• Explain And Analyse The Distinction Between Crime And Deviance

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In this essay I will explain and analyse the distinction between crime and deviance and at the same time I will provide illustrative examples to acquire an easy understanding.
Deviance depends on social norms and values that change regularly from one society to another. Deviant behaviours are disapproved to a specific community, culture or place. E.g. Cannabis, which in the 19th centuries was totally illegal but nowadays smoke marijuana is allowed in some places and in few countries has been legalised.

Deviance is a behaviour which disrupts, bothers and harms people surrounding. E.g. The sale of illicit drugs. A part of being a crime, it is also a deviant act, as the seller is affecting other’s life. There some behaviours that are not …show more content…

Murders, rapists and thieves who violate the law and damage the society. However, there are some crimes that are not deviant acts. E.g. a woman who drives to a maximum speed; this behaviour is not considered as deviant as she is not hurting anyone, however she is breaking the law and that behaviour will bring consequences.
There are some crimes that are not deviant to society’s view. E.g. protestors who fight against privatisation of health and education. Protestors are seen as criminals due to the aggressive and violent behaviour; however, protestors are acting for the good of society and not against them, thus society do not recognise this behaviour as a …show more content…

Moreover, victim surveys just measure crimes within households therefore is not acceptable to declare against institutions or businesses which have committed unlawfully financial fraud, so it is considered as a disadvantage when using survey methods. (Taylor, P. et al. 1995, p. 463) On the other hand, self-report studies require questionnaires and interviews of people who have committed an act of crime in order to discover at what age the people are more likely to commit a crime and what are the causes.
The limitations of this method are that is not fully accurate as some people will deny being part of act of crime because of shame or may not trust the researcher. Consequently, this method is less reliable among these three methods of measure crime, as most of the people tend to lie or perhaps fear of being labelled as criminals. (Kirby, M. et al. 2000, p.

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