Social disorganization refers to the failure by society members to gain social values and create solutions to most encountered problems in the community. It is traced to certain circumstances mostly in urban centers were the in coming low earning people could only live. This is affected by the mass rural-urban migration that leads to residential inability as well as the intermingling of the people with distinct cultural upbringings. The community creates certain structural characteristics that are related to certain delinquencies and crime (Cree E.
Viviene, 2000, pp 34). Cites like any other environment are ruled by the same forces of Darwinian evolution of competition which brings in some effects to the ecosystem. As they grew different people involved in different activities organized themselves in certain areas which later became highly populated hence they started to scatter away. Due too competition for land and other resources they stared to reorganize themselves in distinctive zones where they shared equivalent ecological pressures As the society grew, natural change naturally was experienced since the zone had been invaded by new elements thus reorganized itself. This further gave rise to reorganization in order to accommodate the incoming pressure.
Disorganization was seen in the initial stages due to disruption and subsequent breakdown of the normal structure hence some deviant behavior (Cree E. Viviene, 2000, pp 67). Most theories on social disorganization make the assumption that a well networked social organizations can help to cub crime as well as delinquency the society. Feeding the neighborhood members with good information on each other and being in good terms with one another creates big influence to the children who consequently affects the society in future. If the community grows larger then there is high possibility for informal surveillance since the residents are easily isolated from the other people.
On the other hand, society experiencing high levels of poverty and ethnic diversity experience higher rates of delinquency. Although social disorganization in mainly experienced in the urban centres, its presence is also felt in the rural areas. The same crime behaviors are transferred to the rural settings by the urban residents although they don’t produce alienation and mental health difficulties. The increased population reduces the chances of people knowing each other which affect surveillance and socialization of the youth. Certain factors that affect the community’s ability to create and maintain social relationships include residential instability, ethnic diversity, family disruption, economic status, population growth as well as nearness o urban centres. There is vibrant relationship between the society’s variables and the rate of committing crime (Bush M.
L, 1992, pp 89). In most urban centres the theory of crime is believed to start mostly with youth who are in teenage peer-groups, most probably street gangs where they become full time criminals. This happens if there is insufficient social control that can address the delinquency behavior as the youngsters grow. Children from not well bonded families are more likely to be involved with violent gangs; this is more experienced where their families fail to offer supervision and incomplete social behaviors.
Disorganized societies have been the major zones for holding, selling and use of illegal items and illicit businesses such as drugs, gambling, prostitution, fire arms since most of the organized crime reside in these areas (Mcallister Ian, 2003, pp 57). The gangs have representatives in the law enforcement agents and politicians in order to protect them. This causes difficulty to do away with the organized crimes in the disorganized societies. Organized crime is therefore becoming a force to be reckoned with in these communities.