Social Control

Informal Social Control

This is a way of maintaining social order and is often done in a more subtle way then fomal social control. This is done by the agents of informal social control including

• Community
• Family
• School
• Friends
• Gossip

Social bonds of informal social control:

• Attachment - caring about the opinions and wishes of others.
• Commitment - personal investment in our lives (what have we got to lose?)

Formal Social Control

These are specific government agencies with a purpose of maintaining the social order and punishing those who cause social order problems. The formal agents include

• The police
• The courts
• ASBO
• Electronic tagging