Essay Example on Studying criminal activity the relationship between deviant Behavior

When studying criminal activity the relationship between deviant behavior and illegal acts is evident Deviance is a type of behavior rejected by a society and can potentially involve the violation of ratified rules or laws It is often referenced in crime because if an individual decides to break a law they are also choosing to stray from the standards put in place by society Although it can be argued that deviance does not predetermine criminal activity it has proven to be a possible origin due to their similarity Criminology being the study of crime and those who commit illegal acts offers a number of theories that serve as explanations for why individuals carry out crimes Nearly all of the theories presented introduce a different motive created by the offender s life which commences their criminal behavior The theories are often supported through statistics which offer factual evidence of different crimes that have occurred where they took place and the time of the incident Not every crime is reported therefore it is not completely accurate nonetheless it provides a solid estimate From this given information the public will often respond in ways that have proven to be effective as time has progressed With time has brought more innovative and efficient ways of dealing with illegal conduct as well as revealed what has failed to work in the past 

Through the examination of the relationship between deviant behavior and criminal activity theories of crime causation statistical analysis and social initiatives during different time periods one can detect the motives for crime and how society responds TOPIC SENTENCE Deviance is a behavior or an attribute that defies the standard conduct that is normally demonstrated in society This may also include partaking in actions that violate enacted rules Similarly there is crime which is an act that disobeys the criminal laws of a state the federal government or a local jurisdiction Despite their comparison not all deviant behavior can be deemed as criminal activity whereas one cannot argue a criminal act and its consequences Huntington n d Meaning the laws are strictly defined therefore it is evident what is categorized as a crime and what is not however because deviant behavior is not always an act that defies the law one can perceive different actions as deviant There are different extremes of deviance it can be something as little as dying your hair a crazy color to something as excessive as burning down a building Both are deem deviant acts due to the unusualness but only one is considered a crime because of its severity and ability to hurt humanity Although the classification of deviance has the potential to vary from person to person as well as from culture to culture it is often the individuals who stray from the social norm that are found to be the perpetrators of a crime or involved in illegal activity The most common form of deviance is crime the laws put in place in society have a way of defining what should be expected behavior thus creating a norm which is frequently broken Crime and deviance relate to one another because when an individual participates in a criminal activity they are disregarding how the public expects them to act Sociologists have said that laws are social products crime is whatever society says it is 

Schmalleger 2006 pg 7 para 3 In other words crime is determined by law but laws are put in place in reaction to the people whom are being governed Therefore in a way both deviance and criminal activity are both established by humanity There are several different types of theories including social structure social conflict social process biological psychological and classical neoclassical which can be used to explain crime and why it occurs society responds to these premises with additional rules and regulations in attempt to protect the people Social structure theories apply blame to the environment what it lacked especially socially and financially is what made the offender commit a crime There are also social conflict theories Social process theories are those that emphasize the contact between individuals as the root of crime and believe that anyone is capable of committing a crime Schmalleger 2006 Essentially it invalidates that crime is innate and proposes it is trained 

On the other hand there are biological theories which focus on the inheritance of genes that may lead to criminal like behavior Psychological theories highlight the thought process of individuals Despite their variations they all have effectively been used to explain the cause for different crimes Social learning theory presents the idea that crime is learned through observation like every other type of behavior Schmalleger 2006 This theory was influenced by the idea of differential association offered by Edwin Sutherland in 1939 Sutherland proposed that criminal activity is learned when one shares the same criminal values of another individual and supports engaging in crime People are capable of developing news skills as well as patterns that are associated with crime when they are affiliated with other criminals This theory emphasized the thought that each individual is a reflection or a result of their social environment and will act as those who they surround themselves with Constitutional theories finds that the perpetrator s body type genes inheritance and physical attributes are what leads them to criminal behavior Schmalleger 2006