Deviance Vs Crime Essay

The Differences Between Crime and Deviance in the Belizean Society In the Belizean society, many people's life, safety and rights have been violated. There have been countless cases of crimes being committed in our society. But what most people do not know is that deviance is also happening in our country and that crime is just a category of deviance. Crime is an action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by law, for example felony, murder, rape, etc. There are different types of crimes. On the other hand, deviance is defined as any action that is perceived as violating a society's or group's cultural norm. Norms dictate what is considered acceptable and unacceptable behavior across

Retrieved November 14, 2015, from http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/deviance/section1.rhtml). Norms dictate what is considered acceptable and unacceptable behavior across cultures. One category of deviance is crime, which occurs when someone violates a society's formal laws. Criminal deviance include a wide range of behavior, from minor traffic violations to arson to murder. For instance, a man robbing a store and someone driving over the speed limit, both fit into this category. However, laws make up only one piece of a complex system of countless rules like formal, informal, written, implied, etc. to which we are expected to conform. Any act of nonconformity to these rules is considered deviant. For example, something as simple as wearing sweat pants to work is an act of nonconformity to a usually informal expectation, and it makes that person a deviant. Small deviant acts like this are very common. Nonconformity isn't always a negative instance of rule breaking. We can also include behaviors that fall into the category

What deviant actions, either negative or positive, have in common is that they are different from the norm. For example, a woman who gets married but decides to keep her surname other than her husband's, is not performing an act of criminal deviance by choosing to keep her maiden name. However, taking the husband's surname is a norm in our society, but because she violated that norm, she is still performing a deviant act. The concept of deviance is complex because norms vary across cultures, and what one group or society considers deviant, may not be considered deviant in another group or society. Sociologists study patterns of deviance and how they differ between cultures. One of the most prominent sociological theories of deviance is Emile Durkheim's deviance