The theories under social structure focus on the topic of criminology and the main discussion by the theories is the emphasis of the relationship between criminal behavior and social structure. Sociology on itself is the general social change and the dynamics surrounding human behavior. Many criminologists have a believe that in order to understand the interaction between different families or unrelated people in school work or peers, the causes of different crimes has to be analyze. The economic structure of individuals living in a particular area should be among the most important areas to look at when judging a society (Sterling, 2010). The main reason behind this is that some people in the society are homeless while others are rich. These factors influence the kind of decisions made by different individuals especially the area of criminolo
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One of the theories is the social disorganization theory which links between crimes to the neighborhood characteristics like schools and the families. The facilitators of this theory McKay and Shaw argued that crime was basically found and rampant in some areas of concern within a town. Most of the crime cases are always reported to happen in the central parts of towns and the most transitional areas.
Other theories that fall under this category include the cultural deviance theory and the strain theory. The strain theory argues that crimes are a function of arising conflicts between the goals that people have and the available possible means at disposure that they can use to accomplish their aim and desire. Crimes are likely to be reported in a high rate in areas with cases of social injustice, corruption negative life goals. On the
other hand, the cultural deviance theory bases its ideas on both social disorganization and strain. According to Sellin, criminal law is an expression of dominant cultures that clash in ideas, the middle class and the rules that govern them. These different groups of people hold tight their social norms that never go in hand with the criminal law. This deviation in norms and criminal law leads to a continuous stream of crime. For this paper, an analysis of these theories will be further made and linked to some of the most common crimes along migration routes in Arizona, pelican bay state prison and war zone tent city.
Prostitution is a social reality to many women who seek to have an escape from their current sociocultural area due to abuse, poverty, and other factors. The main reason why these women escape their living places is in the hope of finding a better living life. A large number of women engage in prostitution in order to earn a living but another number of women have engaged in this business in the aim of joining different countries or living places illegally. According to a current research on immigration, 54% of the total immigrants are women and in the United States, the biggest problem to immigration is illegal crossing of the border between the United States and Mexico. Women have worked as prostitutes to serve the traffickers at the border but the negative part of it is that they end up getting exposed to diseases and slavery. The immigration routes are filled with nightclubs and brothels occupied by women prostitutes. When many of them are questioned about why they always
stick to the border prostitution they argue that this is the only way they can find their way into America. The issue of prostitution comes in hand with other issues of poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities.
The strain theory best describes this action whereby these women disjuncture between socially and sub culturally means and goals which leads to criminal behavior. The women in the immigration routes are under the pressure of escaping troubles in Mexico and only intend to get a better life in America. The kind of goals that these women are seeking is good inclusive of education, better life for their families, American dream, prosperity and opportunity. These women have the belief that accessing America is the end of their problems.
The pelican bay state prison is on the list of the worst prisons in America being located in America. This is a correctional service that is well known to hold the largest number of inmates. No one ever wishes to find himself inside the walls of this prison due to the kind of life that these inmates go through (Romano, 1996). The prison comprises of the worst criminals in the United States some arrested for murder, rape, terrorism and robbery. Inside this prison, it is believed that drug trafficking still takes place and other crimes. This situation of pelican bay prison brings us to the theory of social disorganization. This is the inability of the community to achieve the values that they share in solving a problem.
This theory explains that the disorganization that occurs in the community directly influences on the progress of the society on fighting crime. As much as the United
States government struggles to fight crime, less attention is paid to the activities that take place in prisons (Miller, 2010). According to Siegel on social process theory, criminal behavior is likely to be influenced by the kind of relationship and interaction that an individual has with other people. Many cases have been reported not only in this prison but also in other prisons in the united stets where young inmates are turned into criminals due to the influence that they get in the prisons.
Every time poverty comes into our minds, we tend to think about slums too. In every society, economic imbalance is likely to bring high poverty levels in the society. As time goes by, the rate of homeless people in the United States goes higher due to a bid by the government to take in more refugees from neighboring countries (Merton, 1968). These tents are said to last for a short time since the environment is considered harsh, poor climatic conditions and don’t provide a genuine solution to the homelessness situation. According to Crossman in the theory of structural strain, all individuals in the society have a certain goal that they intend to achieve in life; structural strain takes place when the society is unable to balance between the goals of the different individuals and the deviant behavior of the individuals. As much as the low and medium class is trying to satisfy some needs in their lives they find themselves going for some options like living in temporary tents. This idea is taking root as many people are intending to take this to the next step and make tents semi-permanent settlements.
Reference
- Merton,
R. K. (1968). Social theory and social structure Simon and Schuster
