IMPACT OF DEVIANT BEHAVIOR

Describe issues surrounding and the impact of deviant behavior of police officers to include, but not limited to:Alcohol and other Drug Abuse; sexual misconduct; police sexual violence; etc

Describe issues surrounding and the impact of deviant behavior of police officers to include, but not limited to:Alcohol and other Drug Abuse; sexual misconduct; police sexual violence; etc

Deviance can be defined as behavior or activities that break generally shared social norms. Shouting, using a mobile phone, talking during a class, driving at high speeds, smoking tobacco, selling heroin, and tax avoidance can all be examples of deviance. They might also be examples of conformity, depending on the circumstances, the norms being applied, others' expectations, and the credibility of excuses or accounts given to explain the behavior. Some kinds of deviance are regulated by criminal law, or by social convention, morality, the expectations of specific groups or social settings, the welfare system, or the medical profession. Deviance is an everyday aspect of social life, and sociological discussions of deviance are not primarily concerned with bizarre, unusual, or weird activities but with the definition, emergence, and regulation of deviance in everyday life. There has been considerable research and theorization on the relationship between deviance and community, and their effects on each other.

A SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO DEVIANCE

The simple definition of deviance given above belies a number of complexities. Is behavior still deviant if the norm breaking is not visible to anyone else, or is not sanctioned (i.e., restricted or limited) by others? Given the plurality of social mores in complex Western societies like Australia and the United States, is there widespread agreement on social norms? In reality there is more likely to be disagreement than agreement on appropriate behavior, standards, and expectations. Who has, or what groups have, the power and authority to determine and enforce social rules? For example, while there is considerable diversity on dress code and body presentation, employers have considerable power in enforcing both formal and informal norms regarding dress and presentation. Types of norms range from informal, unwritten social rules or etiquette, to mores or ethics, convention, organizational rules, and on to laws, especially criminal law.

Even though there are significant cultural differences in the determination of what constitutes deviance, the existence of activities deemed by others to be deviant is universal; all societies define some behaviors as deviance, as offensive to legal or moral norms. This is not to say that certain forms of behavior or activities are regarded as deviant in all societies or historical periods. Over the course of the past century, in Western societies there has been widespread normative change regarding alcohol use, smoking, sexuality, women in paid work, parenting, the use of violence, and gender relations.

The very fact that social groups have social norms or rules ensures the existence of deviance. Even though definitions of what constitutes deviance alter, there will always be some activities and practices that some members of a society agree are inappropriate and require eradication or ...