Social Order and Control

 Formal social control is expressed though law as statues, rules and regulations against deviant behaviour.  It is conducted by government and organizations using law enforcement mechanisms and other formal sanctions such as fines, probation and imprisonment. In democratic societies the goals and mechanism of formal social control are determined though legislation by elected representatives. As with informal controls, formal controls reward or punish acceptable or unacceptable behaviour.

Informal Social Control:
Traditional society uses mostly informal social control embedded in its customary culture relying on socialization of its members to establish social order. As society becomes more complex more and more reliance must be placed on formal mechanisms.
In democratic societies the goals and mechanisms of social control are determined through legislation by elected representatives and thus enjoy a measure of support from the population and voluntary compliance.

Adopted from: Wikipedia Social Control