That is, in understanding an issue or phenomenon, it is vital for the observer or the sociologist to put it into context in order to create the right "picture" of what is happening. For example, the structural functionalist perspective of criminology posits that crime occurs because of deviant behavior, and that deviance is but an inevitable part of the society. From this perspective, crime is the counterpart of society's function -- that is, a dysfunction that acts as a force or structure that balances the structure and order of human society. It is through the conflict between society's functions and dysfunctions that social change is stimulated, helping society develop. In the case of crime, it is an essential dysfunction in the society in order to help induce social change through the development of policies and laws that aim to maintain and observe the peace and order of human society. Crime under the conflict theory or critical perspective has an altogether different description when compared against the structural functionalist perspective. Under the critical theory, crime is relative; an action becomes deviant and a crime when it is defined as such by a dominant group in the society, which holds the power and influence over the majority. The critical perspective evidently demonstrates...

Crime typologies help criminal justice groups and professionals to ascertain and determine suspects who will be put under questioning for a particular deviant act or crime. One example of the use of crime typologies is the practice of discretion, wherein criminal justice officials are able to decide, based on the normative profile of suspects, on how to handle a case. Discretion is ascertained on three factors, which include the suspect's demeanor, social class, and race. These factors make up a typology, wherein individuals or at least groups of people are clustered into a particular combination of these factors. A collection of these typologies, then, make up the norm of a suspect for a particular offense, therefore aiding criminal justice officials in narrowing the search for the individual who is most likely to commit the offense to find the individual who actually committed the crime.