However subcultural theorists developed this idea claiming that people experiencing strain seek different forms of success. More specifically Cloward and Ohlin put forward the idea of the 'illegitimate opportunity structure’, which they used to explain subcultural crime. This structure was operable outside of the mainstream structure and ultimately lead to the attainment of success and money through deviant means. For example, Cloward and Ohlin argued that organized crimes such as the drugs trade could be explained by failures in mainstream capitalism. Cloward and Ohlin argue, that the majority of criminals involved in the drugs trade were unable to succeed within capitalism and were driven to an illegitimate means of obtaining wealth.
The intoxication model suggests that individuals will not use rational thought while intoxicated which leads to the addiction model which states that crimes are committed so the addict can support the habit (WSSAC,2009) The systemic model states that crime occurs when the participant of the drug trade sales the drug. For instance, the use of drugs influences criminal behavior while the distribution of illegal products is a crime. Last is legal model. In this model the individual choices to either abide by the laws that have been enacted to address drug use, possession, and distribution or the person can choice the path that breaks these laws. The war on drugs has become top priority for justice members.
The bias that the media place on police statistics make it appear that the police force are more successful than they truly are, creating misleading statistics. This bias is formed as the police are a major source of crime stories and wish to portray themselves in a positive light and also due to the over exaggeration that the media places on crime. In some cases the media is seen as a cause of crime, as it has a negative effect on attitudes, values and behaviour. The media’s influence is seen to affect certain groups more than others, these groups are usually more susceptible to influence than others like the young, lower class and uneducated. The media influences these groups through many ways, such as imitation by creating a deviant role model encouraging “copycat” behaviour.
In the article “The Power of Context”, Malcolm Gladwell theorizes that context, or external pressure, contributes much more to an individual’s behavior than previously thought. The context that Gladwell refers to can be defined by the situation an individual is in. Within a particular situation there are influencing factors, such as people or the environment that he or she is surrounded by. He further argues that his concepts, such as the Broken Windows Theory, are the main reasons for the dramatic fall of crime rates in New York during the 1990s. In this case, the broken window is a signal that the community in New York was neglected, causing others to commit other types of crimes too.
This paper will serve to make an attempt to correlate the similarities of the social disorganization theory and organized crime, and evaluate the similarities of the political machine and organized crime as they apply to social disorganization. The study of crime has produced several theories; those that apply to organized crime are centered on how organized crime functions, and the relationship between the social environment and the individual and group within. According to Lyman and Potter "Some researchers link criminality to social conditions prevalent in neighborhoods. Many of them believe that the reasons crime rates are high in these areas are urban decay, a general deterioration of the ecology of inner cities, and general social and familial deterioration." (Lyman, Potter, 2007) Organized Crime is supposed to have structure and follow a regimented sequence that follows patterns during its day-to-day operations.
This plays a major factor in the homicide rate in Philadelphia, although it’s not the only factor. Being unable to support yourself financially can lead to other illegal options for people in urban parts of the city. Men typically turn to the streets and drug dealing to meet their financial needs. This may lead to bad deals that result in feud amongst different parties. According to Schneider, homicide is highly gendered.
Examine the role of access to opportunity structures in causing crime and deviance. Opportunity structures are seen to be one of the biggest factors that can lead to deviant behaviour or criminal activity such as stealing and selling drugs, an example of this would be a person not being successful in their education and unable to achieve socially approved goals by opportunity structures, this may result them to illegitimate opportunities such as crime so that they get what they want such as materialists things. Mertons strain theory helps explain this, he argues that people engage in deviant behaviour when they may become frustrated and stressed this often leads to criminal means of getting what they want by taking their anger out on someone else or also taking drugs to comfort them from their failure. Merton explains that there are two elements to this theory; Structural factors, which is society’s unequal opportunity structure and cultural factors, which is the strong emphasis on success goals and the weaker emphasis on using legitimate means to achieve them. Merton argues that deviant behaviour starts from the structure of society and because they are unable to gain something from socially approved goals by legitimate means.
Some of these criminals are in trouble with crime because of their social standings in their communities. “Social structure theory has three schools of thought--social disorganization, strain, and cultural deviance theories” (Seigel, 2000). The social disorganization theory states that a person resorts to crime because of the location and economic standing that the person is in. If a person is poor it is thought of that the person will more likely commit a crime. The social strain theory states that the person commits the crime because they are angry because they are not able to succeed economically as he/she would like to.
City Demographics and Crime Profile Heide M. Banks, Shayla Blair, Neil Lammons, Daniel Stevens, Maria Torres AJS/542 April 14, 2014 Marcela Morales Abstract The effects of crime are serious for a society. Unfortunately, most cities and towns in the United States experience some form of illicit behavior by their citizens. Information concerning the number of vandalisms, burglaries, assaults, and murders of an area can sway prospective buyers from purchasing homes or businesses from settling in a select community. Some believe that urban areas struggle with higher crime rates than suburban areas. Historically, crowded, low-income neighborhoods were thought of as crime capitals.
Drug Trafficking in the United States Michelle Patterson Eng 122 Prof. Benjamin Daw October 1, 2012 Drug Trafficking 2 The purpose of this topic is that I want to inform people about the social, and the ethical effects that drug trafficking has on upon our society. From people robbing others to families stealing from each other to leaving children without one or both parents, drugs have affected our daily lives. Some addicts spend so much time and money trying to obtain drugs or under the influence of drugs that they neglect their family, friends, and work. I will show through statistics how drug trafficking affects our economy, and introduce you to some low-level offenders that have had stiffer sentences than others simply