Linking Crime and Social Environment

This blog is going to focus on the causation of crime from a social and environmental perspective which takes the blame away from the individual.

Sociologists believe that people's behaviour can be influenced by the social structure and social groups in which they live in. The Chicago School Theory highlights how the issue of space in a city can result in overcrowding and therefore poverty and delinquency. The theory concluded that the neighbourhoods that experienced high delinquency rates also experienced social disorganisation. In other words there was a lack of control over the behaviour in that area and actually delinquent behaviour is sometimes approved by the people in the neighbourhood. The psychologist Bandura would link this type of learnt behaviour to his Social Learning Theory suggesting children will learn delinquent behaviour from their immediate family and friends and copy it. (A link to Bandura's experiment is below for further reading).

Robert Merton (1938) also suggests that deviant behaviour can result from the culture and structure of society. He looks at how in the USA people strive for the 'American Dream' which is largely measured in terms of peoples wealth and material possessions.

Merton argues how the American Dream has to be achieved through effort and talent however in reality there is an inequality of opportunity for people from working class and poorer backgrounds. This can therefore result in an unbalanced society where people may respond in different ways: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. Crime and deviance happens therefore as a way of the poorer people rejecting the 'American Dream.

Although Merton's study focused on America many sociologists such as Reiner (1994) have suggested his theory can be adapted to explain crime in other meritocratic countries. However Taylor (1971) argues that Merton fails to consider wider power relations in society. Cohen (1955) adapted Merton's work adding that lower working class boys adopt a delinquent subculture because they failed their education and are stuck in dead end jobs therefore they strive for high status elsewhere like becoming a member of a gang. Therefore I can be suggested that social environment can be a result of deviant behaviour.


For further reading:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/bobo-doll.html
https://misssrobinson.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/merton-and-the-americal-dream/