Fiducia TogetherCrime and deviance
Behaviour that breaks the law, and behaviour that breaks a norm. Not the same.
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.
What it is
Crime is behaviour that breaks the law. Deviance is behaviour that breaks social norms and may be entirely legal.
Where it applies
GCSE and A Level sociology.
How it works
What counts as deviant varies by time, place and situation, which is the point: deviance is defined by the reaction rather than by the act.
Explanations range from functionalist accounts of crime as inevitable and even useful, to Marxist accounts of law serving the powerful, to labelling theory and the self-fulfilling prophecy.
How to use it in your work
Give an example of something deviant but legal and something criminal but widely accepted. That demonstrates the distinction immediately.
Official crime statistics under-record: the dark figure of unreported crime is a standard evaluation point.
Where to get help
Your teacher and your board's specification and mark scheme.
Revise this with a song
These are ours. We write revision songs because a lot of people remember a tune when they cannot remember a page, and because revising out loud in the kitchen beats staring at a highlighter.
- The Sociology Song The GCSE sociology topics, set to music.
Where to read more
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page explains a word or a process in education. It is general information about the system, the law and the guidance in England — not advice about your child, your school or your exam. If a decision is going against you, get advice from one of the free services we link to before you agree to anything or miss a deadline. If you are revising, check your own exam board's specification: boards word things differently and yours is the one that marks you.