Criminological Theories Application A number of researches have been done on criminological theories. An example of criminological theory that has received a lot of attention over a couple of years ago is social disorganization theory. This theory attributes variation in crime and delinquency to absence or breakdown of communal institutions like family, school, church, and local government. The theory also attributes crime to communal relationships that traditionally encourage cooperative relationships among people. The concept is tied to conceptions of those properties of relationships indicative of social organization. People residing in a given territory are thought to have organized relationships. This is enforced by representatives of communal institutions like family heads, pastors, school organizations, and local officials. The organized interactions are closely associated with development of communal bonds among people in small ecological units (Voss & Peterson, 1971).

The New York City has had its own share of criminal challenges. Being a port...

This led to breakdown in the teaching and learning of prior social rules which had inhibited crime and delinquency. Mobility, economic competition, and individualistic ideology that lately characterized the lives of its residents disintegrated families and homogenous neighborhoods which were agents of social control. Relationships that were not governed by family and neighborhood sprung up. This eventually undermined government controls hence the persistence of systematic crime and delinquency.
Disorganizations that were witnessed also led to proliferation of cultural traditions and cultural conflicts that supported systematic crime and delinquency. A cultural system becomes disorganized when there are conflicts among values, norms, and beliefs within a widely shared dominant culture (Voss & Peterson, 1971). Law-abiding citizens tend to accord respect and admiration to people who take risks and engage in dangerous…