Socialogical Theory

There are many different theories in the field of criminology that help us to understand and learn. The sociological theory originated in 1897. There are many names associated with the theory a few of which I will mention later in my paper. The basic idea behind the sociological theory is that “a person’s place in the social structure determines his or her behavior. (Seigel)” There are many different theories that have been outgrowths of the Sociological theory such as strain theory and cultural deviance theory. These outgrowth theories take the basic idea of the sociological theory and build on it in order to help us to look at the modern ideas and the link between criminal behavior and social status.

In the early twentieth century Albion W Small organized the sociology department at the University of Chicago. This was the very first Sociology department in the United States. He was a chair of the department for over 30 years and contributed to the field greatly during that time. He along with his fellow sociologist wrote the first textbook in sociology in 1894. This textbook is still available today and still referred to as a syllabus of sociological methods. Small also established the American Journal of Sociology in 1895. This publication is still around today and is published at the rate of 6 issues per year. It remains a leading voice for analysis and research in social sciences. The AJS publishes a very small amount of the articles that are sent in and has a very strict reviewing process in which an article undergoes before publishing to ensure that the information that the reader gets is accurate. In many ways the contributions that Albion W Small made over 100 years ago are still around today.

The Chicago School brought to light to the issues of urban living and how it was breeding ground for criminals. The question most at the time had was why exactly this occurred. There are many theories and an entire centuries worth of research. Sociologist such as W. I. Thomas, Roban Ezra Park, Ernest W. Burgess and Louis Wirth all spent much of their careers studying the social impact of city life. Their works all tend to point to the same general ideas, that some city neighborhoods grow wealth and prosperity and other neighborhoods are breeding grounds for poverty and crime. The big question that they were trying to answer is why this happens.

One of the theories as to why certain neighbor hoods have such issues is that the poverty level is so high that normal institutions such as family and school cannot control the children. Children who come from the affluent neighborhoods had the resources necessary to go about day to day life but those living in poverty had to worry about things as basic as food and water. Since the social and ecological climate of these poor neighbor hoods was so, the behavior of the people living there reflected it. Meaning that these areas were natural breeding grounds for crime because that is what it took to be able to survive there.

The Chicago School suggested the view that the social ecological conditions and crime were connected. Criminal behavior is not a choice or an individual’s trait but that the condition in which the person lives influences the directions of crime rates. The term stratified society can be used to describe the socioeconomic structure in the United States. This means that there is unequal distribution of wealth and power. People in the United States are often divided into upper middle and lower class. The people at the top of the upper class make upwards of 1million dollars per year, while the people in the middle class range from $35,000-$89,000 per year. Those in the lower class make from $0-$35000 per year. This vast difference in earnings causes many of the problems that the lower class faces. When you are at the bottom it is hard to buy food to nourish yourself let alone any medical care or anything of that nature. As a nation we associate self-worth with material things and in doing this we are promoting crime. When someone does not have the means to acquire material things they may resort to illegal options to get what the desire. While not all will resort to this many will because in the lower class neighborhoods this is what is considered the “norm”. People in situations like this are much less likely to complete school because they do not see the importance of it when they can get what they want now even if it is not what society would see as correct and fair. Without a proper education it is harder to find legitimate jobs further continuing the cycle of poverty.

There is a cycle of poverty that we have allowed to occur since people moved from small towns and homesteads to the urban areas of cities. This cycle occurs due to the mistrust of public officials and government offices. Because of the mistrust persons caught in the poverty