Crime and Deviance 2 Perspectives

In my years growing up has been a whirlwind of events and fast growing to adulthood. I believe that all crime is not deviance and all deviance is not crime.. At a young age I wanted to get a move on with life I wanted to be an adult therefore I was employed with a fulltime job at fifteen years old, while still attending school fulltime. I took it a step further and was emancipated then married at fifteen years old to a man a few years older then me. Was this deviance to my family yes because I wanted to be an adult not a child? Was it a crime could have been but I believe

Merton’s theory came after the 1930s depression in America, the opinion in society at this time in order, to gain financial prosperity can be obtained by those individuals willing to work hard. However, in reality lots of individuals were at the time experiencing severe poverty, because the opportunities to prosper was not available. So, in truth it can be argued that Merton’s theory is more focused on social context, and it does not explain crime in multiple societies, and in different eras in history. (Carrabine, 2009, p80)

Deviance occurs when an individual commits something that disregards or breaks a social norm or folkway; deviant behaviors are considered criminal when it breaks more serious mores. These mores or laws, unlike norms or folkways, have more formal punishments and sanctions, such as fines or imprisonment. The purpose of these punishments or sanctions, according to Diana Kendalt (2017) in Sociology in Our Times, is to give retribution, make a general deterrence, incapacitation, or rehabilitation. In that order, it is to punish the offender fairly for a crime (eg. An eye for an eye, and the death penalty), make a punishment so undesirable that it prevents the act from being committed by other or the first offender, long

Assess the contribution of the Marxist theory to the sociological understanding of crime and deviance.

There are key differences between what is considered deviant and what is criminal. Deviant behaviour is defined as violation of norms and these are typically socially defined rules of behaviour and are not legally enforceable. In comparison, the definition of criminal behaviour is the violation of law and this is legally enforceable. For example, it could be considered deviant for someone to refuse to line up in a queue, whereas it is criminal for someone to carry an unregistered gun. A social problem is a condition or behaviour that requires remedy because a large enough section of the community regard it as harmful or negative. These definitions could be considered a social problem because there is no consistent definition of what is criminal or deviant; it is something that changes based on who is doing the defining. This means that what could be considered deviant or criminal by one section of society could differ to the views of another section. For example, some sections of the community consider homosexuality to be a violation of a social norm; some

Anomie theory causes that the motivation for crime is derived from sociatal forces that pressure people to commit crime. In his classic 1938 theory, Social Structure and Anomie, Robert Merton argues that the U.S. places a relatively strong emphasis on the goals of monetary success, yet there is a weak emphasis on the legitimate norms such as education and hard work. When achieving this goal. Thus the goal seeking behavior is subject to less regulation in the United States than in other societies. Merton suggests that the U.S. is a society with little regulation, and is characterized by a sense of anomie or normlessness.

Crime is generally defined to violate the criminal law which then deals with the punishment through the legal system. Deviance is a much wider and unclear impression than crime, which makes it more difficult to define. Deviance exists in relation to what considered "normal" in society. Crime and deviance crash in various categories since criminal acts are often viewed as deviant acts.Which makes the two go back to back when comparing their differences.Then there’s the question we as individuals often ask ourselves,why do people break the law?There are several reasons to why people break the law or commit other deviant non-law violating acts due to how society tends to treat them.Consequently, if you take a look at how society treats one another,

Social structural arrangements affect social processes by exerting pressure on certain persons in the society to engage in nonconforming rather than conforming conduct”. Most groups that are socialized tend to want the same cultural goals such as, status, economic reward, and social influence, but they tend to also not be able to have the means to attain those goals. Anomie is a precursor of deviant behavior. It is defined as the dissociation between cultural goals and available means for attaining them. This can be seen through strain, stress, or tension that requires some form of adaptation. The variations in rates of deviant behaviors can be accounted to a number of factors such as, conformity, which is the typical adaptation to a state

Within society, there are set traits that are viewed as “normal”. Whenever someone or something goes outside those normal characteristics, it is viewed as deviance. Deviance is a word that is often associated with the breaking of laws , but not all deviant behavior is criminal. All crime though, is considered deviant. Referencing our textbook, Our Social World, crime is when deviance is performed in a manner that breaks the laws that have been enforced into society. Deviance and crime are often seen to go hand in hand. They are similar, due to each being something that goes against the norm. However, it is important to remember that even though similar, deviance and crime are different in a major way. Crime is deviance that is punishable by

Crime can be defined as ‘An action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law’ (Oxford Dictionary, 2017). It’s the violation of a written law that is set by society and is known as ‘committing a crime’. Deviance is defined as ‘the fact or state of diverging from usual accepted standards, especially in social or sexual behaviour’ (Oxford Dictionaries, 2017). To be deviant would be to perform an act that strays from the normal behaviours, or “norms” of any given society.

The sociologist Robert Merton developed the theory called Strain Theory based on social adaptations. He believed that environmental and biological factors contributed to the social deviance. In his theory he explains how deviance may not be a free will, like most sociologist before him thought to be. His inspiration to cultivate the strain theory came from the theory on anomie that was established by Emile Durkheim ( (Kapelos-Peters). Anomie refers to a condition or malaise

This essay will start by making a distinction between the concepts of crime and deviance, followed by an examination how such concepts have been acquired and accepted by society. Further reference will be made to the current crime statistics, and analyse some of the possible explanations for the high proportion of crime that is being committed by young males. Finally, consideration will be given to what the main sociological perspectives functionalism, Marxism and internationalism, would have to say about this whole subject.

According to Macionis (2016, p.171), deviance may be defined as the documented contravention of cultural standards. It is the intentional disregard for conventional way of association. The link between deviance and crime may be high based on what theory one chooses to explicitly follow. For the best part of this sociological paper, the focus will be on the social conflict theory which tends to shares some baseline from the work of the sociological father Durkheim on crime. Also, the paper will look at the necessity of technology in the American economy and thereafter on whether the American dream is attainable.

Socialization is the lifelong experience of human beings in which they develop both their potentials as well as culture (Macionis, 2016, p.75). In the absence of socialization, there is isolation and this becomes the major breeding ground of adverse deviance in most children and teenagers as they grow up. According to Macionis (2016, p.171), deviance may be defined as the documented contravention of cultural standards. The link between deviance and crime may be high based on what theory one chooses to explicitly follow. For the best part of this sociological paper, the focus will be on the social conflict theory which tends to shares some baseline from the work of the sociological father Durkheim on crime. Also, the paper will look at the necessity of technology in the American economy and thereafter on whether the American dream is attainable.

Crime is the action which is prohibited by the criminal law (Norris, 2000). It is also an armful act or omission against the public which the State wishes to prevent and which, upon conviction, is punishable by fine, imprisonment, and/or death. No conduct constitutes a crime unless it is declared criminal in the laws of the country. Some crimes (such as theft or criminal damage) may also be civil wrongs (torts) for which the victim(s) may claim damages in compensation. (Business Dictionary, 2017). Deviance is any behaviour that violates social norms, and is usually the disapproval of certain behaviours from the majority of society. It is also refers to the behaviour that is considered weird, odd and strange. Deviance can also be criminal or non‐criminal depending on the place and what are the laws saying about Deviance. (Harcourt, 2016). Social Construction is a concept or perception of something based on the collective views developed and maintained within a society or social group; a social phenomenon or convention originating within and cultivated by society or a particular social group, as opposed to existing inherently or naturally. (Dictionary, 2017).