Criminological Theories in Code of the Street by Elijah Anderson
Book Summary
In the book Code of the Street, Elijah Anderson tries to highlight the main features of the so-called street code. These are certain informal rules that govern the behavior of people in public. Moreover, this code is a certain way of protection, so people try to adhere to the established rules, even if they do not approve of them. This paper analyzes code of the streets from the perspective of different criminological theories.
Example of Social Disorganization Theory
“The girl went around the corner. When she came back, she had twenty different people with her. But I knew what was gonna happen” (Anderson para. 14). This example illustrates the Social Disorganization Theory proposed by Thomas and Znaniecki. According to this theory, crime arises from a lack of social control in a community or neighborhood, which leads to the normalization of deviant or criminal behavior.
Example of Lifestyle Exposure Theory
“Hardly a night goes by that I don’t hear gunshots” (Anderson para. 41). This situation is an example of the heightened risk of becoming a victim of crime presented in the Lifestyle Exposure Theory. According to this theory, certain human behaviors, including going out at night, may increase the risk of victimization.
Example of Differential Association Theory
“To get people to leave you alone, you gotta fight. Talking don’t always get you out of stuff” (Anderson para. 72). This illustrates the process by which a person adopts values and behaviors from their environment. This concept is presented in the Differential Association Theory proposed by Sutherland.
Example of Labeling Theory
“Just me being in that private school convinced my family, my aunts and uncles, that something was going on with me” (Anderson para. 48). According to labeling theory, people tend to stigmatize the behavior of others by imposing certain expectations on them. At the same time, these expectations can often have a negative context, such as a propensity to commit crimes.
Example of Social Learning Theory
“My cousins threatened to beat me up once just because [they said] I thought I was better than them” (Anderson para. 53). According to Social Learning Theory, developed by Akers, criminals learn from the environment around them. Moreover, the code of the streets implies the oppression and insult of those who are different or not member of their community.
Work Cited
Anderson, Elijah. “Code of the Street. Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City.” The New York Times. Web.