The Positive Functions of Crime and Deviance on the Society

The life of a human is governed by the social norms and rules created within society. According to Anthony Giddens there’s another side to the story and that is, the norms and rules that gets broken Giddens 1989. Crime is a behaviour which breaks laws and you are penalised by the legal system. For example, speeding in your car on a 20mph street is known be an act against the law which then results consequences for what’s been committed (Thompson C. H., 2019). Another example, if a person were to sell drugs abroad and made profit to maintain their lives, this is known to be a crime because their doing something that is illegal in the UK. Another example of crime could be a working-class serial murder killing an elderly woman at bus station for financial gains. Not all people who have committed crimes are prosecuted and not every people that has committed a crime have been arrested. Crime is rated selectively as there are different level of crimes. This shows that not everyone has the same treatment and so this is someway individually accessed by authorities (Booksie, 2019). Police officers are most likely to arrest those from poorer communities. Becker stated that the police worked within the boundaries of certain preconceptions and stereotype and what was considered as ‘trouble’. This goes on to show that not everyone is treated accordingly.

In sociology, deviance describes a behaviour that goes against and violates social norm. For example, coming to school without the proper uniform. Deviance has no simple definition in the sociological context. Deviance is mostly concealed and hidden from the public eye. It is often undercover and may be found, hidden in normal settings such as in workplaces or at home. Most serial killers are intelligent at what they do, this is how to be for them to get away with their crimes (Booksie, 2019). Take the example of the serial killer Douglas Vinter, 39, who was convicted of stabbing and strangling his wife three years after he was released from jail (Penrose, 2013). This person appeared to be a normal family man, yet he privately murdered his wife. He was able to use his normal social behaviour skills and appear innocent in the public eye. No one would ever know what he has done because it has not been caught therefore those that aren’t caught cannot be labelled and so it is both considered crime and deviance. This shows that a form of behaviour may be classified as deviant. Sociologists believe that crime and deviance are socially constructed. This is often by the ruling class. If a person behaves themselves in a way that is outside the normal social behaviour whilst being in court, then this is known as deviance.

When labelling someone, it is like given a name, almost like a mark. Something becomes deviant when a person has been good at labelling it. The definition of labelling differs from culture to culture. Calling someone deviant is a reaction to a specific action. Labelling theorists believe that an individual has negative feelings when they are labelled. This is because it reinforces their criminal actions due to the deepening effects labelling has on them. For example, if a famous person is caught in doing crime activities, he is labelled and known for that for as long as lives. Therefore, the only thing that deviants have in common is that they labelled deviant by those who caught them.

Marxists see crime as an unbearable part as it stems from social inequalities. Working class crime is caused by labour exploitation therefore robbery and theft is an expression of that exploitation and an act of the working class against the upper class. Chambliss stated that behaviours are defined as criminal according the interest of the ruling class. Crime defers from society to society and culture to culture depending on their political structure of their society. Durkheim stated that crime is unavoidable in society as it is impossible for everyone to be equally committed to the same shared norms and values. He also stated that crime has positive functions within society because deviance brings new perspective of what is right and wrong to develop things that are needed within our society as well as policies and laws which could be created as a result of this (Thompson, 2016).

Society can expand and change through crime as it wakes people up to what’s occurring around the world and so it’s good to be reminded from time to time. Durkheim stated that deviance can act as a valve that releases stresses within society. However too much crime is bad for society. In conclusion to this, society can only change through crime. Deviance on the other hand is tricky as it is hidden from people’s eyes. It violates social norms due to behaviours but it’s not always negative unlike crime. Becker 1963 stated that they are too deterministic because they look at previous and external causes for such actions. Some people are most likely to be labelled more than others which shows how treatments are carried on an individual basis and so they are very selective when making decisions.

Crime has lot of benefits for society collectively as Durkheim states because it has positive function within society. It brings perspective and awareness to what’s right from wrong. The media is a good way to remind people of what is going on across the globe. Morals and values can be useless and wasted unless people are reminded of them daily. Just like forming new habits or building muscles. Crime could be reminding society of the boundaries on what’s right from wrong. Both crime and deviance can be the form of an alarm warning which highlights that society is not functioning properly and so it addresses issues. Hearing negative situations through the media makes people angry and outraged. This then unites society and the population into having social norms and values.