Sociology · May / June 2025 · Paper 22 · Question 3
0495
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3(a)(i)[2]
Define the term vigilante groups. Award one mark for a partial definition, e.g. take the law into your own hands. Award two marks for a clear definition, e.g. self-appointed people with no legal authority who punish people they believe are offenders.
3(a)(ii)[2]
Define the term misogyny. Award one mark for a partial definition, e.g. sexism. Award two marks for a clear definition, e.g. hatred of women, predominantly by men.
3(b)[2]
State two features of gang culture. Award one mark for each correct feature (up to a maximum of two). Possible responses:
often comprised of young people;often comprised of males;often comprised of ethnic minorities;criminal and/or violent behaviour as the norm e.g. drug dealing;organised group of people, usually with a clear hierarchy and leader;often territorial in nature e.g. postcode gangs;often involves an initiation process, a ‘test’ to prove one’s loyalty to the gang;often associated with deprived, inner-city areas (working class);defending the gang and not reporting crime to the police is highly valued;people may join gangs for protection e.g. from racist attacks;associated gang ‘uniform’ e.g. wearing particular colours;gang symbols/markers e.g. tattoos;any other reasonable response.3(c)[6]
Describe three ways the police can control individuals. Award one mark for each point correctly identified (up to a maximum of three). Award one mark for each point that is developed (up to a maximum of three). Possible responses:
police cautions – where the offender accepts their guilt the police can give police cautions for minor offences. This is recorded on a criminal record and so acts as a warning to offenders;police targeting – the police can focus on a particular area or group of people because they believe they are more likely to be involved in criminal behaviour e.g. ethnic minorities, inner-city areas – this constant police presence controls individuals;stop and search – this police control method is used to focus on those in society the police believe most likely to have committed a crime and gives the police the power to stop and search them – it is often based on stereotyping and has even led to police brutality e.g. BLM;police surveillance – citizens are under almost constant surveillance and this feeling of being watched and monitored results in most people being controlled into not committing crimes e.g. CCTV, tagging etc.;community policing – working with the community, visibly on patrol, building good relationships based on trust – encourages individuals to report crime to the police and so is able to control;military policing – police are often armed and perceived as ‘outsiders’, sent to areas of unrest where they have no understanding of the community, rather like an invading army;force and fear is used to control;
power of arrest – the police have the power to arrest individuals and so control them through expectations of conformity as no one wants to be arrested and be subject to the criminal justice system and the fear of gaining a criminal record;zero tolerance policing – the police acted against minor offences e.g. possession of drugs, littering, to send a message to criminals that no crime would be tolerated (NYC, broken windows theory) – this effectively controlled individuals as the crime rate fell;deterrence – police presence aims to be a deterrent to criminal behaviour, going so far as to use cardboard cut outs to mimic officers and create social conformity;any other reasonable response.3(d)[6]
Explain three limitations of the interactionist explanation of crime and deviance. Award one mark for each point correctly identified (up to a maximum of three). Award one mark for each point that is developed (up to a maximum of three). Possible responses:
deviance created through labelling – most people know they are breaking norms and laws even if their actions are not detected, so deviance is not created by the label as Interactionists say;passive victims – labelling theory tends to imply that deviants are the passive victims of the labels applied to them but individuals can and do choose to be deviant, whether they have been labelled or not;origins of labelling – labelling theory does not fully explain why some people are labelled and others are not, or why some activities are against the law and others are not;criminals as victims of labelling – the theory implies this is the case but the label may have been applied because of a deviant or criminal act which caused serious harm and so should be condemned;dark figure of crime – labelling theory fails to explain why some people commit crimes even when they have not been publicly labelled e.g. females and the higher classes;crime and deviance are socially constructed – interactionists fail to take into account the fact that some behaviour would always be seen as deviant, whatever the context or social reaction e.g. murder;folk devils and moral panics cause more crime – this can be criticised by the idea that people do not passively accept what they consume in the media, they are active and questioning and critical;moral panic theory as outdated – as new media becomes more interactive and consumer led, so moral panic theory starts to seem outdated as there is no longer a centralised source of information meaning the media cannot create moral panics in the same way it perhaps used to (e.g. mods and rockers);any other reasonable response.3(e)[8]
Discuss the view that prison prevents crime. Use Table A to mark answers to this question. Possible responses:
