Crime is a term that refers to many types of misconduct forbidden by law. Murder is a crime in all countries. In the United States, stealing a car is a crime. So is resisting arrest, possessing or selling illegal drugs, and using the mails to cheat someone. The science of criminology is comprised of theories from many different perspectives, including sociology, psychology, economics, law and others; these theories in turn are classified in many different ways. One of the fundamental acknowledgments of sociological theories of deviance is that the definition of crime varies by social location, in terms of both time and space. Sociologists have conducted crime studies that focus on the neighborhood and community rather than on the individual. Some of these studies deal with how a person becomes committed to a career of crime, and others try to explain differences in crime rates. There are a number of different reasons as to why crime can be viewed as a social construction.
             As cities get more populated and the poverty level grows in many of them, the crime rates of those cities go up compared to other cities. Many times, these are the areas where it is most difficult to train children to become law-abiding citizens. Such areas have the highest rate of broken homes. Even in many homes where both parents are present, emotional conflicts and health and financial problems affect family life. Slum areas usually have the poorest schools and the highest unemployment rates. These neighborhoods have much run-down, overcrowded housing and poor recreation facilities. These issues can all be used as evidence to prove that crime is a result of social construction.
             A second reason as to why crime can be viewed as a social construction is that crime is not the same everywhere. For example, underage drinking is considered a considerably major crime in the U.S. where as other countries do not even have legal drinking ages. As different...