Even though there is changing racial and ethnic composition of the inhabitants in certain areas in the cities, there are consistently high crime rates from one decade to the next. According to Clifford Shaw and Henry D. McKay, the scenario is explained well by social disorganization theory. The foundation of the theory sought to link life in disorganized transitional urban centers to neighborhood crime rates (Wickes 2017). Social disorganization theory states that the behavioral choices an individual makes depend on the physical and social environment. The core of the theory holds that location plays a critical role in determining an area's illegal activities.
Shaw and McKay noted that some urban areas or neighborhoods have high crime rates due to at least three common problems; poverty, high level of an ethnic and cultural mix, and physical dilapidation. The high crime rate does not happen at the individual level, but a normal response by normal people to abnormal conditions in those areas in the cities and neighborhood. The social disorganization theory plays a critical role in predicting the crime rates and violence in the neighborhoods and some parts of the urban area because of cultural and ethnic mix and high poverty, and poor development. The theory also suggests that when predicting criminal activity in the cities, an individual's residence plays a significant role than the person's characteristics.
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For an extended period, urban areas and neighborhoods have people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and sometimes people live in poor states. When people are subjected to such abnormal conditions, they tend to respond by engaging in strange activities resulting in high crime rates transitioning from one decade to another. According to Shaw and McKay, the reason for high crime rates in some parts of cities is that people respond to the abnormal condition such as poverty and a mixture of cultures and ethnic groups by engaging in criminal activities.
References
Wickes, R. 2017. "Social disorganization theory: Its history and relevance to crime prevention." Preventing crime and violence 57-66.
