The criminal law is very important in every society. Laws are set up for a variety of different things ranging from murder to not registering a vehicle. Some of the laws prohibit severe behaviors that are dangerous to society and some are petty laws that control certain behaviors that might or might not be dangerous to society. However, though there are a large number of different laws ranging in severity of offenses and types of behaviors, these laws are set up for reasons. The reasons these laws are set up are the functions of law. There are six functions of law.
The first function of law is to enforce social control. The primary purpose of law is to control the behavior of people within its jurisdiction. People must follow the rules; therefore, behavior in society is controlled through the law. Some laws prevent behaviors that challenge the government. These laws are created so that the government can control society from any type of behavior that might hurt the government. This function of law it seems would be the most important to the conflict view of crime.
The next function of law is to express public opinion and morality. Laws are made that reflect the constantly changing public opinions and moral values. These laws are made according to social conditions and attitudes that are constantly changing. However, it is sometimes difficult to completely gauge the morale values of society because of many different viewpoints. Some laws that are changing right now because of this function are the laws against homosexuality. As society's moral viewpoint and attitude towards homosexuality laws are passed or amended to loosen restrictions on homosexual activity. However it is hard to gauge the moral beliefs of the society because there are many different moral beliefs on the issue. This function of the law would be the most important to the interactionist viewpoint of crime.
Another function of law is to deter criminal behavior.