Crime and Deviance
“Evaluate sociological explanations for 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 what the main sociological perspectives functionalism, Marxism and internationalism, would have to say about this whole subject.
At first glimpse, crime and deviance are two concepts that for some people mean very much the same, when in reality both concepts mean different things. Crime is assigned to behaviours and actions that either go against or break the law (Kirby et al, 2000). On the other hand the concept of deviance is a lot more complex, because it is a much broader and ambiguous concept than crime, therefore far more difficult to specify. The deviance concept depends very much on what is that society defines as normal at the time, for that reason deviance can be “any type of behaviour that is not considered as normal, and moves away from customs and expectations of society” (Haralambos & Holborn, 2008). Therefore, the concept of deviance is socially constructed.
However, crime and deviance are concepts that can easily overlap each other, because all criminal acts are often seen as deviant, but not all deviant acts are considered crimes (Langley et al, 2008). For instance, murdering someone is seen as a crime and is punished by law, while taking part in a protest can be considered a deviant act, but unless a violent act is committed, just protesting is not perceived as a crime. To be able to make a distinction between crime and deviant behaviour, society had to find a way to condense and dominate undesired behaviours by
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.
At first glimpse, crime and deviance are two concepts that for some people mean very much the same, when in reality both concepts mean different things. Crime is assigned to behaviours and actions that either go against or break the law (Kirby et al, 2000). On the other hand the concept of deviance is a lot more complex, because it is a much broader and ambiguous concept than crime, therefore far more difficult to specify. The deviance concept depends very much on what is that society defines as normal at the time, for that reason deviance can be “any type of behaviour that is not considered as normal, and moves away from customs and expectations of society” (Haralambos & Holborn, 2008). Therefore, the concept of deviance is socially constructed.
However, crime and deviance are concepts that can easily overlap each other, because all criminal acts are often seen as deviant, but not all deviant acts are considered crimes (Langley et al, 2008). For instance, murdering someone is seen as a crime and is punished by law, while taking part in a protest can be considered a deviant act, but unless a violent act is committed, just protesting is not perceived as a crime. To be able to make a distinction between crime and deviant behaviour, society had to find a way to condense and dominate undesired behaviours by