Sociology · May / June 2021 · Paper 21 · Question 3

0495

As printed in the paper

The question as text

Agencies of social control all try to create conformity in society. Despite this, crime and deviance still occur in many forms such as burglary, murder and corporate crime. Crime rates are produced 3 by the police, courts and government to understand trends in offending and to help find solutions to crime. However, many sociologists believe that the official measurements of crime are not very accurate.

Read automatically from the paper; the printed page above is exact.

Show the answer and mark scheme

3(a)[2]
What is meant by the term ‘conformity’? One mark for partial definition, e.g. fitting in. Two marks for clear definition, e.g. attitudes and behaviour fit in with those of the dominant social group.
3(b)[4]
Describe two examples of corporate crime. Candidates will be expected to describe two examples of corporate crime. Possible answers:
false claims – companies may falsely claim on insurance policies in order to accrue money;
tax evasion – not paying correct taxes on profits made, e.g. General Electric, Starbucks;
violations of environmental laws – e.g. a company disposes of its waste illegally/pollution;
business/financial fraud – embezzlement of money in order to increase the company’s profits, e.g. Enron;
bribery – of public officials in order to benefit the company, e.g. to get planning permission;
insider trading – manipulation of the financial stock market in order to make the company money;
corporate manslaughter – e.g. when workers die due to the company’s failure to follow health and safety legislation, e.g. Far West Water;
selling a deadly/dangerous product, e.g. thalidomide drug/Peanut corporation of America;
other reasonable response. One mark for each point correctly identified (up to maximum of two). One mark for each point that is developed (up to a maximum of two).
3(c)[6]
Explain how informal agencies of social control can prevent crime. Candidates should discuss the ways informal agencies of social control, e.g. schools, families, media, workplace, religion and peers can prevent crime. Possible answers:
informal sanctions – such as ridicule, comments and disapproving looks – persuade people not to commit crime as they internalise that these reactions are negative ones;
Informal agencies typically have close relationships with individuals therefore have more influence over them in persuading them not to commit crime;
religion – has rules regarding behaviour for their followers which typically ensures criminal behaviour is avoided, e.g. the 10 commandments in Christianity forbid certain actions;
media – reporting criminal behaviour and creating folk devils makes people realise criminal actions will be punished and stigmatised;
family – act as role models for their offspring and so will ensure sanctions are put in place to prevent rule breaking behaviour, e.g. grounding;
education – the hidden curriculum transmits a set of values that encourages conformity and non-criminal behaviour;
peer group – positive peer pressure and the values of one’s sub-culture can ensure that members do not commit criminal acts;
workplace – will often use severe sanctions such as sackings, demotions, etc. if criminal behaviour occurs – this deters individuals;
other reasonable response. Band 0 [0 marks] No creditworthy response. Band 1 [1–3 marks] Answers in this band will show only a limited awareness of the question. Responses may be short and un/underdeveloped. At the bottom of the band (1 mark), expect one weak point. Higher in the band (2–3 marks), candidates may offer more than one weak point, but there may be a tendency towards simplistic answers, engaging with sociological ideas without using sociological language. Band 2 [4–6 marks] Answers in this band will have clear and accurate explanation, showing good sociological knowledge and understanding. Sociological terms and concepts should be expected and explained. At the bottom of the band, the range of points covered may be narrow or lack detail. Higher in the band, answers will cover more than one point in a well-developed way or cover several points in less detail.
3(d)[8]
Explain why official measurements of crime may not always be accurate. Candidates should discuss issues with the official measurements of crime, e.g. the OCS. This is likely to consider problems of both reporting and recording but this is not essential. Possible answers:
most crimes that make it to the statistics are reported to the police either by victim or witness – if a crime is not reported then it will not make the statistics (dark figure of crime);
trivial crimes – often not reported to the police as people do not believe the police can do anything;
benefit to victims – crimes involving insured items are much more likely to be reported to the police as the insurance company requires a crime number;
reprisal – victims and witnesses may not report a crime to the police if they fear they will be threatened with reprisal, e.g. gangs;
embarrassment – victims may not report crimes to the police because they are embarrassed about what has happened
e.g. sexual crimes – these are notoriously under-reported;
invisible crimes – many white-collar and corporate crimes are unlikely to come to the attention of the police as they are either unknown about or dealt with internally by the company involved;
police discretion – not all crimes reported to the police are recorded in the statistics;
cuffing – police are under pressure to achieve targets and so may manipulate statistics to create a good impression of the job they do, e.g. by downgrading a crime’s seriousness or filing it as a false report;
other reasonable response. Band 0 [0 marks] No creditworthy response. Band 1 [1–3 marks] Answers in this band will show only a limited awareness of the question. A tendency to description is likely. Responses may be short and undeveloped and points stated without explanation. Sociological terms and concepts are unlikely to be used. At the bottom of the band (1 mark), expect one weak point. Higher in the band (2–3 marks), candidates may offer more than one weak point. Band 2 [4–6 marks] Answers in this band will show basic sociological knowledge and understanding. Responses may be underdeveloped and lacking in range. At the bottom of the band, candidates are unlikely to use sociological terms and concepts accurately. Higher in the band, candidates may be beginning to use sociological terms and concepts with greater accuracy. However, some aspects of the answer may only be partially developed/explained. Band 3 [7–8 marks] Answers in this band will show good sociological knowledge and understanding and will be well-developed and explained. Sociological terms and concepts will be used accurately overall. Answers will be well-focused on the question and there will be a range of points presented. At the top of the band explanations will be clear throughout.
