What is the Contribution of Neighborhood to Crime?

Contribution of Neighborhood to Crime

In rural areas, neighborhood continues to be a primary group while in urban areas; it is emerging as a secondary group. Neighborhood is an important agency of social control and contributes much to the development of the child.

The child plays with his neighbours and gets the required recreation. But the neighbourhood also contributes to crime and delinquency by blocking basic personality needs, fostering anti-social values and creating subculture conflicts.

When a family migrates from one neighbourhood to another, in the new neighbourhood the children of the migrated family may find the prevalent values shocking and may ultimately come into conflict with the enforcement of law. This is so because the new neighbourhood may affect their attitudes and may handicap them in their social adjustment.

Influences in a neighbourhood can destroy the moral precepts of home, and the informal education provided by groups in the neighbourhood can easily nullify the effects of the teaching of family and school. Video parlours, cheap hotels and picture houses etc. in neighbourhood can also focalise the anti-social forces and create criminal attitudes in children.

Such places often become the centres of meeting-places of local ‘goondas’ (anti-social elements) and ‘hang-outs’ for members of the organised criminal gangs and petty politicians who indulge more in criminal activities than social activities.

In the causation of delinquency and crime, neighbourhood plays an important role in “delinquency area”. Lawlessness in these areas is transmitted through groups operating in the neighbourhood.