Social Disorganization Theory essentially means that the lower quality of living a community faces, there is a direct influence on the crime in said area. Of course, this is merely a small part of the theory, as there have been a multitude of studies on this subject and our understanding of our communities has progressed exponentially. Social Disorganization also extends to our familial environment and how we were raised. For some areas, the social disorganization of a neighborhood may shape their entire lives and determine whether they spend their lives behind bars or retiring on a front porch somewhere nice. Sometime social disorganization determines somebody’s entire life without them even realizing it. Police also contribute to the social disorganization of an area as well. No citizen should fear being murdered by the very people that swore to protect them, and they do in-fact, swear to it. When police execute someone in a community, they are destroying trust in the area. Criminals shouldn’t be allowed to roam free and do whatever they want, but it seems most cops are having a shoot first approach, especially in certain, disorganized communities like Vallejo, California.
People
say that we are products of our environment, and it’s true. A man named Chris
Wilson grew up in what his prison psychologist described as a “combat zone,”
because of the number of firefights and gunfire that transpired daily and
nightly in Mr. Wilson’s neighborhood growing up. Combat is a harsh term, only
to be used in the most stressful of circumstances, and Mr. Wilson’s childhood
was unfortunately best summarized by that soulless, malignant word. In an
article by CNN Money regarding the challenges in his community that he overcame
to be the incredible businessman he is today, they state that, “He was just a
teen when he witnessed his mother being raped and beaten by a police officer
she was dating. Then, at 16, he was kidnapped at gunpoint. After he was freed,
he recalls his mother and family laughing at him for being kidnapped,
especially because he had been carrying a gun.”
Chris Wilson hails from Washington D.C., where he first
started carrying a gun at the age of fourteen years old and ended up using it
at seventeen. He eventually was given a life sentence for first-degree murder.
Social Disorganization, at its core, means that people
are the products of their environment. After a few generations of this, the
environment starts becoming a product of them. The environment can start to
take on the portrayal of the community afflicted and crime rates may climb
astronomically compared to other areas. In a study conducted by The University
of Sao Paulo Medical School in Brazil and The Department of Sociology from
Utrecht University in the Netherlands, researchers “…identified four distinct
trajectory groups among 157 large US cities and found that social disadvantage
and social disorganization are associated with a higher homicide trajectory
group.”
Vallejo,
California is a very diverse suburb, with a crime rating of “F” by the AreaVibes
website, which goes to state that “When it comes to violent crimes, Vallejo, CA
shows a crime rate that is 91% higher than the California average. The crime
rate is also 124% higher than the national average. When it comes to property
crimes, Vallejo, CA is shown to be 51% higher than the California average and
59% higher than the national average.”
Social Disorganization can come from a multitude of
factors. Incomplete familial structure and delinquent peers can lead to the
demise of a juvenile’s morals just as quickly as growing up surrounded by
vagrancy can. All of this, paired with officers who are in higher crime rates
than other areas, may be readier to end a life than other officers. The Vallejo
Police Department has an abysmal record when it comes to preserving life in
their community. In an article from the website KQED, Vallejo Police Officers
shot and killed six people in the year 2012 alone.
Shaw and McKay believed that, “…in its purest
formulation, social disorganization refers to the inability of local
communities to realize the common values of their residents or solve commonly
experienced problems.”
Works Cited
Almasy, S., & Alsup, D. (2019, February 15). Colorado store that boycotted Nike after Colin Kaepernick ad will close. Retrieved from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/14/us/colorado-store-closing-nike-boycott/index.html
AreaVibes, Inc. (2017). Vallejo, CA. Retrieved from AreaVibes: https://www.areavibes.com/vallejo-ca/crime/
CBS Sacramento. (2019, February 11). Man Killed By Police In Vallejo Identified As Local Rapper Willie Bo. Retrieved from CBS Sacramento: https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2019/02/11/vallejo-rapper-police-shooting-willie-bo-fbg/
Emslie, A. (2014, May 20). Questions Surround Surge in Vallejo Police Shootings. Retrieved from KQED News: https://www.kqed.org/news/135682/amid-a-series-of-vallejo-police-shootings-one-officers-name-stands-out
Hayes, Z. (2011). Police Use of Excessive Force in Disorganized Neighborhoods : A Social Disorganization Perspective. ProQuest Ebook Central: LFP Scholarly Publishing.
Nania, R. (2019, February 13). From life in prison to published author: DC native pens ‘Master Plan’. Retrieved from Washington's Top News: https://wtop.com/living/2019/02/from-life-in-prison-to-published-author-dc-native-pens-master-plan/
O'Brien, S. A. (2016, June 7). From life sentence to White House guest: one ex-con's journey. Retrieved from CNN Business: https://money.cnn.com/2016/06/07/technology/chris-wilson-baltimore-entrepreneur/
Ortiz, E. (2019, February 13). California rapper sleeping in car killed by police who opened fire. Retrieved from NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-rapper-sleeping-car-killed-police-who-opened-fire-n971241
Peres, M. F., & Nivette, A. (2017). Social disorganization and homicide mortality rate trajectories in Brazil between 1991 and 2010. Social Science and Medicine, 92-100.
Robert J. Bursik, J. (1988). Social Disorganization and Theories of Crime and Delinquency: Problems and Prospects. Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma.
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