Labeling Theory Of Crime

Theory Summary Labeling theory proposes that a deviant label given to a person by society can be given after a person commits a crime and proceeds to be active in delinquent activities because of the label or the label brought onto that person can cause them to commit the crime the label describes (Akers, Sellers, & Jennings, 2017). In 1951, Edwin M. Lemert created the terms primary and secondary deviance. Primary deviance is meant to be before the label is given to a person and seems to be unorganized and inconsistent (Akers, Sellers, & Jennings, 2017). People who commit primary deviance are normally found to be conventional citizens, however after they have committed crime and society has labeled them this turns into secondary deviance, which people would not have engaged in if the label society gave them was never assigned (Akers, Sellers, & Jennings, 2017;
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