Q.4 Define the term “Social Problem” and discuss Crime as a Social Problem?

A social problem is any condition or behavior that has negative consequences

for large numbers of people and that is generally recognized as a condition or
behavior that needs to be addressed.
Crime as a social problem:
Crime is a violation of given law in which there is penalties incurred after a
certain violation. Crimes represents a type of formal deviation from social
customs and norms administered by a certain authority or state. Depending on
the country or authority, crimes are divided into categories by law, the exact
age of the offender, the severity or intensity of crime or offence, the potential
punishment that can be undertaken as a result of violation of law.
Biological and physiological explanation has not fully given an explanation of
how and why higher crime rates are associated with certain location or even
social background of people. For instance if Texas has higher crime rate than
Los Angeles and the United states has higher crimes than Russia, it would be
wrong to say that people in Texas and United States have the same biological
problem and psychological problems than those from Los Angeles and Russia.
Sociological explanations have found their ways to explain the social pattern of
crime, also the increase in number of crime rate, and to give us some possible
solution from it. According to the functional perspective, social structural
theory suggests that most crime is due to the fall of society norms including
societies organization and the root crime problem is from the society itself
rather than one's biological or psychological life. Society has been disorganized
in such a way that certain number of social characteristics experienced in the
neighborhood are the major contributors of high crime rates. These traits are
poverty, population density and population turnover of the society. As said by
Merton Robert, crime committed by the poor comes from a space or a gap
created between culture emphasis and society's success, and the incapacity to
attain accomplishment through more logistical way which is working.
According to Sutherland Edwin's, crime is a social problem since criminal
behavior can be learnt due to close friends who practice such crime and
teaches another person. Another aspect of crime is emergency of conflict.
Conflict arise from different factors social class, ethnicity, race and class. As a
result crime has seen its way in and become a social problem since the rich or
those who are wealthy use resource to fight the law if they commit a violation.
Since the society comprises of different people with different ethnical
background or has categorized themselves to different groups, this creates
desire for power and control over resources. People of a certain group, if
powerful, can influence certain laws to be passed in which they do not favor
the other group.
Crime is a social issue because it cannot exist without society. Society decides
what actions are criminal and which are not. For example, abortion is legal in
some countries but in others it is not.
Also, in societies, the powerful decide what is a crime and what is not. Take for
example the debate around marijuana. If it were up to the majority of people it
would most probably be legal. But it is not. So a lot of people suffer needlessly
in this respect. Take for example the idea in some Muslim countries that
women should be covered from head to toe, a woman wearing jeans is
committing a crime, etc.
Crime is not just a lower-class issue. There are many crimes committed by the
wealthy and powerful too, including sex crimes, financial crimes and
environmental crimes, like illegally dumping toxic waste, or insider trading.
There will never be a society that is free from crime, simply because it would
need everyone in that society to think in exactly the same way, believe in
exactly the same things and have exactly the same goal. Even in a homogenous
society, this is impossible. So crime is normal.
The US Sociologist Robert Merton worked out what he termed the “Theory of
Anomie” which goes a long way to explaining why poor people commit more
crimes than rich people. According to Merton, society decides what the goals
are for the people participant in society. So for instance the idea that wealth
the most important thing. You can tell how successful someone is by the car
they drive, the bling they wear, the kind of home they live in. At the same time,
society provides an acceptable means to attain this wealth - work hard at
school, get a good job, be good at your job.
However, this acceptable means is harder for some people than it is for others,
and nearly impossible for many. If someone is born into a poor neighborhood,
to struggling parents, goes to a bad school etc, they are not very likely to end
up being wealthy by using the acceptable means. Yet society scorns those who
do not live up to its expectations. How often are poor people called lazy,
stupid, dumb, low IQ, having no ambition and so on? So these people who
have no hope of achieving societal goals and put under this immense pressure
to achieve the goals are very likely going to turn to crime to do it.
Further, children in places where crime is rife are likely to model themselves
on the most successful people in their neighborhood, which would be the
leader of the gang, a drug dealer, a pimp and so on.
And yes, there are exceptions to the rule. There are people who pull
themselves up out of poverty. But it is a superhuman effort that is impossible
for mere mortals. So it is society which places the burden on its people, but is
not giving them a fair means of achieving the goal, through racism or poverty.