Sociology · May / June 2022 · Paper 21 · Question 3
0495
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Definitions of crime and deviance vary over time and between societies. Most people do not break the law, choosing instead to conform to society’s norms and values. However, trends in official 3 statistics state that youth sub-cultures and some ethnic groups are often involved in deviant behaviour. Despite this, findings from victim surveys have challenged the accuracy of official statistics.
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3(a)[2]
What is meant by the term ‘youth sub-culture’? One mark for a partial definition, e.g. have their own norms and values. Two marks for a clear definition, e.g. a distinct smaller group within youth e.g. Goths.
3(b)[4]
Describe two reasons why crime rates for some ethnic groups are higher than for other ethnic groups. Possible answers:
racial discrimination – crime may be a response to experiencing racism and prejudice/stereotyping, a form of resistance to this unfair system that rejects society’s values;historical context – colonialism – a history of resentment to colonial authority may carry over and result in criminal behaviour for some ethnic groups;relative deprivation – rates of poverty are high amongst some minority ethnic groups, particularly in the inner cities, and this may lead them into committing instrumental crimes;marginalisation – feeling excluded from wider society and alienated from the core values may make turning to a life of crime more likely for some ethnic groups than others;deviancy amplification – police targeting and high rates of stop and search may result in some minority ethnic groups becoming disillusioned and frustrated with the justice system, fighting back and so getting arrested;labelling theory – some ethnic groups are labelled negatively by society and thus develop a self-fulfilling prophecy, making them act more deviantly and therefore be more likely to be arrested;peer pressure – gang activity is often associated with some minority ethnic groups who may live in areas where gang culture is a norm – it is hard not to then get involved with this;lack of opportunity – some minority ethnic groups do not do well in education and thus struggle to access good jobs in society meaning that crime becomes more attractive e.g. drug dealing;any 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 definitions of crime vary over time. Possible answers:
laws – laws change over time and so definitions of what is criminal will also change e.g. not being allowed to smoke in a public place;norms and values – these evolve and change over time and this will affect definitions of criminality e.g. the age of consent;gender – feminism has ensured that gender expectations have significantly changed and this will affect definitions of crime e.g. laws on marital rape;age – as children are no longer typically seen as mini adults and tend to have an extended period of time in education, this changes the law regarding them e.g. child workers are now not allowed in many countries;racism – this is now a criminal offence worldwide therefore this has meant that racial prejudice and discrimination e.g. in the housing market has become a criminal offence;digital technology – the rise of technology across the globe means that new crimes are emerging all the time e.g. cybercrimes, corporate crime etc.;social media – now that these social networks are so globally entrenched, many opportunities for criminal offences that didn’t previously exist have opened up e.g. catfishing, fraud etc.;any 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 most individuals conform to society’s norms and values. Possible answers:
functionalism – this theory says that individuals conform because there is a value consensus in society (that has been introduced in the primary socialisation stage) ensuring both social order and social solidarity;Marxism – Marxists say that the working class conform to ruling class ideologies and values because they are in an exploited position whereby they rely on the ruling class to pay their wages – they are effectively ‘wage slaves’;feminism – feminists say that females conform to the patriarchal norms and values of society and male control because all of the agents work together to protect male power;peer pressure – as children enter adolescence, the peer group becomes very influential and individuals often submit to peer group pressure just so they fit into the group;socialisation – this begins with the family and teaches individuals the correct norms and values for their society e.g. through imitation and canalisation;informal social control – these agents all use systems of rewards and sanctions to ensure that individuals do conform e.g. media ‘name and shame’ campaigns;formal social control – formal agents such as prison, the police and the courts deter people from deviant activity as they are fearful of the consequences;any 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 are victim surveys a more accurate measurement of crime than official crime statistics? Possible answers: Arguments for:
unreported crime – victim surveys (VSs) get over the problem that the official crime statistics (OCS) have of unreported crimes. VSs ask people if they have been a victim of crime and thus are able to reveal more of the dark figure and are therefore more accurate;unrecorded crime – VSs get over the problem of unrecorded crime. It doesn’t matter if the police have recorded the crime as it will still feature in a VS, unlike in the OCS. This is therefore more accurate;British Crime Survey/national victim surveys – results show that there is a huge issue with the under-reporting of many crimes in terms of accuracy and show, for example, that the group thought to be the main offenders according to the OCS (young, males, inner-city, working class) are also the most likely to be victims of crime;combining VSs with OCS – this has been done, for example, in England and Wales as the Government recognises that VSs are needed in order to improve accuracy on the picture of crime – the CSEW;distrust of the police – in communities where there is little trust in the police the OCS will be very inaccurate in its picture of crime – VSs can help to give a more valid picture here e.g. gang related crime;criminals as victims – when some criminals are victims of crime these rarely get into the OCS, they can be shown in VSs, however, making the picture in the VSs more accurate e.g. prostitutes, drug dealers/users, etc.;local context – the OCS show a national picture of crime and so do not focus on the local context. Local VSs can bridge this gap and so give a more accurate picture of crime in specific areas;white-collar crime – these types of crime rarely feature in the OCS as companies often deal with the issues themselves and don’t want bad publicity – VSs can reveal more of the truth about these kind of crimes;any other reasonable response. Arguments against:sample – VSs involve asking a sample of people about their experiences of crime, the OCS looks at the entire country – the accuracy of any VS picture will depend upon the sample the data is drawn from e.g. may exclude anyone without an address = lacks representativeness;types of crimes – VSs cannot cover all types of crimes and so cannot be accurate e.g. victimless crimes and crimes against businesses are not covered whereas they are in the OCS;children – children are frequently the victims of crime, as shown in the OCS, but they are very unlikely to be included in a VS therefore we do not know about their experiences of crime from this source;sexual offences – many sociologists believe that these are hugely underreported in both the OCS and VSs meaning the picture is not accurate with either method;memories – VSs rely upon the memory of respondents whereas the OCS is based on facts. People can forget things, exaggerate things etc. therefore we must question the accuracy and validity of VSs;social desirability – as most VSs take place in an interview format the relationship between the interviewer and the respondents becomes crucial to validity – respondents may lie, clam up and/or say what they feel is wanted. The OCS does not have this issue as there is no need for human interaction;victims only – VSs focus only on victims of crime whereas the OCS considers both criminals and victims which means there are concerns for the overall accuracy of the VS when looking at the picture of crime;methodological pluralism – no one method of measuring crime can be better than another for accuracy, it depends on the crime being considered therefore most sociologists will look at different sources of crime data;any 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 question 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
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