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Crime and deviance

3 dot points across 3 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What are crime and deviance, and how is crime measured?

The definitions of crime and deviance and how they vary by time and place, and how crime is measured through official statistics and victim surveys, including the problem of the dark figure of unrecorded crime.
A focused answer on crime, deviance and crime measurement for WJEC GCSE Sociology: the definitions of crime and deviance, how they vary, and measuring crime through official statistics and victim surveys, including the dark figure.
14 min answer →

Why do people commit crime and deviance?

The main sociological explanations of crime and deviance, including the influence of inadequate socialisation, poverty and social conditions, subcultures, and labelling, set against biological and psychological explanations.
A focused answer on explanations of crime and deviance for WJEC GCSE Sociology: sociological explanations including socialisation, poverty, subcultures and labelling, set against biological and psychological explanations.
15 min answer →

Who commits crime, and who are the victims?

The patterns of crime and victimisation by social group, the link between social characteristics and crime statistics, and why these patterns must be treated as patterns in the statistics rather than facts about individuals.
A focused answer on patterns of crime for WJEC GCSE Sociology: who appears in crime statistics and who are the victims, by age, gender, class and ethnicity, and why these are patterns in the data, not facts about individuals.
14 min answer →