In today’s world, the criminal justice system stands to benefit more from the deterrence of crime than in the actual handling of criminal cases. Lucky enough, crime specialists have a number of tools at their disposal to choose from. One of the ways to used to deter crime is through the use of criminology theories. This is inspired by the fact that criminology theories give an insight into deviant behaviour and the various reasons underlying criminal activities. Among all these theories, social disorganization theory is the most popular within the criminology circles. The social disorganization theory was born from a research study done by Shaw and McKay in Chicago. The two researchers found out that crime was localized in some specific neighborhoods of the city and the rate of crime remained relatively stable over the years – despite the continual changes in the population. As-of-now, the social disorganization theory finds a wide range of applications in the area of criminal justice system, especially in predicting youth behavior and in formulating measures to deter criminal behavior within crime-prone neighborhoods.
Apart from family processes, economic deprivation within some neighborhoods also contributes to youth violence and crime. The economic deprivation has a direct influence on social disorganization and this triggers youth violence and crime. As Shaw and McKay pointed out, economic well being of a community is one of the major determinants of delinquency rates within a neighborhood. The connection between economic well being and crime is twofold; firstly, poverty increases the level of social disorganization within a community and, secondly, poverty mediates the association between social disorganization and youth violence. This effect is more profound in the poor areas. Although the association between poverty and delinquency is a complex one, its effect on youth violence and crime cannot be underestimated. Suffice is to say that a good understanding of these scenarios, as discussed in the social disorganization theory, gives a good basis for predicting future crime trends within poverty stricken neighborhoods. Ultimately, criminologists can also use this information to seek the best solutions to reduce crime.
The social disorganization theory can be used to predict youth violence in some certain neighborhoods. As discussed earlier, youths from socially disorganized neighborhoods are likely to commit deviant behaviors and criminologists can use this piece of information to come up with proactive measures of controlling crime within those areas. The lack of social structures makes the youths in those areas vulnerable to criminal activities due to the lack of social control and order. An understanding of these events can give policy makers good grounds for their actions. This will facilitate measures aimed at addressing the root causes of crime, instead of relying on incarceration to manage criminal behavior.
In light of this, the social disorganization theory advocates for public and private investment in the poor areas, with the programs being run by people with ties in those neighborhoods they serve. It is important to note that these agencies not only provide services, but also provide employment to the people in those neighborhoods. This is an approach which empowers the neighborhoods, and simultaneously strengthens the ties in those residential areas.
Policy interventions should also aim to preserve strong familial values and ties since strong families alleviate social disorganization within the society. Although this could be a short term measure, its achievements could be immense. Lastly, the input of the people within these neighborhoods is critical to the success of the intervention measures. As it has been proved elsewhere, programs which do not involve the people it intends to serve often faces resistance, and this is not the direction the criminal justice system should aim to adopt.
One of the ways to involve the people is through community policing. Community policing is an approach which incorporates the partnership of the society to address crime and social disorder by coming up with proactive problem-solving measures. Using this approach, the law enforcement agencies rely on the public to share information on criminal activities within their neighborhoods, and in turn use this information to develop solutions which deter criminal behavior. The good thing with community policing is that it brings together government agencies, community members, private businesses, nonprofit organizations and the media. The approach not only promotes positive synergies between the law enforcement agencies and the public, but also provides the criminal justice system an avenue to come up with multi-disciplinary approaches to deter criminal behavior.
In the recent past, community policing programs within the crime-prone areas have identified a number of measures which could be useful in deterring criminal behavior. These measures put an emphasis on crime prevention through environmental design. This is an approach which solely focuses on the built environment, with an emphasis on urban design and planning to create communities where businesses and the citizens can feel safe. The approach focuses on the environmental factors associated with crime, instead of the social factors attributed to criminal behavior. Therefore, this approach has nothing to do with poverty, economic inequality and family disorganization. Nonetheless, the use of this approach is helpful in containing youth violence, both in the schools and at the community level.
Crime prevention through environmental design program relies on six main concepts to deter offenders from committing crimes. These concepts include: natural surveillance, limiting access control points, reinforcing territories, activity support, target hardening and maintenance. Through surveillance, offenders have the perception that they will be seen, and scrutiny is the last thing offenders need. There are various ways of improving surveillance. For example, surveillance can be provided at the points of entry. It can also be facilitated through street lightening.
Limiting the access points by using a single point of entry limits the escape routes for potential offenders, as well as the entry points for offenders. Offenders will feel intimidated by the narrow chance of committing crime unnoticed. Limiting access points works well with reinforced territories. Reinforcing territories clearly maps out the private and public areas, and potential offenders will often have the impression that intruding into some territories will create trouble for them. It is also possible to identity them easily. Physical maintenance of the territories is required in such scenarios. The faster repairs are carried out, the less likely acts of vandalism will occur. Physical maintenance works well with activity support. Signs which caution people (such as “use of authorized personnel only”) make it easy to identify intruders and apprehend them. Lastly target hardening makes it difficult for the offenders to attack, and thus is a crucial pillar in preventing crimes through environmental design. Above all, all these approaches work towards deterring crime, and this is the main emphasis of the social disorganization theory.
In the whole world, the efficiency of the criminal justice system depends on its ability to prevent crime instead of the handling criminal activities which have already taken place. Although swift response to criminal activities is a good thing, it is important to allocate more time and energy towards measures which deter criminal behavior. In achieving this, one area of concern should be the youths. If the youths learn and assimilate criminal behavior, the law enforcement agencies within that specific area have trouble. In order to alleviate this risk, criminologists can use the social disorganization theory to their advantage. This is because the theory gives an insight into some of the reasons for deviant behavior, and some of the possible approaches which may be used to prevent the same. When effectively applied, the social disorganization theory can not only predict future trends in crime, but can also be helpful in deterring criminal behavior within the youths, and the community at large.
Works Cited
Kitchen, Ted and Richard H. Schneider. Crime Prevention and the Built Environment. London:
Taylor & Francis, 2006. Print.
Miller, Linda S., Kären M. Hess and Christine M. H. Orthmann. Community Policing:
Partnerships for Problem Solving. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
Vito, Gennaro and Jeffrey Maahs. Criminology: Theory, Research, and Policy. Sudbury, MA:
Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2011. Print.
