Crime
Crime is one of the biggest menaces in the society today. In the USA, crime has been in existence since colonization. Over the years, the rates of crime have varied. Crime rates increased during the period following the Second World War. In the early 1970s and 90s, there was a slight peak in crime rates, declining shortly during the 90s. According to the FBI definition, crime is broadly categorized as property crime and violent crime (UCR, 2010). Violent crime comprises of non-negligent manslaughter, murder, robbery, forcible rape, and aggravated assault. Property crime includes larceny, burglary, arson, and motor vehicle theft.
Crime over time
Crime rates in the USA were significantly higher than in Western Europe. For instance, one …show more content…
It plays a constructive role by ultimately making it possible to bring together different populations in a particular society. It helps to set apart unacceptable behavior from what is acceptable. It demarcates boundaries and determines how far people in society may go. This function is imperative because it affirms the cultural norms of a society. Additionally, deviant behavior promotes social unity because it creates an "us-versus-them" mentality especially in dealing with deviant individuals. This theory argues that deviance leads to social change with time. It leads to significant imbalances in the social equilibrium. Society is then forced to adjust social norms in order to restore this balance. Thus, deviance leads to social stability in the end (Henslin, …show more content…
These people adopt the label and exhibit the expected actions, attitudes, and behaviors associated with the given label. Thus, people become deviant due to other people forcing that identity on them. Stigma plays a role in this labeling process. A stigmatized identity is attached to the labeled person. For instance, punks accept the label placed on them by society and begin to display the types of behaviors expected of punks in order to fit the label (Henslin, 2012).
Labeling theory makes it possible to understand how behaviors that took place in the past life of an individual labeled deviant are reinterpreted according to their label. The process of recasting these past events in light of the current deviant identities is known as "retrospective labeling." A case of this is seen in how the people who committed the Columbine High School massacre were recast after the occurrence took place. Every action they engaged in was interpreted according to the label they had been assigned based on their past behavior (Henslin,
Crime is one of the biggest menaces in the society today. In the USA, crime has been in existence since colonization. Over the years, the rates of crime have varied. Crime rates increased during the period following the Second World War. In the early 1970s and 90s, there was a slight peak in crime rates, declining shortly during the 90s. According to the FBI definition, crime is broadly categorized as property crime and violent crime (UCR, 2010). Violent crime comprises of non-negligent manslaughter, murder, robbery, forcible rape, and aggravated assault. Property crime includes larceny, burglary, arson, and motor vehicle theft.
Crime over time
Crime rates in the USA were significantly higher than in Western Europe. For instance, one …show more content…
It plays a constructive role by ultimately making it possible to bring together different populations in a particular society. It helps to set apart unacceptable behavior from what is acceptable. It demarcates boundaries and determines how far people in society may go. This function is imperative because it affirms the cultural norms of a society. Additionally, deviant behavior promotes social unity because it creates an "us-versus-them" mentality especially in dealing with deviant individuals. This theory argues that deviance leads to social change with time. It leads to significant imbalances in the social equilibrium. Society is then forced to adjust social norms in order to restore this balance. Thus, deviance leads to social stability in the end (Henslin, …show more content…
These people adopt the label and exhibit the expected actions, attitudes, and behaviors associated with the given label. Thus, people become deviant due to other people forcing that identity on them. Stigma plays a role in this labeling process. A stigmatized identity is attached to the labeled person. For instance, punks accept the label placed on them by society and begin to display the types of behaviors expected of punks in order to fit the label (Henslin, 2012).
Labeling theory makes it possible to understand how behaviors that took place in the past life of an individual labeled deviant are reinterpreted according to their label. The process of recasting these past events in light of the current deviant identities is known as "retrospective labeling." A case of this is seen in how the people who committed the Columbine High School massacre were recast after the occurrence took place. Every action they engaged in was interpreted according to the label they had been assigned based on their past behavior (Henslin,