ABSTRACT
Social disorganization theory is one of the oldest and most prominent macro-level theories of crime. Emile Durkheim was the first to draw attention to the ways in which social disorganization could affect the level of crime in society – an idea that was developed more extensively in the early twentieth century by the Chicago School theorists. Social disorganization theory was prominent from the 1930s to the 1950s when interest declined until it was rekindled in the 1980s. The idea that social disorganization affected crime was further advanced by Clifford Shaw and Henry McKay in their 1942 book Juvenile Delinquency in Urban Areas. In recent years, a number of studies related to social disorganization have re-examined the effect of community migration, and especially immigration, on crime. Social disorganization theory has also led to the development of a concept called community disadvantage.
