Broken Windows Theory Sociology

Decent Essays
The correlation between poverty and the rate of juvenile offending which you have outlined seem to align with the broken windows theory. The broken windows theory states that if a community appears to be dilapidated and neglected due to poverty, as well as minor crimes such as vandalism and littering, there will be a perceived lack of social control that will encourage offenders to target these areas over areas that appear to be maintained and monitored (Caudill, Getty, Smith, Patten & Trulson, 2009). This means that a juvenile living within an impoverished community would be more likely to commit acts of delinquency due to their background in an area of limited resources. These juveniles are socialized into believing that their communities

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