Neighborhoods and Crime (Vold Chapter 7)AKA: The Chicago School, Social Disorganization1) Early development of the Chicago schoola) From 1860 to 1910 its population doubled every decadei) Eventually reached over 2 millionii) This was fueled by immigrationiii) Ethnic n’hood(1) Black neighborhood- Bronzeville, Little Italy, Chinatownb) Sociology at University of Chicago (first in country, look at neighborhood dynamics)i) Staff by academics with protestant zeal, raised in rural settings2) General- Neighborhood and Crime (discussion) a) Its not about people Its placesi) Not biological, it about where people grow upb) Positivist paradigmi) Neighborhood factors/structural context pushes people towards crimeii) Someone completely normal living in a bad area pushed to commit crime3) Glossary of Early Neighborhood Approach (more biology) Collective traits Macroa) Human ecologyi) How men interact with their environmentii) General (discussion)(1) Invasion, wave of type of people coming in succession, eventually move out dominance, new group comes in(2) Looked at Chicago(3) Cycles(a) Invasion succession dominance(4) Focused on immigrants(5) Reason why have crime: chaos(a) Everything – people, language, cultures- keeps changing- can’t establish social norms or any social laws – everyone comes then goes b) Symbiosisi) Connection between animal and plantc) Natural area (delinquency areas)i) Areas are delinquent, not individualsd) Vice districtsi) Lawlessness was the norm, tolerant behavior by quarantininge) Inter-situationali) Area between particular neighborhoods- crime can flourishf) Instead of a focus on individual traits, this draws attention to societal influences- Macroi) Sociological look at biology(1) Problems with sociological approach: (discussion)(a) Potential moral relativism(i) Durkheim:1. Crime is normal, set norms, strengthens society2. How much should I punish? Why are we punishing crime if crime is normal?3. How to enforce policy- where is the line?4. What about homicide? Some scholars think homicide is necessary in some contexts(b) Redefining(i) Durkheim:1. Defining deviance up- more illegal2. Defining deviance down- more legal(ii) When things change its because the group is changing1. Changes in law is because of consensus (society is changing) (iii) Who is doing the redefiningii) Societal level traits 4) Shaw and McKay a) Put together a general map of Chicagoi) Invasion, dominance (ethnic), successionii) Split into zones(1) Zone I/loop, Zone II, Zone III, Zone IV, Zone V(a) Zone I/loop(i) Main business district(b) Zone II: (i) Zone of transition- problematic crime(ii) Factory workers- people moving in that are new, the good move out of this are to Zone III (what left are the poor, etc)(c) Zone III/Zone IV(i) Residential(d) Zone V(i) Commuters b) Social disorganization characterizedi) Physical status(1) What they look like- condemned dilapidated homesii) Economic status(1) Low rents (low % own housing)(2) Poverty(3) High rates of infant death, TB, insanity, broken familiesiii) Population composition(1) High proportion foreign born (eastern then western European), AAiv) General (discussion): crime stems from(1) Chaos(2) Social disorganization(3) Ethnic heterogeneity (4) Residential mobility(5) Povertyc) Problems:i) Didn’t workii) Couldn’t predict anythingiii) More interested in people (sociology- control, strain theory)iv) Hard to measured) Deindustrializationi) Changes how neighborhoods work(1) Less change, more stability 5) Ruth Rosner Kornhauser (Neo-chicago school- 1978-now)a) A control/cultural perspective see how people establish norms in their neighborhoodb) 3 attributes of disorganized communitiesi) Povertyii) Racial/ethnic heterogeneity (different languages)iii) High residential mobility (1) Not knowing your neighbors- why would you care to get involved when your moving anywayc) Social disorganization produces delinquent subcultures which sustain delinquent values that are passed oni) Shows how it’s the area not the population in the area- mechanism why Czechs move out, Italians move in and still a problemd) Delinquency results from a communities inability to regulate behaviore) Policy solutionsi) Chicago area project (brainchild of Shaw and McKay)(1) Two goals(a) Coordinate local resources such as churches, schools, employers, clubs (neighbors meeting each other) (b) Sponsor a variety of activities: recreation, education, community projects (i) Jane Addams settlement house movement1. Invented social work- reach out to immigrant population and help them adapt(2) Impact (beneficial)(a) Improved educational, occupational access, forming local organization, improving interagency cooperation (3) However, no real impact on reducing delinquencyf) Chicago school fades into the backgroundi) The field shifted back from an individual level focusii) Stable community structure assumption underminediii) Social disorganization/ delinquency tautologyiv) Measuring delinquency with official datav) The assumption that all communities share an interest in conformity6) Neo-Chicago School a) 4 classificationsi) social ties and interactionsii) norms and “collective efficacy”iii) institutional resources what is it about institutions inside neighborhood and their access to outside institutions (government)iv) routine activitiesb) The “Truly Disadvantages”i) Leftover neighborhood population (in zone II)(1) No access to resources and have no money to afford resourcesii) Black and white flight resulting from deindustrialization produces neighborhood defined by:(1) Higher % living below poverty line(a) Bring in problems associated with poverty(2) Higher % on public assistance(a) Not making own income(3) Female headed households(a) Feminization of poverty- women more likely to live below line(4) Unemployment(a) Aren’t engaged in daily activities(5) Greater population < 18 years old(a) Need resources and oversight, but likely not getting it(6) Higher concentration of AAc) Social Capital (you don’t something for you ill do something back)i) Bonding and bridging capital(1) Bonding: (a) Relationships closest to you(2) Bridging: (a) Acquaintances- you know and might do something for each other(b) Relatively weak tiesii) The strength of weak tiesiii) 3 important elements(1) obligations and expectation (a) need to conform to expectations to be a part of something(2) information channels(a) informing each other, reputations,
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