In today’s world, crime rates have increased steadily for various reasons. With economies of most countries going uphill, more money is earned, and a progressively high number of people are indulging in criminal activities like robbery. Criminology is the study of crime patterns using social, psychological, and biological aspects of a human being. Criminology identifies what drives a person to indulge in criminal related behaviors and the main reasons that influence criminal activities. It is assumed that the rise in criminal activities is due to social aspects of mankind. This shows that sociology has a big impact and role when it comes to crimes especially around the urban cities in Canada and their environs. There are theories that depict the reason as to why a person indulges in criminal activities especially in urban settings. These theories center on psychological, biological, and social aspects of a person. The most common aspect that facilitates a better understanding of why man partakes in criminal activities is sociology. Sociology is the identification and analysis of social behaviors, orders, disorders and changes in the society (Weisburd, Groff, & Yang, 2014). In criminology, there is the social structural theory that is subdivided into various theories. The most common theory that is used in most urban settings is the social disorganization theory.
The social disorganization theory was crafted by Henry McKay and Clifford Shaw in the year 1942. One of the reasons for the selection of this theory is that it looks into the influence of crime through poverty in the urban cities such as in Canada and the people who undertake criminal activities in the areas. Another reason is that the theorists of the social disorganization theory believe that the neighborhood of a person influences the idea of crime in him/her. The theorists, therefore, state that a person instigates crime through the place he/she dwells in. This is seen throughout poor neighborhoods where crime rates are high due to an increase in population and poor living standards of persons dwelling in these regions (Wong, 2012).
The third reason is that social disorganization theory identifies the residential position as the major factor in criminal activities. The theory stipulates that the location of a person is the driving force that facilitates crimes in urban settings. This is so when compared to the rise of insecurity amongst residential dwellers and middle-income residential places. One of the tenets of the theory is the belief that a criminal’s race, age, or gender does not influence criminal activities. This is ultimately true as crimes are done with people of different ages, races, and dissimilar genders. This shows that various groups of people do crime rates progressively from different levels of societies and convictions. Another tenet is that the social disorganization theory further suggests that factors such as unemployment and single-parent homes link to the increase in crime in urban settings. These factors result in poor living conditions and an insufficient amount of money that is evident in the homes of people who involve themselves with criminal activities (Kaylen & Pridemore, 2013). Another tenet is that dropping out of school is a factor that has an impact on crime. Lacking education means staying idle and this leads to a student mingling with criminals from the neighborhood thus being initiated to crime, which marks the onset of committing criminal activities. This is evident in most urban communities where they experience high rates of criminal activities that are undertaken by people from the lower side of the society.
The strength of the theory lies in the highlighting of crimes undertaken by a society affiliated with poverty and high joblessness rates. This identifies the inequality of social classes that is obvious in most countries. Such inequality is seen to be the determinant of crimes and other misdeeds. An additional strength of the theory is that it talks about the crimes in the neighborhoods that are typically ignored by the police force (de Looze, Janssen, Elgar, Craig, & Pickett, 2015). The theory shows the empowerment of a community could decrease criminal related activities. The theory stipulates that crime starts from the community and it can end through a community initiative. If a community scheme is undertaken, the rate of crime could be reduced as most idle persons will be kept busy with money-generating tasks and various forms of employment found, which could ultimately lead to low idleness rates. The downfall of the theory, however, is that it does not expound on serious felony related activities like corporate crimes and organized offenses. These crimes relate to stealing of large sums of money, drug-related activities, and murder. The theory only focuses on petty crimes and the reasons that lead to the commission of such misdeeds.
The major reason as to why social disorganization theory is important is because of a few factors. The theory depicts a community that is sidelined by others because of its class status. Class has and will always be a determinant of a society because of the beliefs that come with it. The society is always disadvantaged because of the gap between the poor and the rich as it gradually widens with the growth of the economy. The theory identifies the people who involve themselves with criminal activities due to poverty and lack of education (de Looze et al., 2015). This is evident in most low-end communities that observe such states. This is also identified with communities with similar status. Another reason behind the importance of the theory is location/residential place associated with the residents. It is undebatable that most urban cities and towns experience high rates of crimes. Most urban settings are surrounded by low-income neighborhoods, the underprivileged ones. These settings are plagued with the increase of criminal activities in and around the neighborhoods. The criminal activities, as supported by the theory, are undertaken by people from the underprivileged communities for sustainability. These reasons show the security concerns of a social class and the inequality of provisions in less privileged communities.
Community policing is one of the policies that can be identified in this theory. Community policing shows the unity of a community and the police to enforce better and secure neighborhoods that are free from crimes (de Looze et al., 2015). Problem-oriented policing is another policy that works effectively with the theory. Problem-oriented policing advocates for the discovery and resolution of problems that could otherwise harm a person or the society. This is effective in the theory as it is prudent for law enforcement agents to help a community in preventing acts of criminal activity from taking place and that would have affected not just the criminals but the entire society. The third policy is the Policing by Consent; this is affiliated to the theory by the support of the community to the law enforcement agencies. This policy identifies the role of a law enforcement agent and his position as regulation and security maintenance representative. The theory advocates for a strong law enforcement agency that facilitates excellent security services to the society and improvises ways that eliminate or maintain criminal activities amongst criminals at a low level. It is the work of the police to ensure communities live in peace and reduce the rates of criminal activities by apprehending the culprits.
References
de Looze, M., Janssen, I., Elgar, F. J., Craig, W., & Pickett, W. (2015). Neighbourhood crime and adolescent cannabis use in Canadian adolescents. Drug and alcohol dependence, 146, 68-74.
Kaylen, M. T., & Pridemore, W. A. (2013). Social disorganization and crime in rural communities the first direct test of the systemic model. British Journal of Criminology, 53(5), 905-923.
Weisburd, D., Groff, E. R., & Yang, S. M. (2014). The importance of both opportunity and social disorganization theory in a future research agenda to advance criminological theory and crime prevention at places. Journal of research in crime and delinquency, 1(10), 12-15.
Wong, S. K. (2012). Youth crime and family disruption in Canadian municipalities: An adaptation of Shaw and McKay’s social disorganization theory. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 40(2), 100-114.