"Social control theorists argue that the more involved and committed a person is to conventional activities, the greater the attachment to others (such as family and friends), the less likely that a person is to violate the rules of society."
The site goes on to say: -
"Juveniles and adults conform to the law in response to certain controlling forces which are present in their lives. Thus, they are likely to become criminal when the controlling forces in their lives are defective or absent."
But according to Durkheim, needs, desires and aspirations are restrained by the norms of society that is conformity results in crime
There are three ways in which to achieve social control in a society. The first and most effective of the three is 'self control.' This is the control a person has over himself or herself. If a person has self control, then they a less likely to commit a crime. This is because we like to be perceived as a good law abiding citizen, once again relating to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Gottfredson & Hirschi's General Theory of Crime (1990) agrees with this by saying: -
"It is self control that determines social control."
The theory continues to say: -
" The origin of crime is low self-control, which results from inadequate, ineffective, and inconsistent socialisation by parents early in childhood… What causes such behaviour is not the presence of something - learning- but the absence of something - self control."
Most people in society have strong enough self-control to know right from wrong and what is honest and what isn't. Majority of society has thought about committing a crime at some point in their lives, but not everyone carries it through. Only those with low self-control commit crime.
Informal Control is the next type of control a person has, or has not as I will now discuss. Informal control is when a person is subject to peer pressure. Will the person submit to this pressure or continue with the way they are. For example, there are a lot of young smokers because they don't want rejection form the group. In this group, the norm is to smoke, so does the person conform to the standards of the group or deviate. Everyone wants to feel loved and belong to a group. This relates back to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, i.e. love and belonging needs.
The third and final type of social control is Formal Control. This the institutionalised form of control, i.e. the police, the judicial system. This is the least effective method of control because powers are being forced upon a person. But for the majority, there will always be the few who will deviate. This is why we an external influence. According to Cavazos (2000): -
"Reliance on formal authority for the maintenance of order and social control tends to increase as societies become larger, more industrialized, and more urbanized."
He then goes on to say
"Deviance may also have positive consequences. It teaches people what are acceptable social behaviours; thus, even the most highly disciplined and regimented, have--and need--social deviants. Deviance may strengthen group norms and values and reinforce their commitment to the group and its standards. Deviance may be both a sign and source of needed social change."
He then finishes with: -
"From the sociological point of view, what is considered deviant behaviour is entirely relative to and dependent on group or social definitions."
So looking over what has been said, we can say that self-control is the best method of social control, as we like to be perceived as a good moral member of society. Only the weak-minded, those with no strong sense of self-control, deviate to such an extreme that they turn to crime. Formal control doesn't work like it should but it does enough to make the normal citizen feel safe on the streets. When people see a uniformed presence, they feel safer. We can see that a possible cause of crime is through lack of loving and nurturing during childhood. But all of the points mentioned add to crime and it will always be there as there as we will never have a one hundred percent conformist society, there will always be a deviant.