The Crimes That Go Against One 's Morals And Value System

Crime and deviance are acts that will elicit dissent from society. They take various forms and involve various concepts and theories. It will be the aim of this paper to explore those that are considered to be functional for society. It was Emile Durkheim who first clearly established the logic behind the functional approach to the study of crime and deviance[1] when he wrote The Rules of Sociological Method and The Division of Labour[2].

What are three behaviors that are deviant but not criminal; A child who says he will clean their room after you give them a reward first, but then does not clean. Its consider deviant behavior and will cause mistrust, it’s not a crime because the kid decided to not clean his room. Its frowned upon for the kid disobeying. Wearing skimpy clothes to church, its deviant behavior because it’s wrong to wear revealing, short clothes to church. It’s not criminal because there isn’t a law passed of what you can and cannot wear to church. Having tattoos is considered deviant. Employers usually frown upon people with lots of tattoo’s or a sleeve of them. It’s not criminal or against the law to get a tattoo.

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

Crime can fall under two categories, when it comes to determining seriousness. Mala in se crimes are crimes that are “inherently evil”. They are crimes that across almost all cultures would be considered horrifying. Murder and rape for instance can both be classified as mala in se crimes because these crimes are serious and most reasonable people would have no doubt in their mind that these acts are immoral and unlawful. On the contrary, mala prohibita includes acts that some people wouldn’t even

Mala prohibita on the other hand is defined as “crimes that are wrong simply because they are prohibited though they involve no moral turpitude or baseness of conduct” (Chamelin & Thomas, 2012, p. 10). Examples of these crimes are public intoxication, parking and traffic violations, and even illegal drug use. Therefore, just from the definitions of each classification distinction, the main difference is apparent. Mala in se crimes are referred as crimes that are offenses in the common law that are considered deviant or morally wrong for communities and/or societies because they can be a threat to someone’s life. On the other hand, mala prohibita crimes are not necessarily wrong morally or considered “inherently evil” but rather they are considered wrong because criminal law says so because they are meant to protect the health, safety, or well-being of society. ).

In the 1998 film American History X, Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for brutally murdering two black men who were breaking into his truck. Through his Brother Danny’s narration of a paper he is writing, it is learned that Derek was the leader of a large Neo-Nazi group known as D.O.C., or Disciples of Christ, that committed many acts of racial crime throughout Los Angeles. During his time in prison Derek decides that hate is a waste of time after being violently raped by fellow white supremacists, and his only friend being a black man, who was only in prison for a misunderstanding. After getting out on parole, Derek learns that Danny is headed down the same racist path as him, and decided that he must put a stop to it. Throughout this film there are many examples of the five theories of deviance; Functional, Conflict, Labeling, Broken Windows, and Differential Association. From Derek’s initial exposure to racism, all the way to him deciding to change, all five theories are exemplified through Derek, Danny, their Father, Cameron, or the D.O.C. as a whole.

What determines criminal behavior? Are they born to be a natural born killer, is it in their genes, or is it a learned behavior? There are multiple factors resulting in criminal behavior, from genes to environmental factors. Although it is said and believed that criminal behavior is biologically determined there are even more learned or environmental factors that play a role in criminal behavior.

According to Tibbetts (2015), mala in se literally means evil in itself, are crimes that usually involve serious violence and shock society. On the other hand we have crimes that are known as mala prohibita, which means evil because prohibited, these crimes are not necessarily evil, but they are bad only because the law says so. These crimes don’t necessarily require intent, just the fact that the person who committed the crime is in fact, guilty of the crime. There is a distinct difference between the two, which will be made evident in the following paragraphs.

Definitions are important in any piece of persuasive writing. In particular, it is important that both the writer and the reader understand the particular term that is being defined. This process makes sure that both the author and the reader have the same definitions. This paper attempts to provide definitions for three particular terms: illegal, unethical, and immoral and makes clear distinctions among them.

Over the past twenty years, gang related activity in the Caribbean has increased steadily. This increase in gang related activity has been a result of the formation and migration of new gangs in the Caribbean as well as, the extension of existing gangs. The recruitment of members for these gangs usually targets young persons as they are more susceptible to joining. Juvenile gang involvement is a growing problem in the region and especially in Trinidad and Tobago. This paper will look at the Cultural Deviance Theory of crime to explain this growing phenomenon. This theory will include Albert Cohen’s Delinquent Sub Cultural theory as well as Cloward and Ohlin’s Theory of Differential Opportunity. A plan to divert juveniles away from becoming involved in these gangs will also be given at the end of this paper along with the perceived problems of its operationalization.

Sex crimes include acts considered as either sexual abuse, or a non-tolerable behavior considered inappropriate to social norms. The law forbids certain sexual acts, despite expressed consent from both parties. Sex laws vary from region to region, and may evolve over time. Furthermore, sexual acts forbidden by law in a proscribed jurisdiction are coined as sex crimes.

Crime is an act against the law where the consequence of conviction by a court is punishment is a serious one such as imprisonment. The Oxford English Dictionary states that crime is: - “An act punishable by law, as being forbidden by statute or injurious to the public welfare…An evil or injurious act; an offence, a sin”. The government usually set laws that the people must follow, punishment is given for those who lighten those laws. The legal or criminal justice system applies the law and punishes those who break it. Crime is described by Blackburn (1993; p.5) ‘acts attracting legal punishment […] offences against the community’. There is a social shame associate with crime. It is important to note that all breaches of the law are not criminal such as civil offenses and breach of contract. The word ‘crime’ is reserved for the offences that cause harm or injury to the public, individuals or the state. Social, political, financial and emotional conditions influence the definition of crime and how the law is useful. These changes may ban or allow behaviour. The data on crime will have to take this reason into account.

In the United States of America, societal deviance changes nearly on a daily basis. Depending on the current culture, deviance is modified to make societal heroes like celebrities, political figures, and sport players look less deviant and more like role models for the public. The change in what is considered “normal” is customarily a result of society in general. By using a reference group of people, individuals tend to identify with those who are in the lime light. Then when that role model does something appalling, the public becomes desensitized to this behavior and its abnormality and becomes less distinct thus adding to the change in social deviances.

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

The definitions of crime and law differ from country to country as well as it is also affected by time. For instance, it is not a crime to eat or butcher a dog in Mainland China but it is illegal to do so in Hong Kong (China and Hong Kong are one country but both have their own political and social system, so their definitions and process of crime and law differ) and to consume or trade of opium was legal in Hong Kong before second world war but after that it is criminalized to trade or consume opium in Hong Kong. Today opium is illegal all over the world. Now we can make a point that criminalizing any behaviour by the law is relatively affected by time and space in general. The certain types of behaviour that is criminalized in early days