SOC101 - section 2

Crime

the violation of society’s formally enacted criminal law

Deterrence

the attempt to discourage criminality through the use of punishment

Deviance

the recognized violation of cultural norms

Labeling theory

the idea that deviance and conformity result not so much from what people do as from how others respond to those actions

Rehabilitation

a program for reforming the offender to prevent later offenses

Retribution

an act of moral vengeance by which society makes the offender suffer as much as the suffering caused by the crime

Societal protection

rendering an offender incapable of further offenses temporarily through imprisonment or permanently by execution

Stigma

a powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person’s self-concept and social identity

Victimless crimes

violations of law in which there are no obvious victims

White-collar crime

crime committed by people of high social position in the course of their occupations