Sociology · May / June 2024 · Paper 21 · Question 3
0495
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There are many different types of crime, for example cybercrime and urban crime. Sociologists debate why some social groups commit more crime than others and some believe that policing is biased. Measurements of crime such as victim surveys reveal that a dark figure of crime exists. 3
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3(a)[2]
What is meant by the term ‘cybercrime’? One mark for partial definition e.g. online fraud. Two marks for clear definition e.g. crimes involving the use of new technologies like the internet.
3(b)[4]
Describe two features of the dark figure of crime. Possible answers:
unreported crimes – not all crimes are reported to the police by the public due to fear of reprisals by the perpetrators e.g. in communities where crime is rife;unreported crimes – not all crimes are reported to the police by the public because the criminals are friends or family members and this leads to conflicted loyalties;unrecorded crimes – the police do not record all crimes that are reported to them due to police discretion and pressure on the police to ‘clear up’ crimes (coughing and cuffing);sexual crimes – these are notoriously underreported due to victim embarrassment and a culture whereby sexual crimes rarely result in a conviction;recognition of a crime taking place – often people are unsure if they have actually been the victim of crime e.g. online crimes/scams therefore they are never reported;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 the findings from victim surveys may not be accurate. Possible answers:
memory – victim surveys rely on respondent’s memories which may be faulty – this reduces their validity;cannot cover all types of crimes – they do not usually cover victimless crimes e.g. drug use, crimes against children and crimes against organisations. Therefore, they only give a partial picture of the victims of crimes;national picture – most victim surveys are completed using respondents from all over a nation – this does not show the impact or seriousness of crime in localised areas of a country;quantitative data – the most common type of victim surveys are large scale and produce quantitative data e.g. the CSEW or BCS – these cannot explore the responses or feelings of victims to crime;local victim surveys – these are carried out in a specific local area and therefore cannot be representative of the wider population so making generalisations impossible e.g. the Islington survey;feminist victim surveys – e.g. Walklate – these can be criticised for focusing only on sexual crimes and not considering the impact of other kinds of crimes on victims;underreported crimes – some types of crimes e.g. sexual crimes, are still thought to be underreported in victim surveys due to people not wanting to talk to strangers about such an intimate, personal experience;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 inadequate socialisation can be linked to crime. Possible answers:
decline in the nuclear family – New Right sociologists claim that since the nuclear family has started to decline so socialisation in families has become less effective in terms of inculcating the necessary moral values and this has led to increases in crime;single-parent families – Murray claims the lack of a male role model to discipline children has led to inadequate socialisation of boys in families and to increased levels of male crime;decline in marriage – as cohabitation and other alternatives to marriage have become more normalised, some sociologists claim that socialisation has become inadequate as the family is seen to be less stable and certain – this leads to crime;underclass values – Murray claims that the formation of the underclass who inadequately socialise their children to be work shy, feckless and welfare dependent has led to increases in crime as they desire material items but are unwilling to work to get them;official crime statistics – these indicate high rates of offending from families with so-called ‘inadequate socialisation’ i.e. the poor and those from single parent families;longitudinal studies – these typically show a link between poor parenting and/or children living in care (inadequate socialisation) and criminal offending;Hirschi – functionalist Hirschi claims that offending occurs in those individuals who have weak bonds of attachment i.e. those who have been inadequately socialised;illegitimate opportunity structure – Cloward and Ohlin - their research shows that crime flourishes in areas where it is normalised suggesting that the socialisation process is inadequate as it makes crime seem an acceptable ‘career’;feral children – research indicates that children who are not adequately socialised can become feral and act in immoral ways such as committing crime;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 maybe 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 policing biased? Possible answers: Arguments for:
police discretion – the police can decide whether to arrest someone and what to charge them with. This is often based on stereotypical assumptions of who the criminal is (Cicourel, ‘Typical Delinquent’);police targeting – the police have biased ideas about where crime will take place (urban, deprived areas) and deploy resources accordingly – this means the lower social classes are more likely to be caught committing crime than the higher classes;stop and search rates – these are much higher for some social groups than others e.g. high rates for the young, the poor and ethnic minorities, showing how policing is biased;type of crime – the police are subject to pressure to crack down on crime and get good clear up rates – this means they tend to focus their attention on the crimes that are relatively easy to solve, meaning business and white-collar crime is not particularly targeted – this of course demonstrates bias;Marxism – the police are seen to be a tool for the ruling class, they ignore elite/state/corporate crimes and instead repress the working class into a state of submission and conformity – police are part of the repressive state apparatus and are therefore biased;feminism – this theory says policing favours men over women when it comes to the extremely low arrest, investigation and conviction rates for sexual crimes e.g. rape, harassment;chivalry factor – Pollak – this theory suggests that the police are biased in favour of females, believing them to be incapable of serious crime due to the long-standing stereotypes of passive femininity;moral panics – the media sensationalises some crimes and creates folk devils of who the criminals are, e.g. young, black males – this diverts attention away from the real criminals (the upper class) and creates stereotypes for the public;selective law enforcement – actions of the working class are criminalised and so the ruling class are less likely to have their criminal actions defined as such, e.g. the police focus on street crime rather than corporate crime and so are biased;corporate crime - Tombs and Whyte – only 5% of workplace crimes involving breaking laws on safety at work that result in serious injury or death are investigated by the police. This compares to an investigation rate of over 90% for crimes involving serious injury outside of the workplace;ethnicity – investigations into police racism and prejudice has shown that some ethnic minority groups are over-policed. This was demonstrated in the London riots of 2011 and in recent global BLM protests and examples of police brutality;any other reasonable response. Arguments against:official crime statistics – the police simply act upon the information they are given by the official records which shows that some social groups e.g. the ruling class do not commit much crime (functionalism);police wear body cameras/CCTV – surveillance is used to ensure the police act fairly and therefore prevents cases of bias;police themselves are being prosecuted for wrongdoings – if members of the police commit crimes they are now arrested, charged and often prosecuted, showing that policing is not biased e.g. Sarah Everard murder case;individuals not the institution – every profession will contain biased individuals, e.g. racists, but this does not mean that the police force itself as an institution is biased;harm – white-collar crimes are less likely to cause harm to the victim and therefore it is only right that the police focus their attention on street crimes, this is what the public want as it’s a source of fear. This is not bias, it’s responding to public demand;area – the police are not deliberately targeting certain areas, they are acting on information that tells them where crime is most likely to be committed – this, not selective law enforcement and bias, is why they are found in deprived rather than higher class areas;ethnicity – the police have been accused of over-policing ethnic minorities however records and witness statements suggest that some ethnic minorities are more likely to be criminal therefore the police are simply doing their job e.g. focus on black knife crime in the UK;corporate criminals – when information is forthcoming the police can and do investigate large corporations and powerful groups and ensure that the criminals are arrested and charged, e.g. 2022 members of the UK Conservative party charged with breaking Covid-19 rules;social movements – the police back changes in society that see the focus of policing shifting e.g. #metoo saw the arrests of powerful male sex-crime perpetrators and demonstrates that policing is not biased;regulation and the law – the police are agents for the law and ensure it is followed fairly;were they to police in an unfair way then they would be subject to arrest and prosecution themselves;
police personnel – the police have responded to criticisms of their actions by trying to ensure greater representation amongst their ranks from all social groups in order to create a fairer police force e.g. recruitment drives of ethnic minority and female police officers to remove bias;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 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.
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