gcse sociology aqa (4190 full course) lesson 15 … – gcse sociology not to be reproduce or...

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HomeMadeEducation

GCSE Sociology – AQA (4190 – Full

Course)

Lesson 15 – Class Notes



Table of Contents

1. Lesson 15 Learning Objectives Page 3

2. Lesson 15 Subject Content: Page 4

3. Lesson 15 Case studies Page 13

4. Lesson 15 Practice Activities Page 14

5. Lesson 15 Practice Exam Questions Page 15

6. Lesson 15 Extra Student Resources Page 16

7. Lesson 15 Glossary Page 17

8. Lesson 15 References 1



1. Learning Objectives

In Lessons 15-19 the learning objectives will cover Crime and Deviance:

Candidates should be able to:

distinguish the concepts of crime and deviance

describe the ways in which individuals are encouraged to conform to social rules

both formal and informal.

Candidates should be aware, at a basic level, of the social distribution of crime, eg

class, age, gender, ethnicity and locality.

Candidates should be able to:

outline different sociological explanations of criminal and deviant behaviour,

such as sub-cultural theories, labelling theory and relative deprivation

assess, at a basic level, the usefulness of official crime figures, and self-report and

victim studies, to sociologists

describe the significance of criminal and deviant behaviour for victims,

communities and society in general.

Candidates should be aware, at a basic level, of the ways in which criminal and

deviant behaviour have generated public debates in recent years.

Candidates should understand, at a basic level, the nature and significance of social

