This theory suggests that individuals who commit crimes rely on the surrounding community. Shaw and McKay, who are two of the main contributors to social disorganization, believe that community disorganization is the main source of crime and believe that the solution to crime is to organize communities (Cullen, Agnew, & Wilcox, p. 107). According to the reading, the strengths of social disorganization can be classified into three. First of all, this explains the high crime rate in some areas. Second, it takes into account the transmission of deviant values from one generation to the next, and third, it predicts crime rates based on neighborhood characteristics. Given the circumstances, these strengths can often lead to its weaknesses. Social disorganization theory overuses a macro-sociological approach by focusing on broad areas instead of looking at the situation through an individual approach. Furthermore, the classification of an area as “disorganized” can actually be organized according to several criteria
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