How is Deviance Functional to our Society?

 

1 .de·vi·ance

/ˈdēvēəns/

Noun The fact or state of departing from usual or accepted standards, esp. in social or sexual behavior.

Synonyms swerve - deviation -tangent

               

                Doing something deviant could be one of many things. There is a wide spectrum of deviant behaviors, and different severities. You could do something mild like wearing pajamas to school, or you could do something a little more severe like shooting up heroin or committing a robbery.  It’s anything that goes outside of society’s norms and sanctions.

            Crime is a big subject when it comes to deviance. There are so many things that trickle from even a DUI for example. When someone gets pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence, that involves a police officer making an arrest, having your car impounded, transporting you to jail, taking you to intake and submitting all of your belongings, filling out tons of paperwork about the arrest, and then you are in county hold.

Then after you are out of the “drunk tank” and call someone to post your bail, they have to either come up with the money their selves, or go to a bail bondsmen. Now you owe your loved one a lot of money. After you get bailed out, you have to acquire a lawyer, meet with a grand jury, go over the case, and go back and forth to court. In which the arresting officer has to come to. Then after you get sentenced, or take a plea bargain, you have to pay your huge fines, court costs, bail, lawyers, impound fees, find a new job after all of the work missed, and try to get your life back on track.

            Just from one single DUI, there has been lots of services used therefor job stimulus. Including, the police officer, county jail, bondsmen, lawyer, court system, probation officer etc.

            Aside from economic and job stimulus, crime shows society what’s right and wrong, what not to do. It also clarifies boundaries, affirms cultural values and norms, promotes solidarity and encourages social change according to Durkheim.  

'The only common characteristic of all crimes is that they consist... in acts universally disapproved of by members of each society... crime shocks sentiments, which, for a given social system, are found in all healthy consciences.' (Durkheim)

http://www.sociology.org.uk/pcfcri95.pdf
http://voices.yahoo.com/crime-through-eyes-functionalism-conflict-525244.html
http://www.s-cool.co.uk/category/assets/learn_its/alevel/sociology/introduction-to-deviance/introduction-to-deviance/2008-01-04_094007.gif