How would sociologists define crime?

A simple definition of crime would be that a criminal behaviour is a behaviour that is breaking the law. However, crime is a much more complex concept to define. To extend the previous simple definition, crime is breaking the social norms we have in our society. By this definition, one can say that crime is a social construct. This means that in order to define crime, we have to look at what constitutes right and wrong in our community. While some crimes might be beyond questioning such as murder, there are some crimes that people would categorise as acceptable. Crimes such as speeding or downloading movies illegally might be actions that some would deem acceptable. It is also important to remember that the concept of deviance is different to crime. Deviance is seen as unacceptable behaviour within a specific situation/culture at the time; such as for example truanting school.