Sociology · May / June 2024 · Paper 22 · Question 3
0495
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All societies try to control and prevent crime but self-report studies and official crime statistics show that crime is still a problem in society. Sociologists debate the factors that explain why crime is 3 committed, such as ethnicity. Law enforcement agencies aim to make people conform. However, deviancy amplification still occurs.
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3(a)[2]
What is meant by the term ‘self-report studies’? One mark for partial definition e.g. asking about crime. Two marks for clear definition e.g. research that asks people what crimes or deviant acts they have committed.
3(b)[4]
Describe two ways law enforcement agencies make people conform. Possible answers:
police – allowed to carry weapons and use force if necessary, in order to achieve conformity;Marxism – repressive state apparatus – police are often used to control protests and demonstrations e.g. BLM/environmental protests and so achieve conformity;surveillance – monitoring behaviour in order to ensure conformity e.g. CCTV, trackers, cyber-technology etc.;police targeting – focusing on a particular group of people, believing them to be more criminal, in order to prevent crime and ensure people conform;police presence – this can cause fear in people thus making them conform;courts – sentence offenders based on their crime and send a clear message to others about what will happen if they break the law e.g. loss of liberty/a fine etc.;deterrence – seeing a police officer often puts people off from committing a crime or long sentences from the courts reported in the media similarly deter offending;zero tolerance – the police/the authorities/the courts can take action against even minor acts of deviance to send out the message that no criminal or deviant behaviour will be tolerated e.g. NYC/London riots – Wilson’s ‘broken windows’ ideas;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 deviancy amplification can occur. Possible answers:
master status – being negatively labelled can give someone a master status that overrides all others, e.g. criminal – this therefore leads to more deviance as it is how the labelled person perceives themselves and thus acts;self-fulfilling prophecy – how people view themselves is largely derived from the view others have of them – this can cause individuals perceived as deviant to behave in this way;public labelling – being labelled as deviant can lead to rejection, loss of family and friends and so encourage further deviance with similarly negatively labelled individuals;deviant career – constant negative labelling may result in an individual’s self-identity changing, leading them to join an organised criminal group with shared norms and values that justify the deviant behaviour e.g. gangs – thus more deviancy occurs;stigma – some social groups or individuals become so badly thought of by others that they become stigmatised (seen by others as different in a negative way) – this may then lead to anger and resentment by the stigmatised group and so more deviance occurs;media stereotyping – the media stereotype certain social groups as deviant meaning society starts to think of and treat them warily – this may cause anger in the stereotyped groups that leads to deviance amplification;moral panics – these create folk devils who may then be discriminated against in society meaning that deviance amplification is the inevitable end result as legitimate means for success start to become more difficult;police targeting – the police believe some social groups to be more deviant than others and so target them – this can often lead to frustration and resistance in the targeted group which may lead to higher levels of deviance occurring e.g. Young’s ‘The Drug-Takers’;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 sociologists criticise the accuracy of official crime statistics. Possible answers:
hidden crimes – not all crimes are recognised as crimes and thus will never enter the official crime statistics e.g. many white-collar crimes – this decreases the accuracy;reporting – a crime has to be reported to the police before it can reach the statistics, not all are e.g. a crime that involves family members/fear of repercussions etc which compromises the accuracy of the official crime statistics;sexual crimes – feminists report that these are notoriously under-reported and thus the official picture is highly inaccurate (as proven by victim studies e.g. Walklate);community distrust of the police – in some communities e.g. ethnic minorities, deprived estates, people do not trust the police and therefore are unlikely to report crimes to them meaning that crime statistics for these areas are unlikely to be accurate;corporate crimes – these rarely reach the official crime statistics as they are committed by large, wealthy and powerful institutions who bypass the law through manipulation and corruption – hence compromising the accuracy of the statistics;police recording of crimes – the police have the discretion to decide which crimes they record and who they arrest which means many reported crimes never make the official crime statistics = less accurate;pressure on police – forces are often under pressure to achieve good clear-up rates so may use processes such as ‘coughing and cuffing’ to manipulate the figures = a less accurate picture of crime;self-report studies – evidence from these shows that significant numbers of crimes are committed by women and members of the middle classes – this questions the accuracy of the official crime statistics;victim surveys – these can uncover those unreported crimes and therefore allows sociologists to question the accuracy of the official statistics e.g. the CSEW/BCS/localised victim surveys e.g. Islington/Merseyside show different patterns of criminality and victimisation to the OCS;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 is ethnicity a factor in explaining why some people commit crime? Possible answers: Arguments for:
official crime statistics show that some minority ethnic groups seem to commit disproportionately more crime than the ethnic majority, implying that ethnicity is a factor in explaining crime;prison statistics – ethnic minorities are incarcerated at a far greater rate than non-ethnic minorities which means they have been found guilty and convicted of crimes – this implies ethnicity is a factor to explain crime;police figures – police in London claim that rates of street crime are much higher for young, male Afro-Caribbeans than from other ethnic groups, this implies that ethnicity is a factor to explain crime;resistance to racism – research into ethnic deviant subcultures has revealed that much crime is committed as a response to living in a racist society e.g. urban riots, BLM protests and thus is a relevant factor;racial discrimination – ethnic minorities may become disillusioned with racial discrimination and prejudice in society that effectively blocks their chances of legitimate success and thus they turn to crime instead – ethnicity is therefore a factor to explain crime;marginalisation and relative deprivation – Lea and Young – where ethnic minority groups share the same values and aspirations as the rest of society but the normal routes to achieving these goals are blocked, e.g. success in education, alongside feelings of ‘not belonging’, their response may be crime = a relevant factor;victim surveys – many of these reveal high numbers of crimes committed by ethnic minorities, suggesting ethnicity is a factor that explains crime;any other reasonable response. Arguments against:young people – most crime is committed by young people and ethnic minorities tend to have a higher proportion of young people than the majority group so more crime would be expected from them – age not ethnicity being the crucial factor;policing practices – if the police target certain offences and/or areas and stop and search people from some ethnic groups more than others (as the evidence suggests) then it is to be expected that more crime in these ethnic groups would be uncovered – this does not show that ethnicity is a factor to explain crime;police racism – institutional racism in the police force may explain why so many ethnic minorities are arrested, searched and convicted of crimes rather than ethnicity in itself being the causal factor;masculinity – the pressure to be masculine (Messerschmidt) and/or to fulfil the breadwinner role means that gender may be a more relevant factor to explain crime than ethnicity;age – the search for thrills and excitement may explain the large proportion of young offenders, perhaps being a better explanation for crime than solely ethnicity;social class – material deprivation and poverty may be the most likely explanations for crime, not ethnicity (more successful ethnic minority groups are not likely to be criminal) – Marxism;cultural deprivation – a lifestyle that does not value law and order or working hard may encourage criminal and deviant behaviour – this may better explain crime than ethnicity e.g. inadequate socialisation;intersectionality – it is likely that different factors combine to determine whether an individual commits crime, not just ethnicity – individuals are all likely to have different reasons, there is no one factor;victim surveys that report that ‘most’ offenders are ethnic minority may be biased, people may be more likely to report crimes committed by ethnic minorities because of racial prejudice therefore ethnicity is not a relevant factor;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 commonsense 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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