ABSTRACT
The concept of crime, like the concept of deviant behavior, has always been a fluid notion, changing dramatically from place to place, from time to time, and from culture to culture. In our world today, there exist wide differences in the ways in which criminal behavior is defined. Extramarital sexual relations, for example, may be ignored or lightly regarded by the legal system in some cultures but punishable by death in others. There are general trends, of course, regarding harmful, predatory behavior, but there are always exceptions to be found somewhere.
