CRIM1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Informal Social Control, Shared Belief, Public Intoxication
Lecture 10: Neighbourhood Theories
1. Concentric Zone Model !
2. Social Disorganisation Theory !
3. Collective Efficacy Theory !
4. Disorder and Broken Windows !
5. Social Experiments in Housing !
Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and their environment.-
symbiosis, competition, invasion, succession, dominance!
Human ecology:
Humans live together in symbiosis !
People fighting over resources (e.g. land) such as living near CBD. !
Zones share social characteristics !
Concentric Zone Model (Burgess)
Cities consist of five zones.!
Each gradually invading and dominating adjacent zones, with overall growth outwards.!
‘Natural’ process is one of invasion, dominance and succession.!
Crime is greatest in the zone of transition.!
The inability of a group to engage in social regulation.!
The Concentric Zone Model
The further away from city, the lower level of crime encountered.
Limitations to this model: !
But it doesn’t apply to Brisbane. In Brisbane, everyone wants to live near the CBD. !
- Variation in the geography of cities: in some, the inner city is poor while suburbs are wealthy; the
converse may be the norm elsewhere!
- Variation in physical features that may restrict growth of certain sectors. (e.g. in Brisbane, people
on one side of the river are unlikely to goto the other side of the river for growth.)!
- Decentralization of shops, manufacturing industry and entertainment. (shops can be found
anywhere) !
- Urban renewal and gentrification- more expensive property can be found in ‘lower class’
housing areas. !
- Local politics of development and forces of globalisation !
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-Polycentric cities. (there’s lots of other different places we might be carrying out work. It is not
just the city now.)!
Social Disorganization Theory
Classic Study: Shaw & McKay
What did they do?!
Examined the life histories of delinquents:!
$In-depth case studies.!
$‘The Jack Roller’, ‘Brothers in Crime’. !
$85 unpublished life histories. !
Created statistical maps: mapped the areas where juveniles lived!
$Spot maps: showed where arrested juveniles lived.!
$Rate maps: showed the percent of juvenile population involved in court system.!
$Zone maps: linked geographical areas to average rates of delinquency.!
Findings !
- Areas with highest rates of school truancy —> highest rates of delinquency & crime.!
- Crime rates were highest near the centre of the city and decrease progressively as move
outwards.!
- High crime rates persisted in same areas, even after population composition changed:!
$- so, crime not related to characteristics of individuals, but to prevailing social conditions
$ $ of areas. (crime is not to do with the people, but more to do with the place.)!
-This is a ‘kinds of places’ rather than a ‘kinds of people’ argument about the causes of crime. !
What is Social Disorganization?
As a result of three adverse conditions: !
1. Residential instability. (people moving in, people moving out all the time.)!
2. Racial/ethnic heterogeneity. (racially diverse. Language barriers prevent solving problems with
neighbours.) !
3. Poverty.!
These 3 factors lead to weakened regulatory capacity, which leads to high levels of crime. !
The community:!
1. lacks common voice.!
2. lacks willingness to engage/participate.!
Unable to realise common values & goals to strategically solve community problems & maintain
order through informal means.!
Critiques of Social Disorganiation Theory
- Big focus on ‘lower class crime’ & urban crime. Are these the only, or the worst, crime
problems? It focuses on lower class crime and street level crime, but says nothing about white
collar crime. !
- It doesn’t explain why the vast majority of people living in the areas don’t engage in crime.!
- Ecological determinism – do changes in the environment necessarily cause changes in human
behaviour? Hard to measure. !
- Neighborhoods are more complex than just those 3 characteristics listed. %
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