Social Disorganization And Criminal Behavior

Social disorganization can be seen as origin of the development of criminal behaviors and that criminal behavior, “is linked to environmental conditions that fail to provide residents with proper human relations and development.”(182) The development of a situation like this is quite simple, a City would be segregated into two sections, a neighborhood for the wealthy and a neighborhood for the poor. People that are living in the poverty stricken area are, “controlled by the social and ecological climate.” Meaning that since these poverty stricken neighborhood have a higher crime rate, people living in these areas are likely to be influenced by their neighborhoods culture. This then results in a even higher crime rate and soon lose social control of the neighborhood. People who live in a disorganized neighborhood most likely want to try to get out of the area and will not invest into the community. This results in dirty streets and unmaintained homes. This is the reason why The Chicago School sociologists believes that “neighborhood conditions, and not individual pathology were the key influence on behavior.”

The “culture of poverty” is an endless cycle of poverty, that shows children of families who live in poverty will most likely live in poverty themselves and generations moving forward.

People living in poverty tend distrust social institutions and lack education, which is needed to rise up the social class. As stated in the textbook, children that are currently living in poverty have a much higher chance of dropping out of school and minorities have a much higher unemployment rate and poverty rate compared to White Americans. This shows that the underclass children are at a greater disadvantage compared to those who are not poverty

stricken.
Overall being a member of the underclass will make it more likely that the person will live a life of crime. The reason for that is pretty clear, those who are a member of the underclass will most likely be living in a poverty stricken area, in which criminals and gangs take over neighborhoods due to social disorganization. Since poverty stricken neighborhoods are overtaken by crime and violence, this gives the people living there only three options. Either they move out of the area, hide in their home, or partake in the crime and violence. Since the reason why most people that are living in in these socially disorganized neighborhood is because they can not afford to live in a better area, this leaves most people with the last two options. Now with only two options left those who are still living in these areas can either choose to ignore the crimes that are happening around them or to join in. Many people would most likely join gangs or partake in criminal activities such as drug dealing for financial reasons. Doing so gives people a chance to rise out of poverty and to try to end “ the culture of poverty”. This results in over 30,000 gangs in the United States and with one gang boasting over 800,000 members. To conclude being a member of a lower class does not guarantee a life of crime, but the chances of living such a life is very high and an epidemic that we need to find a solution too. The root of this is clear now, which is poverty and is something that we need to end.