Explain Cloward and Ohlin’s opportunity theory, the three types of neighborhood structures they identify and how each of these affects opportunities for deviant action

Question

Please provide the best answer for the statement.

Answer 1

1. Opportunity theory holds that those who have many opportunities—and good ones
at that—will be more likely to commit crimes than those with few good opportunities.
2. In stable neighborhoods where most people know each other throughout their lives, criminal subcultures develop, devoted to such activities as burglary and theft. Young men can rely on social contacts with experienced older men to learn the roles of being a criminal.
3. In unstable neighborhoods where people are constantly moving in and out, there are few opportunities to learn about burglary and theft, and boys who are mostly strangers to each other must find some way to establish dominance. They develop violence subcultures, gaining tough reputations through fighting and assaults.
4. In neighborhoods too disorganized for either crime or violence, people withdraw from society altogether through the use of alcohol and drugs. They develop retreatist subcultures.