Premise: Chapter Six discusses that crime is a social phenomenon and central to any understanding of ...

---

Premise: Chapter Six discusses that crime is a social phenomenon and central to any understanding of crime, is the role that society, social institutions, and social processes play in its development and control. 1) Can a person's social environment lead that person into crime? If so, how? Can changes in the social environment end criminal involvement? 2) The Broken Windows Theory says that physical deterioration and an increase in unrepaired buildings lead to increased concerns for personal safety among residents living in such areas and may contribute to heightened crime rates. If this is true, how do run-down conditions in a neighborhood translate into criminal activity? Are such conditions the cause of crime? Explain. 3) Gresham Sykes and David Matza believed that offenders and delinquents are aware of conventional values and understand that crime is wrong but they overcome feelings of responsibility through what Sykes and Matza called, "techniques of neutralization". They identified five (5) such techniques. Out of these five techniques, which do you think is the most important? Why?