Crime and Deviance - 4103 Words

Assignment Title: Functionalism claims to account for the functions and causes of crime and deviance within contemporary British society, yet it fails to account for white collar crime. Evaluate this statement. Every society is guided by laws and regulations, therefore, breaking of the law is known as crime or deviance. Crime and deviance will be defined with examples and how what is crime and deviance depend on culture and society will be analysed. Thus, a criminal act in one place is a norm in another place. Crime and Deviance changes as the society evolve, there were some activities that were classified as crime or deviance historically in England but are no longer crime and vice versa some activities that were not crime historically†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬ËœCrime and deviance are relative concepts’ that are based on a given society, culture and religion and there are no ‘fixed laws and norms’ (Marsh. Et al, 1997:511). Thus, a criminal behaviour in one society could be a norm in another society and a norm in a particular place could be a deviant in another place, crime and deviance are subject to change. Example of what used to be a crime but it is no long er a crime is homosexuality as mentioned above was a criminal act but is no longer a criminal act. However, homosexuality could still have been a criminal offence in UK if people did react that it should be made legal. The act that was not considers being illegal but now illegal is smoking in public places; it was not illegal to smoke in public places in England until 1 July 2007 when the smoke free regulations came to effect (smokefreeengland.co.uk). Although, homosexuality is not a crime in the UK but it is a crime in another country, for instance; homosexuality is a criminal and deviant act in Nigeria; it is culturally, socially and religiously unacceptable. The reason for this is because many Nigerians find it difficult to understand how one could be attracted to the same sex, and they believe that a marriage should be between a male and a female according to the Bible and Quran. Therefore, anyone caught in the act would be condemned by the society and prosecuted accordingly (mi ssionislam.com: Qur’an 7:80-81), (bbc.co.uk) and (skepticsannotatedbible.com:Show MoreRelatedCrime, Deviance, And Deviance899 Words   |  4 Pagesa people so drawn to crime and deviance in the news? What is it about human nature that has a secret sense of interest or even some excitement when we turn on the television and see something major going on like a high speed chase or the like? Interestingly, the closer it happens to be to where we are, the more interested we become as opposed to something happening out of state, or further off in another country. The point here is not to defend or glamorize crime and deviance, but to point out thatRead MoreCrime, Deviance, And Deviance3445 Words   |  14 PagesCrime and Deviance This report will begin by making a distinction between the concepts of crime and deviance, accompanied by the concept that crime is a social construct. Then this report will evaluate some theoretical approaches to how and why crime exists. Further reference will be made to the existing crime statistics, and the validity and reliability of the official statistics that measure crime. Finally, this report will look into the presentation of crime in two areas of the mass media. AtRead MoreDeviance And Crime And Deviance1623 Words   |  7 PagesDEVIANCE AND CRIME 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, orRead MoreCrime and Deviance1123 Words   |  5 Pagesexplanations of Crime and Deviance Labelling theory paved the way in understanding how deviance was something defined by social processes. In this way social agencies such as the police defined what was deviant. Marxists took this view even further by examining the power of certain social groups to define deviance and create the laws which secured social conformity. Marxists see crime and deviance as not coming from moral or biological defects but defects within social order. Crime is an inevitableRead MoreCrime and Deviance810 Words   |  4 PagesDa’Vaughn Hawkins Introduction of Sociology 29 October 2015 Written Assignment #3 Crime and Deviance With the rise of crime rates in the last couple of years, people are wondering if locking up the criminal and throwing away the key would be effective for social control. What these people fail to see is that by just throwing away the key, you aren’t actually helping that person to strive for and become anything better. The thing that would be more effective than throwing away the key isRead MoreCrime And Deviance1550 Words   |  7 PagesIn 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 areRead MoreDeviance And Crime1611 Words   |   7 Pagessociology book is about deviance, crime, and social control. This chapter was very interesting to me because it shows you how much violence is in our world that you do not really think about or hear about because it is overlooked. Everyone focuses on the big crimes, such as school shootings or terrorists acts, and overlook the victimless crimes and smaller things. This chapter also taught me a lot about deviance and made me form an opinion on whether it is a good or bad thing. Deviance is â€Å"a violationRead MoreCrime and Deviance1885 Words   |  8 Pagesfor the high proportion of young, working class males shown in official statistics on crime.† 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 whatRead MoreCrime and Deviance2170 Words   |  9 Pagescauses crime and deviance in society, biological or social factors? Definitions of crime and deviance would change according to time, place, situation and culture, as what is acceptable in one would be unacceptable in another. Crime would entail the breaking of the law according to time and place, deviance would be an action that is unacceptable to the majority within the time and place, but both can alter during time, place, culture and social norms including religion. One example of crime wouldRead MoreCrime and Deviance3081 Words   |  13 PagesCrime and Deviance from a Sociological and Psychological assessment: The sociology of deviance is the sociological study of deviant behavior, or the recognized violation of cultural norms. Cultural Norms are societys 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. There are various Sociological deviance theories, including Structuralist: why