Essay On Crime And Deviance

Before starting on the topic Crime and Deviance we have to realize that crime and deviance are not interchangeable terms but in many cases they overlap. Deviance may be defined as non conformity to a given set of norms that are accepted by a significant number of people in a community or society . Whereas crime refers only to non conformist conduct that breaks a law. For example in a India eating animals are considered inauspicious, someone found eating chicken would be termed as deviant but in America it is considered normal to eat animals, it should be noted that it does not in any way break a law. Thus we can say the concept of deviance is much broader than that of crime. In addition to this one more thing can be concluded which is that normal behavior for one society may be deviant for another. …show more content…
Sociologist have argued that as there are inequalities of wealth and power in the society, these provide as a strong influence and also provides the oppurtunities available to different social group and to perform such acts which when performed will result in them being regarded as a criminal. It has been noted that criminal activities are learned in exactly the same way as law abiding one and also tend to be directed towards meeting the same needs.
Functionalost theories show us that some crime and deviance is produced by structural tension and lack of moral regulation within society. Robert Merton’s strain theory helps to account for some types of individualistic, acquisitive crimes. After that, subcultural theories showed how social groups such as gangs, help in replacing mainstream norms with alternatives in which they celebrate defiance and delinquency, and it also provides indiciduals with rewards for deviant