Written by Angela Barian, Patrick Sharkey (Princeton University) and Bryan L. Sykes (University of California Irvine) as part of A Sociology Experiment. To read this chapter, add it to your cart, complete the checkout process, return to this page, and select “Read Now” to open the Bookshelf reader.

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to: analyze the concepts of deviance, crime and violence from a sociological perspective; contrast various sociological theories and perspectives on deviance; discuss changes in crime and violence in the United States; and identify mechanisms used to prevent crime and violence and their implications on society.