problems such as racism and teenage crime.

~~~

Lesson 15 – defining crime and deviance

Lesson 16 – measuring crime / social research on crime

Lesson 17 – explanations of criminal behaviour (biological, psychological, sociological)

Lesson 18 – controlling crime (social control, laws, and communities)

Lesson 19 – who commits crime (gender, age, class, ethnic group, location)



2. Subject Content

Why look at crime from a sociological perspective?

The number of 10- to 17-year-olds cautioned or sentenced for knife possession

offences has risen by 16% since this time last year, with 2017 set to be one of the

worst years in the last four decades for child knife deaths. Ministry of Justice figures

showed there were 4,439 knife crimes where the perpetrator was aged from 10 to

17 in the year to September 2017, up from 3,811 the year before.

The figures will increase concern about rising violence against children. The

Guardian has been tracking the number of children and teens killed by knives in

2017, after discovering no national data was available. Last month, the Home

Office and 45 police forces published figures showing 35 children and teenagers

had been killed in knife crimes in England and Wales so far this year, meaning 2017

is likely to be the worst year for such deaths in nearly a decade and the third worst

year since 1977.

Sarah Jones, the Labour MP for Croydon Central and chair of the all-party

parliamentary group on knife crime, said: “Today’s figures show knife possession

offences continue to grow at a worrying rate. Offences have now reached a six-

year high and this is reflected by the fact that 2017 is set to be one of the worst

years for the last four decades for child knife deaths. “I continue to press the

government to treat knife crime as a public health crisis and invest across

government in prevention programmes.”

Jones has previously said Britain needs a 10-year, coordinated strategy to tackle

knife crime among young people, similar to the successful long-term effort to

reduce teenage pregnancy. She believes professionals from health, education

and social media sectors should work together against knife crime, with a focus on

social media platforms taking more responsibility for posts that glamorise knives

and violence.

Javed Khan, the chief executive of the children’s charity Barnardo’s, said: “From

Barnardo’s work with the most vulnerable children and young people, we know

that the reason they get involved in knife crime or gangs can be complex, but

action to help stem the increase is vital.”

From: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/14/number-children-penalised-knife-

possession-rises-16-england-wales

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/14/number-children-penalised-knife-possession-rises-16-england-wales

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/14/number-children-penalised-knife-possession-rises-16-england-wales



Overview:

Official statistics on crimes are collected by the police, the courts and by the British

Crime Survey (BCS). The BCS is responsible for the public presentation of recorded crime

in the UK. However, the BCS believe that only 1 in 4 crimes is reported:

the BCS does not deal with all crimes; for example, it does not include corporate

crime in its figures or crimes dealt with by the Customs and Excise and the Inland

Revenue.

there is a general belief that quite a lot of crime is not recorded. For example,

crimes committed by drug dealers against drug takers are also not likely to be

reported to the police.

This makes crime data difficult to interpret and understand for sociologists. Thus, some

sociologists believe that self-report studies offer a greater accuracy of crime in the UK.

Self-report studies are anonymous and allow an individual to state whether they have

been a victim of crime without having to go to the police. But without any evidence

other than these reports to support such claims, few use them to support their work. The

benefit of self-reports, however, is that they hint that the official data may be wrong or

at least limited in its accuracy.

Whatever the data or research being used, sociologists following different approaches

all take a slightly different perspective on crime:

Marxists believe that statistics are shaped in such a way to support the ruling

classes and that they create an atmosphere of fear that allows the authorities to

introduce yet more controlling legislation

Feminists believe that the compilation of statistics is usually done by men and as

such are part of a patriarchal society that seeks to dominate women and as a

result the statistics should be treated with caution as they are a means to an end

Crimes are statistically more likely to occur in some areas than others, and those who

commit crimes are more likely to come from certain backgrounds.

We will explore all of the above in further detail over the coming weeks.



2.a. Defining crime and deviance

There is not a universal way of defining a criminal or deviant act. Crime and deviance

can only be defined in relation to a specific standard of behaviour in a particular

culture at a particular moment in time.

Most of the time, most people follow the rules and norms of their society (and of course,

different countries have different rules and norms) - they conform. Norms, you will

remember are the unwritten rules for behaviour and are based on values which define

what is thought of as good and right in society.

Sociologists can use different terms according to how people do not conform:

crime - breaking rules that have been made into laws by the rulers or

government

deviance - behaviour that most or all people disapprove of in the society. Such

behaviour will not conform to the society's norms and values. When behaviour is

serious and strongly disapproved, there will probably be a law against it. Different

cultures have different norms and values, and so different ideas about what is

deviant.

delinquency - behaviour by young people that is disapproved of. Mostly it is

deviant, but sometimes delinquents break laws as well, and so commit crime.

Not all deviance is crime... deviance applies to a very wide range of behaviour, and

crime is a category within this of behaviour that is so strongly disapproved that there is a

law against it.

Not all crime is deviant … logically, it should be, but in fact it can be argued that there