3(e)[15]
To what extent is gender the most important factor in determining whether an individual commits crime? Candidates should consider how gender may determine whether an individual commits crime. This means they could look at either men or women or both genders. In evaluation they may argue that it is other social factors rather than gender that are most important, e.g. age, ethnicity and/or social class. Possible answers: FOR
masculinity – crime is a way of achieving masculinity for males and thus increasing their status;
risk taking behaviour – males are more likely to take risks and commit ‘edgework’ (postmodernism) than females which may account for their higher crime rate;
aggression – this is a way for males to assert their masculinity against other males or females (expressive crime/protector role);
breadwinner – traditional gender roles say that the man should provide for his family, if he cannot do this legitimately then he may turn to crime;
gangs – are dominated by males and gangs initiation ceremonies and lifestyle choices often involve criminal behaviour, e.g. drug dealing;
socialisation – girls and boys are socialised differently – girls to be passive, males to be active (Oakley) – this may result in higher levels of male criminality;
social control – girls are more socially controlled than boys and so may have less chance to commit crime, e.g. street culture versus bedroom subculture;
biology – testosterone and greater physical strength mean that males are more likely to commit criminal/deviant acts than females;
labelling and stereotyping – those in the CJS are likely to perceive males as being the most likely to commit crime and so target them – this can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy (Becker, Cicourel);
other reasonable response. AGAINST
self-report studies show that the number of female offences is under- estimated which implies that the idea that gender is a reason to explain criminality is wrong;
as society becomes more egalitarian so it seems that female criminality rises, e.g. girl gangs, ladettes, which implies that crime cannot be explained by gender;
police labelling – Cicourel says there is a picture of a ‘typical delinquent’ in the police and courts heads that criminals are male – this means males are more likely to be stopped and searched and arrested than females not that they are actually any more criminal (chivalry thesis – Pollak);
age – is said by many sociologists to be more important than gender in explaining criminality, e.g. most offenders are young;
ethnicity – is said by many sociologists to be a more important social factor than gender – ethnic minorities are disproportionately reflected in the criminal population, e.g. prison rates;
social class – many sociologists believe that it is a person’s class position that is the most influential in determining their criminality
e.g. the lower a person’s class, the higher their rates of offending;
type of crime – rates of shoplifting are similar for both males and females making it difficult to argue that gender is a reason to explain different offending rates;
Interpretivism – people commit crimes for different reasons and to generalise that this is because of their gender is misleading;
other reasonable response. Band 0 [0 marks] No creditworthy response. Band 1 [1–4 marks] Answers in this band may be vague and largely based on common sense showing limited knowledge of the debate. Use of sociological terms or concepts is very unlikely. Responses may be short, undeveloped and one- sided. Lower in the band (1–2 marks), expect one or two weak points. Higher in the band (3–4 marks) candidates may offer more than two points and provide a weak definition of key terms in the question. Band 2 [5–8 marks] In this band candidates will show some basic knowledge of the debate. Alternatively, they may offer an answer which is list-like in nature but there will be no real attempt to assess the issues raised by the question. There may be limited/some use of sociological terms or concepts. Responses may be underdeveloped and lack range. Answers may be simplistic and two- sided or only cover one side of the debate. Lower in the band, the response may be rather narrow in the points covered and there may be some development. Higher in the band, more points are likely to be covered with some development. Alternatively, a list-like answer with some development covering both sides of the argument may score up to 8 marks. A one-sided answer cannot score higher than 8 marks. Band 3 [9–12 marks] Answers in this band will show good sociological knowledge and understanding of the debate. Sociological terms and concepts will be used with greater accuracy and/or frequency. For the most part, answers will be well-developed, focused on the questions and there will be a range of points presented. There will be a two-sided response but it may lack range on one side. At the bottom of the band, candidates may provide a narrower range of developed points. At the top of the band, expect a wider range of developed points and clear focus on the question. Band 4 [13–15 marks] Answers in this band will show excellent knowledge and understanding of the debate. There will be a strong grasp of the arguments as well as accurate and frequent use of sociological terms and concepts. Answers will be well-developed, clearly focused on the question and discuss a wide range of points. Responses will be two-sided and have a range of points on each side. At the bottom of the band (13 marks), the answer may lack a specific conclusion. Higher in the band, there will be a clear attempt to offer an assessment of the ‘To what extent.?’ part of the question through a focused conclusion.

Practise this paper →

Make a free account to save your answers and see your weak topics and ask the AI why a wrong answer is wrong.