6-1 Define deviance.

6-2 Describe structural/functional, conflict/critical, and inter/actionist approaches to theorizing about deviance.

6-3 Discuss the relationship between deviance and crime.

6-4 Discuss the purpose and effects of the criminal justice system

For sociologists, a person or action is deviant when socially defined as such. Durkheim argued that since deviance and crime have always existed in all societies, they are, in essence, normal and have positive functions for society.

Merton’s version of structural-functionalism argues that deviance is more likely to occur when a culture values something, such as material success, but the societal structure does not allow everyone the ability to achieve this value in a socially accepted way. Conflict/critical theorists see inequality, in particular eco­nomic inequality, as the cause of much deviance. In this view, those in the lowest classes engage in deviant or criminal behavior because they otherwise have few ways of achieving normative societal goals, whereas those in the upper classes commit crimes because the nature of their positions makes it relatively easy for them to do so.

From an inter/actionist perspective, deviance requires first a sym­bol or label, and second an interaction between a social control agent, the person or group doing the labeling, and the person or group to whom the label is applied. Another inter/actionist perspective comes from Goffman’s writings on stigma, a char­acteristic in a person that others find, define, and often label as unusual or deviant.

Crime is a form of deviance that violates criminal law. The major components of the criminal justice system are law enforcement, the courts, and the correctional system. Increasing globalization has been associated with increases in global or cross-border crime, particularly the international drug trade. Illegal flows are aided by nation-states’ declining ability to halt them. The United States and Western Europe have played a central role in defining global criminal acts and the most appropriate ways to deal with them.