are some offences which may be crimes under the law, but where most people would

not think of the offender as being a criminal or even as “deviant”. For example, it is

against the law to park on double yellow lines, and a magistrate could fine a motorist

who does this, but we would not think of the motorist as a criminal.

This short video clip highlights both an example of deviance and an example of a

crime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59hKQ7MoML0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59hKQ7MoML0



A crime: an illegal act that is punishable by law. If a person commits a crime and it is

detected, they could be arrested, charged and prosecuted. If found guilty, they will

receive a formal sanction such as prison or a fine. Some illegal acts are not necessarily

seen as deviant (see later definition). For example, parking cars on double yellow lines

or using a mobile phone whilst driving, even though these activities are against the law.

Crime is socially defined

What is legal in one country may be illegal in another. Drinking alcohol is socially

acceptable (even approved in some situations) in Britain today for adults, but is illegal in

Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries. The use of cannabis is legal in many Arab

countries but not in Britain.

Laws constantly change within countries. Older laws may be dropped if they seem

irrelevant, while new laws are introduced to cope with new problems or situations.

Both historical and cross-cultural evidence suggest that what is classed as criminal

behaviour can change over time and vary between cultures.

In the 1920’s, there were strict laws on what women could wear to the beach “the

newest thing for the sea is a jersey bathing suit as near a maillot as the unwritten

law will permit.”:http://www.messynessychic.com/2012/06/20/arrested-for-their-

bathing-suits/

In Canada, the drinking age varies in law, depending on your location:

http://www.ccdus.ca/Eng/topics/alcohol/Pages/Legal-Drinking-Age-for-Alcohol-

in-Canada.aspx

In Saudi Arabia, only in 2017 will women be allowed to legally drive:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/26/saudi-arabias-king-issues-order-

allowing-women-to-drive

In Saudi Arabia, cinemas will start opening in 2018 after a 35 year ban:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/11/saudi-arabia-allow-cinemas-

kingdom-35-year-ban/

A law still in force in the UK: “all beached whales and sturgeons must be offered to

the Reigning Monarch”, initially came into force in 1322:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-strangest-weird-laws-

enforced-christopher-sargeant-sturgeon-armour-a7232586.html

This UK mother was fined for littering, even though it was a sausage roll crumb and

was eaten by a pigeon: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1016798/Mother-

fined-75-litter-police-year-old-daughter-drops-piece-sausage-roll-pavement.html

http://www.ccdus.ca/Eng/topics/alcohol/Pages/Legal-Drinking-Age-for-Alcohol-in-Canada.aspx

http://www.ccdus.ca/Eng/topics/alcohol/Pages/Legal-Drinking-Age-for-Alcohol-in-Canada.aspx

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/26/saudi-arabias-king-issues-order-allowing-women-to-drive

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/26/saudi-arabias-king-issues-order-allowing-women-to-drive

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/11/saudi-arabia-allow-cinemas-kingdom-35-year-ban/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/11/saudi-arabia-allow-cinemas-kingdom-35-year-ban/

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-strangest-weird-laws-enforced-christopher-sargeant-sturgeon-armour-a7232586.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-strangest-weird-laws-enforced-christopher-sargeant-sturgeon-armour-a7232586.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1016798/Mother-fined-75-litter-police-year-old-daughter-drops-piece-sausage-roll-pavement.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1016798/Mother-fined-75-litter-police-year-old-daughter-drops-piece-sausage-roll-pavement.html



Deviance: behaviour which does not conform to the accepted norms in society. If a

person behaves in a deviant fashion they could receive an informal sanction such as

being told off or ridiculed.

Some, but not all, deviant acts are also illegal. Legal deviance is behaviour that is seen

as ‘abnormal’ by most people in a society but it does not break the law.

Deviance is socially defined

Many sociologists argue that while crime involves legally defined behaviour, deviance is

socially defined. Whether an act is considered deviant or not depends on how people

view and label the act. This means that deviance is judged according to the social

setting or the context in which it takes place.

Definitions of deviance can be changed over time, place and between cultures. For

example, it used to be illegal and deviant to be a homosexual. People’s attitudes

change and this can also lead to changes in the law.



There are several types of deviance:

Deviance changes over time (historical deviance)

Deviance can only be defined in relation to particular norms, and norms change over

time. For example, cigarette smoking used to be very popular and a socially

acceptable activity, but is increasingly becoming branded as deviant, and smokers are

now unwelcome in many places. Fashion, of course, is an obvious example of

changing norms-- people today would generally be regarded as deviant who are they

to wear fashions of 17th century England.

Historical

Time of Day



Deviance changes by culture

Cross-cultural evidence suggests that what is seen as deviant can vary across cultures:

there are differing attitudes as to what is acceptable for women to wear in

different cultures

in some countries it is OK to eat with your hands, and in others it is not

in some countries, you would never wear shoes when indoors

Whether an act is seen as deviant or not can depend on who is doing it, when it is

happening, and in what situation. Whether an act is deviant or not depends not so

much on the act as on the situation in which it happens.

Deviance can change by place

For example, it is deviant to wear a bikini in a public place such as a shopping centre

but will be accepted if it is at a beach.



Deviance changes by social situation

The context in which the act takes place, for example chanting and flag-waving at a

funeral as compared with the same behaviour on a football terrace