incapacitation – preventing the offender from committing more crime by imprisoning them and removing their freedom;deterrence – prison puts people off committing crime because they are aware of the consequences of being imprisoned e.g. loss of liberty, limited time with family, harsh conditions etc.;rehabilitation – education and training programs within prison help to prevent crime by changing the offender’s attitude and behaviour. This will improve their job prospects on release;causes of criminality – counselling or treatment for addiction may be available when in prison and by tackling the root cause of the offending further criminality can be prevented;restorative justice – when in prison offenders can be asked to meet with their victims so the offender can hear about the way their offending has impacted and affected the victim. By understanding the impact of their actions, offenders can be motivated to change and so further crime is prevented;harsh reality of prison life – in many prisons facilities are minimal and conditions are tough, bullying is rife and prisoners are locked away for hours on end with little to do – media representations of such prisons can prevent crime as people do not want to live in such a way;juvenile detention – by giving young offenders a ‘short, sharp, shock’ further criminal behaviour can be prevented as young people realise that their actions have consequences and perhaps see first-hand that prison life is not the glamourous, edgy lifestyle it can sometimes be portrayed as;any other reasonable response.3(f)[14]
Evaluate the view that gender is the most important factor in explaining why an individual commits crime. Use Table B to mark answers to this question. Possible responses for:
official statistics – the patterns and trends in the OCS reveal that males are far more likely than females to commit a crime which indicates that gender is a very significant factor in determining criminality;chivalry thesis – Pollak – females are less likely to be charged or convicted of crimes than males because they are treated differently by the criminal justice system – this leads to females being under- represented in the official statistics and shows how important gender is in terms of crime;culture of masculinity – males are still expected to be hegemonic and this pressure may lead them to crime as they have to assert their masculinity to others e.g. through violence, power, humiliation;gendered socialisation – boys and girls are socialised differently (e.g. Oakley’s theory) and this may explain the higher rates of offending for males – boys are encouraged to be more active and aggressive whereas girls are encouraged to be passive and docile;social control – females are more strictly controlled by the agents of social control than are males and this therefore limits their chances of becoming criminal e.g. McRobbie’s ‘bedroom culture’ shows how girls are at home more than boys – if boys are out on the streets without parental figures to control them then they are much more likely to be drawn into criminal behaviour;misogyny – the idea of seeing women as lesser, inferior and a threat to men – misogynists assert their perceived dominance over females in many ways, some of which are deviant and criminal, e.g. harassment, domestic violence, sexual assault and even murder;lack of opportunity – males may turn to crime if other routes to material success are blocked for them as they are still perceived as breadwinners in most societies e.g. instrumental crime;gang culture – there are more males than females in gangs and some gangs are exclusively male – if there is a strong gang culture in an area then this can often lead males into criminal behaviour (Cloward and Ohlin‘s ‘illegitimate opportunity structure’);police targeting and stereotyping – if the police and the criminal justice system think that males are more likely to be criminal than females then they are likely to target them and thus arrest them more often;this may lead to deviancy amplification amongst males and so perpetuate the stereotype of male as criminal;
feminism – males may feel threatened by the rise of women in society and the perceived threat to their dominance and high status, thus crime may be a way for men to control women and ‘keep them in their place’ e.g. patriarchy, gaslighting, coercion, domestic abuse etc.;any other reasonable response. Possible responses against:dark figure of crime – it is impossible to know whether gender is a key indicator in criminality as there is so much crime that we do not know about, the unreported and unrecorded crimes;unofficial measures of crime – victim surveys and self-report studies reveal different patterns and trends to the official statistics and perhaps contradict the notion that crime is linked to masculinity, if females offend as well then is gender really that important?;social class – crime is disproportionately committed by those in the lower social classes and it is perhaps this social factor rather than gender that is most important in determining criminality (e.g. poverty, relative deprivation, status frustration, strain theory etc.);ethnicity – crime is disproportionately committed by ethnic minorities therefore perhaps ethnicity is a more significant factor than gender (e.g. racism, police targeting, gangs etc.);age – most crime is committed by young people and therefore perhaps age is a more significant factor than gender (e.g. media stereotyping, status frustration etc.);peer group – the peer group someone is a part of may be more important than their gender in determining whether or not they commit crime e.g. peer pressure, pro or anti-school subculture etc.;individualism – reasons for crime cannot be generalised and are often individual and personal, this view means that gender is not significant in determining whether someone is likely to commit crime;postmodernism – crime is not caused by gender but instead by the search for thrills and excitement which can be relevant to anybody, regardless of their gender;labelling theory – it is not just males that are labelled as criminals, other social groups are as well, therefore, to pick just one social factor as being most influential seems misleading – intersectionality;any other reasonable response.
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