1. Theories of Social Control Macrosociological Theories  Explores formal systems for the control of groups: The legal system, laws, and particularly law enforcement The legal system, laws, and particularly law enforcement Powerful groups in society Powerful groups in society Social and economic directives of government or private groups Social and economic directives of government or private groups  Focuses on broader social structures, such as community structure, economic factors, ethnic or racial composition of a community and other patterns that characterize groups of people Microsociological Theories  Focuses on informal systems  Collect data from individuals  Often rely on hypotheses that apply to individuals as well as to groups, and frequently make reference to or examine a person’s internal control system ©2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.LO2

2. The Macrosociological Perspective: Social Disorganization Theory  Focuses on the development of high-crime areas in which there is a disintegration of conventional values caused by rapid industrialization, increased immigration, and urbanization.  Based on notions of social control, and how the lack of such controls (formal and informal) contribute to delinquency and crime. ©2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.LO2

3. Social Disorganization ©2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.LO2

4. Social Disorganization: Park & Burgess Model  Introduced the study of ecology into the study of human society.  Examination of area characteristics instead of criminals to explain high crime rates.  Natural urban areas consist of concentric zones. ©2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.LO2

5. Social Disorganization: Shaw & McKay’s Work  Examined the model that Park & Burgess created.  Demonstrated that the highest rates of delinquency persisted in the same areas of Chicago even though ethnic composition changed.  Conclusion: the crucial factor is not ethnicity, but rather the position of the group in terms of economic status and cultural values.  Cultural transmission: delinquency is socially learned behaviour that is transmitted from one generation to the next in disorganized urban areas. ©2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.LO2

6. Social Disorganization Theory: Evaluation  Focuses on transmission of crime patterns, not on how they start in the first place.  Fails to explain why delinquents stop committing crime as they grow older.  Fails to explain why most people in socially disorganized areas do not commit criminal acts and why some bad neighbourhoods seem to be insulated from crime.  Does not come to grips with middle-class delinquency. ©2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.LO2

7. Social Disorganization: Theory Connects  Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Community Development Area Project  Winnipeg Graffiti Gallery ©2012 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd. Graffiti covers this wall in Montreal’s Saint Louis Square. Cities struggle to find ways of deterring vandals from damaging property in this way. In Winnipeg, youth are encouraged to display their artwork in a legitimate venue that benefits the community and the youth themselves. LO2