P/S/40. Social attitudes to petty criminals: labelling and forgiveness

The paper seeks to define to which extent labelling could cause deviant behaviour. The terms 'petty crime' and 'labelling' are defined. The author contends that labelling introduced in 1950s, made those who were labelled adopt the imposed behavioural stereotypes. Their deviant behaviour is explained as a result of the segregation from society. The author claims that the stigma that accompanies the deviant label brings a person in conflict with society and gets them drawn to a criminal group. Various theoretical approaches to labelling are discussed. The paper concludes that forgiveness is a crucial factor in a healthy society.