist primarily in the inner city due to discrimination. The residents are less likely to have close ties to their neighbors and to care about their community. They often do not know their neighbors well because people move in and out frequently. …show more content…

In the Journal of Criminal Justice, they did a study on the effects of income inequality between Whites and African Americans. The study found that those communities with high income disparities between whites and blacks had higher rates of violent crime. As the amount of disadvantage rose for the black population, they found that violent crimes did too. The white on black crime rate tended to be lower in communities with lower levels of segregation. Although, they did find that communities with a large population with a large amount of African Americans had higher white on black crime rates. Surprisingly, they also found that in communities with a small black population that the white on white crime went up. Segregation of these communities not only has income disparity, it also has poverty which fosters crime. This can be explained through social disorganization and strain theory. Strain theory is based on the strain or stress one receives that may result from the failure to achieve a variety of goals and so they engage in crime as a result. In poverty, many choose crime as a means to obtain financial

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