Deviance is an act in which a person violates social norms of his/her society. People who violate the existing norms of the society are considered as deviant or criminal. The deviant activities differ from one society to another because of the values and characteristics of particular society. A drug user may be considered highly deviant by some people but not by others. Similarly, a couple who are living together before marriage can be considered “deviant” by some people whereas in other societies, such behavior may be considered “normal”. Homosexuality, intoxication and prostitution etc are some of the examples of deviant activities in those societies where these acts are prohibited. 

Crime

Crime is a behavior that is prohibited by law. Every action which is against the laws, rules and regulations of the state and government are considered as crime. The one who commits crime is called as criminal. Both minor as well as major criminals are liable for the punishment. The level of punishment is less strict for the criminals who commit the minor crimes like driving on wrong side of the road, violating the traffic signals and pick pocketing a less amount etc. such kind of criminals can be punished with the fine of money or warned not to do so again. But, on the other hand, level of punishment is high for the criminals who commit the major crimes like murder, bank robbery and conspiracy against the country etc.

Measuring Criminal Activity

There are thousands of activities which are considered as criminal and illegal activities. Eight of these are considered extremely heinous criminal activates like rape, robbery, murder, burglary, larceny, arson, and auto theft. According to the report of FBI department of United States, the crime rate has generally declined since 1981. This data is compiled by the FBI with the help of police reports from all over the country. Government is also conducting various surveys to measure the crime rates in U.S.A and other nations of the world.

Who Commits Crimes?

The nature of crimes depend upon the characteristics of people like race, age, social class, health and sex etc. The street crimes are usually committed by the youth while the professional criminals commit the major crimes. The people suffering from mental diseases commit the heinous crimes like rape, murder and terrorism etc. Hence, it is proved that the nature of crime depends on the characteristics of a criminal.

Theories about Crimes