Shaw and McKay

Shaw and McKay were sociologists who studied why certain neighborhoods in cities had higher crime rates. They found that crime wasn't simply due to individual traits but was linked to social and environmental factors. Particularly, they observed that crime was more common in areas with poverty, unemployment, and a lack of community cohesion—especially in neighborhoods undergoing rapid change or instability. Their research showed that these neighborhoods often had a cycle of poverty and social disorganization that persisted across generations, making these social factors key to understanding patterns of crime, rather than solely focusing on individual behavior.