Why I Am Not a Criminal
- Submitted by: mlazcano
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- Date Submitted: 12/01/2014 08:54 PM
- Pages: 6
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Why I am not a Criminal:
Throughout the semester we have learned many different theories that either aim to explain why people commit crime or why they avoid it. Several factors come into play when attempting to explain why some people that we grow up with become criminals and others do not. Two theories that best explain why I am not a criminal are social disorganization theory and social control theory. In a general sense, social disorganization theory goes into detail about where I was brought up while social control theory is mostly driven by the people that surround me and unknowingly pass on accepted behaviors.
Social disorganization theory is composed of two different constructs: the level of disorder and the level of collective efficacy. When a neighborhood displays disorder it is shown through both physical and social elements. A neighborhood with high physical disorder would consist of abandoned houses, graffiti, garbage thrown carelessly, and many other possible forms of physical decay. A neighborhood with high social disorder has more to do with the people and the types of activities that are being seen in the public eye on a daily basis. Such activities would include prostitution, public intoxication, gang activity, and presumed drug sales. The second part to this theory is whether a neighborhood has collective efficacy or not, meaning that it either lacks social ties and social capital or these exist in the community. This essentially asks if the community is well connected and that if there are organizations or meaningful relationships connecting people together. In a neighborhood with low efficacy, it is also likely that a person does not know their neighbors and those that they do interact with have no ability to promote good in the community. Promoting good in a community could come as easy as picking up a piece of trash from the ground, which shows underlying hope. When a neighborhood has high disorder and low collective efficacy the...
Throughout the semester we have learned many different theories that either aim to explain why people commit crime or why they avoid it. Several factors come into play when attempting to explain why some people that we grow up with become criminals and others do not. Two theories that best explain why I am not a criminal are social disorganization theory and social control theory. In a general sense, social disorganization theory goes into detail about where I was brought up while social control theory is mostly driven by the people that surround me and unknowingly pass on accepted behaviors.
Social disorganization theory is composed of two different constructs: the level of disorder and the level of collective efficacy. When a neighborhood displays disorder it is shown through both physical and social elements. A neighborhood with high physical disorder would consist of abandoned houses, graffiti, garbage thrown carelessly, and many other possible forms of physical decay. A neighborhood with high social disorder has more to do with the people and the types of activities that are being seen in the public eye on a daily basis. Such activities would include prostitution, public intoxication, gang activity, and presumed drug sales. The second part to this theory is whether a neighborhood has collective efficacy or not, meaning that it either lacks social ties and social capital or these exist in the community. This essentially asks if the community is well connected and that if there are organizations or meaningful relationships connecting people together. In a neighborhood with low efficacy, it is also likely that a person does not know their neighbors and those that they do interact with have no ability to promote good in the community. Promoting good in a community could come as easy as picking up a piece of trash from the ground, which shows underlying hope. When a neighborhood has high disorder and low collective efficacy the...