How have critics responded to the theory?

Critics of this theory argue that higher rates can be the reflection of the police targeting the individuals from these areas, or that police are more inclined to arrest these individuals (Kawachi, Kennedy & Wilkinson, 1999). It is also true that factors such as broken families, conflicting social values, transient neighbours, and other factors are commonly found in lower-class neighbourhoods prone to crime. Yet similar factors can be associated with increases in crime in middle-class and upper-class neighbourhoods (Smith & Jarjoura, 1988). This suggests that the factors which the theory associates with impoverished areas can be found among all social classes.