Deviance and Crime:

Acts that are regarded as deviant are not necessarily criminal acts since an act does not need to break the law to be considered deviant. Generally, a deviant act is merely any behavior that breaches the accepted norms of the community, regardless of whether it breaks the law. For instance, wearing a t-shirt with a curse word could considered deviant to some though the words on the t-shirt wouldn't be criminal due to the First Amendment. Therefore, people who are motivated by deviant behavior have a tendency of committing acts that are viewed as breaking the norms of the society. The labeling of acts as deviant differs across places, cultures, social groups, and time ("Deviance, Crime, and Law," n.d.). Nonetheless, there is an ongoing debate on the role of law enforcement in dealing with deviance and crime.

One of the major ways of determining whether the role...
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