Collective efficacy6/25/2023 ![]() In communities where residents are less active in enforcing order, groups of peers and associates who gather in public places are more likely to use violent means to solve disputes. Collective efficacy thus requires that community members feel strongly bonded to each other.Ĭollective efficacy is thought to reduce the likelihood of crime by preventing public disputes from erupting into violence. Conversely, it is in those communities where people trust each other more and are more willing to cooperate that community supervision is more likely to deter crime. In communities without clear rules for cooperation between neighbors, or where neighbors distrust or fear each other, residents are less likely to work together to supervise the behavior of individuals in the community. In order for collective efficacy to develop in a specific community or neighborhood, it is necessary that members of the community have strong feelings of trust and solidarity for each other. A key element of the collective efficacy perspective is that it focuses on the effects of informal norms and practices of the community in preventing crime, rather than on the effects of formal, established institutions (such as police forces). In communities where these informal practices are enforced on a day-to-day basis by community members, individuals are less likely to engage in delinquent behavior. Description Ĭollective efficacy includes behaviors, norms and actions that residents of a given community use to achieve public order (sociologists refer to these as “informal mechanisms”). In urban areas where neighbors monitor group behavior and are willing to intervene to break out fights or otherwise prevent disorder, violent crime is less likely to occur. ![]() The concept of collective efficacy has been used to explain why urban neighborhoods differ in the amount of crime that takes place in them. Collective efficacy has also been used to describe a violent flash mob, where large groups prearrange a time and place to corner a targeted individual with 'demands' for collective efficacy involving threats if the individual fails to meet the demands of the group. Sometimes stalkers will employ collective efficacy measures to attempt to interfere with the life of a targeted individual, or otherwise create negative public opinions with libel and slander. If members of a community trust each other and are willing to cooperate to prevent violence and crime, it is more likely that they will be able to create a safe community environment.Ĭollective efficacy can also have a negative context when used to target individuals for stalking or gang stalking and invasions of privacy. Communities with high levels of collective efficacy have been found to have lower rates of violence and homicide, suggesting that community participation in preventing violence reduces crime.Ĭollective efficacy depends on the values shared by community members. Researchers have argued that increasing collective efficacy can lead to a significant reduction of crime in communities. Collective efficacy involves residents monitoring children playing in public areas, acting to prevent truancy and street corner " hanging" by teenagers, and confronting individuals who exploit or disturb public spaces.Īdvocates of collective efficacy claim that these measures increase community control over individuals, thus creating an environment where violent crime is less likely to occur. Control of people's behavior allows community residents to create a safe and orderly environment. In the sociology of crime, the term collective efficacy refers to the ability of members of a community to control the behavior of individuals and groups in the community.
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