Economics And Crime Social Disorganization Theory

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Many researchers have linked crime and poverty together as one goes along with the other. It is believed that the poor commit more of the crime, at least street crime. However, it is

more linked to property crime, and not so much violent crime (Chester, 1976). Even in rural areas where crime is less frequent, acts of violence are of similar proportions, and those are often linked to socio-economic conditions. The poor have a greater motivation to steal to satisfy

their means. They only resort to violence when needed to accomplish the theft, such as in an

armed robbery.

The social disorganization theory states that poverty was one of three elements linked to higher crime rates. This is true of theft and related offenses. Research was conducted, and found that where a neighborhood had a high turnover rate and high poverty, violent crime was higher. (Smith and Jarjoura 1988)

Exposure to poverty and violence creates a predisposition to violence, and it shows that half of all homicides result from interpersonal conflict with another. Positivist criminology states that criminal motivations are beyond the criminal’s control (Greene 1993)

Poverty is an influence on the criminal, but there is some inconsistency in linking

economic variables with all crime. This may be due to the difficulty of accounting for multiple

variables in research, such as divorce, unemployment, broken homes, neighborhood decay, or

other variables. (Vold, Bernard, & Snipes, 2002).

Many sociologists suggest that individuals in poor families and communities are

more likely to steal, rob, sell drugs, and otherwise make illicit gains (Tepperman, Lorne, and Josh Curtis ,2012).

Early studies on crime and economic conditions were conducted by Quetelet in France

nearly 200 years ago (Vold, Bernard, & Snipes, 2002). He found that there was more property

crime in wealthy communities, because there was more to steal. Similarly, there was little

property crime was low in poor communities because there was no inequality. Everyone was

equally poor. As for unemployment, there is not conclusive evidence that unemployment makes any one individual more predisposed to crime. On the macro-level, an increase in unemployment is accompanied by an increase in crime rates.

Problems in the low income community often deal with the multi-variety causes of crime, Such as: unemployment, poverty, divorce, broken homes, poor schools, poor housing quality, racial and ethnic mix, residential mobility, and population turnover. Socio-economic status and classes in society are not a reflection of crime directly.

The circumstances of low-class living no doubt provide the conditions that create at

risk residents who are predisposed to criminal behavior. A person’s success is measured by

wealth, status, and material possessions, the poor may see unlawful means as the only means to

obtain those possessions. Lawful means will not allow them to own a home or get an education.

There is a link between socio-economic and rational choice (Zafirovski, 1998).

An individual looks at where they are economically, and seeks some type of economic

benefit through legal or illegal means. There may be underlying social explanations, such as

poverty, but even then the individual rationally thinks of executing the theft and calculates the

potential risks and benefits as well. A wealthy person makes a rational choice not to steal, but he

also has no motivation to do so, since his standard of living is sufficient.

Rational choice has its critics too. Rational choice is legitimate but weak. There are many variables and factors to explain a person’s decision to commit a criminal act. (Boudon 2003)

There are other social factors to consider, even if a person makes a rational choice in committing a crime, understanding his behavior requires someone to see the big picture and understand the motivations for their actions. While the decision may be rational, the underlying circumstances of being poor will motivate many to steal. If a person is starving to death, it is difficult to resist the urge to steal in order to eat.

Crimes committed by youth who, acting under the social learning theory, learned that they could gain something by violence. As such, even crimes of violence are motivated by the desire to steal property. These same youth are asked and indicate that they fear they will never succeed in life through conventional means. Some blame the poor educational system in these communities, where it is obvious that none of the students could get jobs other than at fast food restaurants. Arguably, the social support and social structure is completely gone in those neighborhoods, leaving perpetual social disorganization.

Studies on rural crime, also linking socio-economic conditions to criminal behavior there is a positive correlation between crime rates and socio-economic factors, such as per capita income, inequality, and unemployment rates. There is a negative relationship between crime and the percentage of the population below the poverty line. More crime occurs when legal opportunities for employment are denied. It is argued that rural areas should create economic opportunities, such as building up industries other than just existing agricultural activities.

Looking indirectly at the relationship between economic condition and crime. There is a relationship that exists between welfare recipients and crime. In those homes, there is a greater chance of single-family or broken homes. These families and neighborhoods may lack that social bonding or social structure that would reduce crime. The findings do not directly link poverty to crime, but they do link the collection of poverty and social disorganization commonly in poor neighborhoods to higher rates of crime. (DeFronzo 1997)

Social control is a key term for social disorganization and is identified by cleaned neighborhoods, crime watch groups, agencies to help individuals, discipline in or out of the home, and other alternative punishments to incarceration for offenders.

The Broken windows theory relates to social disorganization as it links neighborhood decay to

An increase in crime. If petty offenses are not prosecuted or vandalized facilities not maintained, it signals a disinterest in the community by residents and serves to invite worse crime

Several theories have been used in this writing to tie-in to the socio-economics of crime. But the social disorganization theory clearly explains and relates how low income communities have a higher percentage of crime than those of middle to higher income. There are many who are poor but still choose to live a life of high moral standards and to abide by laws and statutes. The increase in poverty will no doubt lead to continued increases in property crimes, theft, and robbery.