~~~

Sometimes, deviant behaviours become so unacceptable that they become laws. Or,

deviant behaviours are expected to be common across cultures. In a modern global

world, there are attempts to standardise what is deviant. There have also been

attempts to define deviance and making it illegal across different cultures, for example

through European law and United Nations rulings. By requiring that such moral codes

become law in member countries, they become more universal.

The following are some examples of recent rulings by the European Union:

Member states should criminalise and impose penalties of a certain level for

sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, as well as establishing their

own jurisdiction and granting protection and assistance for children, as

particularly vulnerable victims, and their families.

Member states shall not subject anyone to torture or to cruel, inhuman or

degrading treatment or punishment.

Member states shall ban smoking in enclosed premises open to the public, which

form part of a public or private establishment.



3. Case Study

a. Which of these are criminal acts and which are deviant acts?

Murder

Speaking loudly on your mobile phone in a library

Downloading songs from the internet

Smoking

Wearing shorts to school

Kissing in the street

Leaving a coffee shop without paying for your drink.

Driving at 33 miles per hour in a 30 mile an hour speed limit area.

Walking across a pedestrian crossing when the red man is displayed.

Burping after a meal.

Playing your music loudly on the beach.

Walking through the town centre with a gang of mates singing.

Wearing hoodies.

Acts of deviancy could include not wearing your tie in school or picking your nose in

public.

An act can be deviant and criminal – killing someone is both criminal and deviant and

deserves punishment.

An act can be deviant but not criminal – breaking social but not legal rules, for

example, a male manager wearing a dress to the office.

b. Complete the following:

Example of a crime:

Example of deviance:

Example of a crime which is also deviant:

Example of a crime that may not be deviant:



4. Practice Activities

a. Can you think of a time when you, a family member, or a friend have done

something deviant, but not criminal. Or criminal, but not deviant.

b. Can you think of a time you have been in a different cultural setting (either in the

UK or abroad) and experienced differences in what is perceived as deviant or

criminal?



5. Practice Exam Questions

Marking scheme: AQAQP20157

a. Discuss how far sociologists would agree that official statistics give a true

representation of crime in society. (12 marks)



6. Extra Resources for the Student

Please do try and review any extra resources, as well as the Topical articles posted

online. These are designed to:

show relevance of sociological topics in our everyday lives

enhance your learning

provide repetition of concepts as a memory aid

give examples of cause and effect that can be used in exam questions

BBC Bitesize:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zytycdm/revision

https://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/zttb4wx/resources/1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zytycdm/revision



7. Glossary

Agent of social control: the groups and organizations in society that are responsible for

ensuring members of society confirm to socially acceptable behaviour.

Anomie: a situation where large numbers of people fail to follow generally accepted

values, instead adopting various forms of deviant behaviour such as theft

Antisocial behaviour: behaviour that causes harassment, distress or alarm to other

People

Antisocial behaviour order (ASBO): an order made by the courts against a person who

has been shown to have engaged in anti-social behaviour

British Crime Survey (BCS): a victim survey conducted annually by a team of

researchers at the Home Office. The BCS measures the amount of crime in England and

Wales by asking people about crimes they have experienced in the last year.

Capitalist society: an economic system where the production of goods is organised for

profit and sold to a free market

CCTV (closed-circuit television): a television system often used for surveillance

Chivalry effect: the idea that female offenders are seen as deserving more lenient

treatment within the criminal justice system and the impact of this on things like

sentencing

Corporate crime: crimes committed by employees on behalf of the company or

organization they work for. Examples in clued the manufacture and sale of unsafe

products

Crime: behaviour that breaks the law

Dark figure of crime: a large amount of criminal activity never appears in the crime

statistics

Deviance: behaviour which does not conform to society’s norms and values and, if

detected, is likely to lead to negative sanctions. Deviance can be – but is not

necessarily - illegal –

Folk devil: a group that is defined as a threat to society’s values

Formal social control: control of people’s behaviour based on written laws and rules.

Formal social control is usually associated with the ways the state regulates and controls

our behaviour. The agencies of formal social control include the police force, courts



and prisons –

Functionalism: an approach in sociology that seeks to explain the existence of social

structures by the role they perform in society as a whole

Identity theft: the misappropriation of the identity (such as name, date of birth, current

address, or previous address) of another person, without their knowledge or consent.

These identity details are then used to obtain goods and services in that person’s name.

