Write a 6 pages paper on the necessity of crime in society. Developing societies have crimes suited to their surroundings like property crimes, while developed societies experience more contemporary and advanced types of crime like embezzlement and identity theft. Crime as a phenomenon is a social fact (Webber, 2010: p17), meaning that if it is present in average societies, it is normal, although this does not mean that average crime in society is not pathological or destructive. Therefore, crime is necessary for society as long as it is not too destructive or pathological as to prevent the normal functioning of society.
It is not possible to infer immediately that there is normality in crime and that it is not destructive or pathological due to its inevitability and regularity in society. It is only possible to assert that it is a social fact, which means that one can only show its normality if it is constructive and serves a function in society (Webber, 2010: p42). In short, crime necessarily results from conditions in society that are desirable and is not simply contingent on avoidable but undesirable conditions in society. As one of the deviance’s subcategories, crime can be defined as an activity that departs from and violates social norms. While there is an overlap between deviance and categories of societal norms, all crimes can be classified as deviance. Rather than being an internal element of specific behaviors, deviance is an aspect or characteristic conferred on a specific behavior by society with regard to social norms. From the relativist view, it is possible to contend that morality and law differ according to society, while modification of conditions may result in changes within the same society (Webber, 2010: p42). Therefore, rather than acts being condemned because they are crimes, acts are considered crimes because society condemns them.
While using the notions of deviance and crime interchangeably within reasonable limits, it is possible to .argue that crime is normal and necessary and not necessarily pathological. Crime as deviance can be argued to have a functional and normative effect (Arrigo & Williams, 2012: p98).
