Organized Crime and the Problem of Social Disorganization Essay

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Social Disorganization and Organized Crime

Developed by the Chicago School, social disorganization theory refers to the relationship between crime and ecology. Essentially, social disorganization describes how the ecological characteristics of a neighborhood or community will impact the levels of crime rates that occur there (Bursik, 1988). An extension of social disorganization theory is Broken Windows Theory, which holds that minor acts of vandalism and abandonment will lead to large acts of crime as it becomes clear to people that small, petty crime is tolerated so why not push the envelope and try to get away with more (Wilson, Kelling, 1982). The idea is that by fixing up and addressing vandalism, graffiti, broken windows, signs of abandonment, etc., communities can prevent crime from taking hold in a neighborhood. The more disorganized a neighborhood is, on the other hand, the more likely crime is to take root because there is no evident force or care on the part of the community to protect itself or prevent it from happening. The external, in other words, shows what is internal -- and people know that and respond accordingly.

Social disorganization relates to organized crime and its evolution in the sense that the more disorganized a community is, the more open it makes itself to organized crime coming in and having its way within the community. Some members of a socially disorganized neighborhood may even see organized crime as a positive influence in the neighborhood because it brings order and some wealth: "The organized crime groups are seen as a savior in the poverty stricken neighborhoods.

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The organized crime groups will create jobs and offer businesses protection from outside threats. The organized crime groups monopolize the social disorganized neighborhood. The social disorganized neighborhood creates wealth and power for the organized crime groups. The politicians may play a role in the success of organized crime too" (Social Disorganization, 2016). The end result is that disorganization in society leads to the possibility of organized groups whose actions are unethical to take advantage of the breakdown in order and impose their own system of ethics. For an ethical society to thrive it must be organized because organization and order act as borders and boundaries -- like walls or protective gear -- around a neighborhood or community. When that protection goes, host parasites and predators can creep in. Once it creeps it, it begins to take over by setting up shops, getting involved in dirty politics, infiltrating external sectors of law, order, society, etc., in order to infiltrate and impose its own orientation.

Social disorganization meets the criteria for organized crime very well because it basically acts as a vacuum -- and since nature abhors a vacuum, organized crime can fill the vacuum quite easily, offering to those in….....

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