Sociological Perspectives Of Crime And Deviance

This assignment will discuss the problems between crime and deviance, what counts as crime and deviance and how it varies with place and time. It will include the difference and similarities and give examples of defining crime and deviance. Finally the essay moves on to looking at how to identify why official statistics do not reflect in today’s society and may not be totally accurate.

C. Wright Mills first question is what is the structure of this particular society as a whole?. In asking this question, Mills wanted to know how crime is understood in society and how is it an essential components that is inter-related in society?. In society, crime is seen as any actions that violates the laws established by a political authority. However, according to the authors of the book introduction to sociology states that “sociologists studying crime and deviance in the interactionist tradition focus on deviance

Marxist claim that the bourgeoisie choose what they consider is criminal and deviant behaviour within society. They say the proletariat are the main culprits of the criminal behaviour, and they and those who are in a lower class are forced into committing crimes to survive as there is no other option for them. The main reason for the high crime rate is due to how the system works. White collar crimes seem to usually be ignored while lesser crimes such as burglary, vandalism and every day street crime tend to be highlighted more within the public eye and seen as much worse. This may well be because the ruling class have the funds to provide good lawyers and the power to cover their crimes up. Because the working class are policed heavier, as they are expected to break the law more, they are more likely to be caught for any offences. Marxists value the norms and values of society believing that if you do not conform and obey the rules you should be punished. This is why schools, religion and the justice system (prison) are used to encourage people to conform to what society expects of them.

Interactionists do not believe that deviants and criminals are different to others, they believe that everyone commits deviant acts however only some are caught, stigmatized and ridiculed for them.

The movie “City of God” has many examples of sociological theories of crime and deviance. Some of the major theories I noticed throughout the movie were the functionalist theory, including examples of relative depravation, as well as the interactionist theory, including differential association and labeling. There was also evidence of the conflict theory and the control theory throughout the film.

Edward meets all the theories of sociological, biological, psychological, and social psychological. Sociological theory is crime results from social or cultural forces that are external to any specific individual, exist prior to any criminal act, and emerge from social class, political, ecological, or physical

1. Sociologically, what is crime? How does the sociological study of crime help police, the courts, and the correctional system deal with crime in society. While deviance is a behavior that departs from the rule, and crimes are specific deviant actions that break the criminal law. There are many sociological approaches to crime and deviance.

Examine and assess the usefulness of one of the following theories of crime and deviance in terms of explaining crime and the social problems in modern society.

The criminal justice system isn’t perfect, much like any largescale system it has its flaws. Sadly, some of the criminal justice system flaws are bigger than others and the smaller ones don’t get any attention from the public and go unresolved. That is not to say that all the problems with the criminal justice system shouldn’t be dealt with, but some of the problems aren’t even being considered. A problem that has rocked the boat on a public scale, but has never really been questioned would be the flawed double jeopardy law. The law that protects people from double jeopardy is a difficult one to undo because it is sealed in the U.S. Constitution. The

Labelling Theories' Contribution to the Sociological Understanding of Crime and Deviance Becker is the main sociologist studying labelling theory on deviance, he argues that 'social groups create deviance by making the rules whose infraction constitutes deviance.' Meaning acts only become deviant when observers perceive it and define it as deviant. An example of this would be the act of nudity, it is accepted in the bedroom between husband and wife or on a nudist camp, but when a stranger was to enter the bedroom, or someone was to streak across a sporting event, others would usually see this as deviant, and this deviancy would become a label on the individual. Several factors affect what the

Deviance and crime are wide-ranging terms used by sociologists to refer to behavior that varies, in some way, from a social norm. Cultural Norms are society's propensity towards certain ideals; their aversion from others; and their standard, ritualistic practices. Essentially the 'norm' is a summation of typical activities and beliefs of group of people. This essay will evaluate the sociological theories associated with crime and deviance and to compare and contrast these main theories. And find links between these theories to today’s society. There are various Sociological deviance theories, including Structuralist: why do some people break the rules? ,

Theories of Deviance are limited in their ability to explain deviant acts if one adopts the view that these theories are universal. There is no universal, right or wrong theory, rather each theory provides a different perspective which only "fully makes sense when set within an appropriate societal context and values framework" .

Crime is considered to be some breech or violation of behaviors which stand in opposition of rules or norms instituted by some governing body. Some actions are considered to be crimes throughout most societies in history; murder or physical abuse can serve as an example as an example. However, the majorities of things that are considered crimes are more of a subjective nature and vary widely in different societies. In many societies it is a crime to be an atheist or to be homosexual for example, while in other societies these items are tolerated and in some cases are considered social norms. Furthermore, when an individual is considered to have committed a crime, the punishments for these crimes also can vary widely depending on the culture, the social norms, the position of the authority figure, as well as a plethora of other factors. This paper will analyze some of the different forms of crime and they develop and how they are treated in different societies.

In studying crimes and deviance, sociologists look to explain what types of behavior are defined as deviant as opposed to criminal, who defines deviant behaviors, why people become deviant, and how society deals with deviant behavior. Deviance is defined by sociologists are behavior that significantly goes against expected rules and norms. Criminal behavior is behavior that violates the law. Sociology studies groups as opposed to individuals, so when studying crime and deviance, sociologists are looking at the factors that influence groups as a whole to engage in crime and deviant behavior. In defining deviant behavior, the definition may vary throughout different groups. Not all groups of people will consider the same behaviors

Many people have different theories as to why crime exists. Some believe crime happens because of the individual’s culture, education (or lack there of), or even their race. Others believe crime is associated with whom we surround ourselves with. There are three sociological theories that suggest why crime happens in society; they are social learning theory, social control theory, and social reaction (labeling) theory. These theories suggest it is our relationships and social interactions that influence our behavior.