Groveland Case Study

I. Which theories best describe crime within the community?
The preponderance of crimes in Groveland can be explained using the theories of social disorganization, strain theory, social control theory, and even labeling theory. Social disorganization theory, is emphasized the most throughout the narrative in Black Picket Fences. As described above, the moral fabric of law-abiding citizens and Groveland gangsters alike, contribute to crime being kept a minimum. Furthermore, various efforts of social control on the parts of both parties contribute to crime or lack thereof. In example, by Black Mobsters keeping drug activity in Groveland at a minimum, they are securing their profits on the one hand and deterring additional crime on the other

Groveland in particular, as underscored by Pattillo (2013), still has a lack of resources. Some ways to combat disorganization within black middle-class communities would be to create more equitable opportunities for youth in these communities. This could be in the form of more recreational spaces and providing youth with a quality high school education within their own neighborhood. However, one of the educational solutions most related to the middle-class are hotly contested affirmative action policies (Pattillo 2013). Pattillo (2013) also concluded that a way to better alleviate the woes of middle-class black communities may be to pour resources into poorer black communities. She particularly notes that:
In addition to continuing need for affirmative action, attention must be given to lessening racial segregation, and to improving the lot of the black poor. Without residential segregation—and the social segregation that it engenders—African American communities would not, as they do now, bear nearly the full burden of disproportionate black poverty… [The black poor] would have access to suburbanized jobs, better schools, and safer streets]. (Pattillo, 217,