ABSTRACT
There are many attempts to confine deviant activity to specific locations, which is a form of crime or deviance displacement. This chapter provides an overview of the interconnections between deviance and social control by examining two broad theoretical approaches and drawing on contemporary Australian examples. The discussion emphasises that the concept of deviance is broad, and encompasses more than criminal deviance or behaviour, or activities assessed by some people as weird, unusual, or exotic. The focus is on the behaviour and activities of individuals or groups, not on the individuals or groups that might be labelled deviant per se. Informal sanctions emerge during social interaction, and can include a glance, a comment, joking behaviour, or exclusion from a friendship or other social group, while formal sanctions are explicitly articulated in policy and can take the form of a fine or imprisonment issued by the courts. The chapter concludes by considering the value and continuing relevance of the concept of deviance.
