When society deems informal relationships and sanctions, insufficient to establish and maintain a desired social order, there may result more formalized systems of social control imposed by a government, or by a sovereign state. With institutional and legal machinery at their disposal, agents of the State can compel individuals to conform to behavioral codes, and can punish those who do not conform.

Authorities employ various mechanisms to regulate behaviour, including rules codified into laws, policing people to ensure they comply with those laws, and other policies and practices designed^{[by whom?]} to prevent crime. In addition, authorities provide remedies and sanctions, and collectively these constitute a criminal justice system. Not all breaches of the law, however, are considered crimes, for example, breaches of contract and other civil law offences.