Social Disorganization Theory

Paper Summary:

Juvenile delinquency is a contemporary term for an old problem. One of the oldest relevant studies of the phenomenon is "social disorganization" theory, which was developed by the Chicago school of sociology in the 1920's. The paper shows that this theory posits that there exist areas in a city in which traditional institutions have little or no control. This was studied in Chicago using a system of "Concentric Zones" which demonstrated that most of the crime in the city occurs within certain areas that are typically associated with poverty. The paper discusses studies done by Shaw and McKay in the 1940s which used this theory to show a strong association between census tracts and crime rates. The paper describes the theory and analyzes it, showing the arguments of those schools who utilize the theory as well as its critics.

From the Paper:

"She felt that court appearance was too narrow of a metric to judge delinquent behavior in children. She argues that the customs of diverse cultural groups are such that irrespective of the location of the groups in the city the proportions of their populations who come before the courts will inevitably vary. Robison's concept of delinquency is broader than Shaw's, and extends to cover behavior, which is generically described as anti-social. She argues that that the higher the parental income the fewer the child's chances of coming into court. Robison's arguments would appear reasonable in its universality: view of the fact that the efficiency of various cultures in controlling the behavior of individuals can scarcely be measured in the same way."

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