Criminal Deviance Both
Edna and Sidney are neighbours. Edna is obsessed with cats and has 40 of them in her house.
She has lived in poverty for many years. Sidney is a wealthy, elderly punk rocker who always
dresses in punk rocker clothes and styles his hair in a spiked multi-coloured mohawk. He also
regularly illegally downloads music and plays it at high volume late at night. Edna and
Sidney intensely dislike each other and regularly argue. Edna complains about the music and
Sidney calls Edna a crazy old woman. Many of their neighbours shout abuse at Edna saying
she is mad and needs locking up. Edna has never complained to the police about this. One
night she found graffiti on her door saying, 'mad woman' When she heard Sidney’s music,
she went to his house armed with a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the heart. He died
shortly after the attack.
Using examples from the scenario, explain behaviour that could be described as criminal,
deviant or both. [5 marks]
Firstly, there are many examples of deviance in the scenario. For example, Edna is described
as being obsessed with cats, and has 40 of them in her house. This can be described as
deviant behaviour because it is odd behaviour and goes against the norms of society.
Secondly, Sidney is described as being an elderly punk rocker who always dresses in punk
rocker clothes with a multi-coloured mohawk. This can also be described as deviant for the
same reason as Edna is, as the behaviour is odd and not usually seen within society. A final
example of deviance in this scenario is Sidney calling Edna a crazy old woman. This can be
described as deviant due to being bad behaviour, as it isn’t nice calling someone crazy.
(Rest on next page)
Edna and Sidney are neighbours. Edna is obsessed with cats and has 40 of them in her house.
She has lived in poverty for many years. Sidney is a wealthy, elderly punk rocker who always
dresses in punk rocker clothes and styles his hair in a spiked multi-coloured mohawk. He also
regularly illegally downloads music and plays it at high volume late at night. Edna and
Sidney intensely dislike each other and regularly argue. Edna complains about the music and
Sidney calls Edna a crazy old woman. Many of their neighbours shout abuse at Edna saying
she is mad and needs locking up. Edna has never complained to the police about this. One
night she found graffiti on her door saying, 'mad woman' When she heard Sidney’s music,
she went to his house armed with a kitchen knife and stabbed him in the heart. He died
shortly after the attack.
Using examples from the scenario, explain behaviour that could be described as criminal,
deviant or both. [5 marks]
Firstly, there are many examples of deviance in the scenario. For example, Edna is described
as being obsessed with cats, and has 40 of them in her house. This can be described as
deviant behaviour because it is odd behaviour and goes against the norms of society.
Secondly, Sidney is described as being an elderly punk rocker who always dresses in punk
rocker clothes with a multi-coloured mohawk. This can also be described as deviant for the
same reason as Edna is, as the behaviour is odd and not usually seen within society. A final
example of deviance in this scenario is Sidney calling Edna a crazy old woman. This can be
described as deviant due to being bad behaviour, as it isn’t nice calling someone crazy.
(Rest on next page)
