Abstract
Selecting certain members of society to be officially designated "deviant" involves the processing agencies in a variety of deci sions. These decisions are made within the context of a social set ting which limits the agencies' freedom of choice. At times the agencies must resort to indirect techniques for accomplishing their goals if they are to avoid entanglements and opposition. But these techniques may themselves go awry and, when they do, the entire process becomes more visible by virtue of these errors. A case is analyzed to illustrate the dynamics of this process.
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