Chicago School theory of crime focuses on the influence of the environment on criminal tendencies. The hypothesis favored by this theory is that an environment stricken by poverty, social instability, cultural conflict, and other similar factors resulting from phenomena such as urbanization and industrialization, is more susceptible to criminal activities than others. This theory, has been popular with criminologists for decades, and is still favored by many experts in the field. Indeed, it has significantly influenced the study and conclusions in the field of criminology.
The most significant influence of the Chicago School is on the methods of study used in criminology. The usage of official data for example has been implemented in the study of crime. Such data includes census reports, housing/welfare records and crime figures. The inclusion of this data would then reveal demographic information such as areas where crime, truancy and poverty were at their highest levels, and how these factors influence each other. Another method of study implemented by the Chicago school was the life history of the criminal. The results of such a study would then again be related to the physical environment in which the criminal and his or her activities were nurtured. In this way criminologists explain the path towards criminal deviancy within a psycho-social paradigm. In other words, the particular psychology of the criminal is related to physical and environmental factors influencing his or her criminal activities.
One of the shortcomings of this school could be an over-emphasis of specific social problems and their influence on crime, without taking into account other possible factors. This may lead to inaccurate results. Regardless of the this, however, the Chicago method remains popular with theorists, as it has provided criminology with guidelines for implementing institutions and remedies for high crime rates in specific areas.