Indictable offenses: serious crimes, generally those for which an accused person may

be sent to prison if found guilty

Informal social control: control of people’s behaviour based on social processes such as

the approval or disapproval of others. Informal social control is enforced via peer

pressure. The agencies of informal social control include peer groups and families –

Injustice: when a person is accused of a crime of which they are not guilty

Institutional racism: occurs when the everyday practices and procedures of an

organisation, for example – the police, lead to discrimination against ethnic groups

either intentionally or unintentionally

Ladette: young women who behave boisterously, assertive, or in a crude manner and

engage in heavy drinking

Marxist: someone who believes in the idea of Karl Marx and sees the main divisions in

society based on social class operating in a capitalist system

Moral panic: a media-fuelled overreaction to social groups (such as hoodies). This

process involves the media exaggerating the extent and significance of a social

problem. A particular group is cast as a folk devil and becomes defined as a threat to

society’s values

Negative sanctions: sanctions that punish those who do not conform to the group’s

expectations, for example by ignoring them

Non-indictable offenses: less serious crimes such as parking offenses

Official crime statistics: the way crime is measured, based on statistics collected by the

home office

Peer group: a group of people who share a similar status and position in society, such as

people of a similar age, outlook or occupation

Peer group pressure: the social pressure that a peer group puts on its members to



encourage them to conform to the group’s norms and behave in a particular way

Police: agents of social control with the power to enforce the law

Positive sanctions: sanctions that reward those who behave according to the groups’

expectations, for example through praise

Prosecution: conduct of legal proceedings against a defendant for criminal behaviour

Recorded crime: crime that is recorded by the police; not all reported crime is

recorded.

Reported crime: crime that is reported to the police; not all crime is reported.

Relative deprivation: this occurs when individuals or groups feel that they are badly off

in relation to the living standards of their peers

Scapegoat: an individual or group (such as economic migrants) that is blamed entirely

for something that is not their fault.

Self-fulfilling prophecy: people hear labels about themselves from people who are

more powerful than they are; they come to believe the labels are true and act as if

they are true. Therefore the labels become true.

Self-report survey: a survey of the population that asks respondents whether they have

committed particular offences during a specified time period such as the last year, for

which they have not been caught. Such studies provide information on offenders and

offences that are not necessarily dealt with by the police or courts –

Socially constructed: views of what is criminal or deviant behaviour are influenced by

the values and norms of the society we live in

Socially defined behaviour: thought of as natural but is actually the product of cultural

expectations

Social order: this occurs when society is stable, ordered and runs smoothly without

continual disruption

Status: refers to social positions linked to occupations and families. Can also refer to the

amount of prestige/social standing that an individual in a particular social position is

given by other members of the group or society

Status frustration: Albert Cohen argued that working-class boys experience status

frustration when they try – but fail – to meet middle-class expectations at school –



Stereotype: a fixed, standardized and distorted view of the characteristics of a

particular group which are often based on prejudice

Subculture: a social group which differs from the dominant/main culture in terms of its

members’ values, beliefs, customs, language, dress or diet and so on –

Surveillance: is the monitoring of the behaviour of people and objects within society

Wealth: ownership of assets such as property, land and works of art as well as money

held in savings accounts and shares in companies

White-collar crime: crimes committed by people in relatively high status positions, such

as accountants, doctors or solicitors, during their work. Examples include tax evasion

and fiddling expense accounts at work

Validity: data is valid if it gives a true picture of what is being studied

Victim survey: a survey of the public which asks respondents about their experiences of

crime, whether they have been victims of particular offences during a specified time

period such as the last year and, if so, whether they reported the crimes to the police –



8. References

AQA Sociology, Coates et al, Nelsom Thornes (2009)

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology

http://www.sociologyarticles.co.uk

http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/glossary/terms.html

https://www.theguardian.com/society

https://www.britsoc.co.uk/

https://www.europeansociology.org/

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology

http://www.sociologyarticles.co.uk/

https://www.britsoc.co.uk/

https://www.europeansociology.org/

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