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.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this dot point is asking
This dot point covers the patterns of crime and victimisation: which social groups appear most often in crime statistics as offenders and as victims, by age, gender, social class and ethnicity. The most important skill here is caution: you must present these as patterns in the statistics, not facts about individuals, and recognise that the way crime is policed and recorded shapes who appears in the figures.
Why caution comes first
Patterns by age and gender
Patterns by class and ethnicity
Patterns of victimisation
Try this
Q1. Describe one pattern shown in crime statistics. [Knowledge recall]
- Cue. One pattern is that far more recorded offenders are male than female; another is that a large share of recorded offenders are young, with offending peaking in the teenage years. Present these as patterns in the statistics.
Q2. Explain why crime statistics about ethnicity must be treated with caution. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Some ethnic groups appear more often in certain statistics, but this may reflect how heavily those groups are policed and labelled rather than how much they actually offend, so the statistics may be misleading and should not be used to judge whole groups.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC (Component 2)4 marksDescribe patterns shown in crime statistics.Show worked answer →
A describe question (AO1). Reward accurate patterns, treated as patterns.
Age. The statistics show that a large share of recorded offenders are young, with offending peaking in the teenage years and declining with age.
Gender. The statistics show that far more recorded offenders are male than female.
Top band. Two accurate patterns from the statistics, described as patterns in the data, not facts about individuals.
WJEC (Component 2)8 marksDiscuss why some groups appear more often in crime statistics than others.Show worked answer →
A discuss question (AO1, AO2 and evaluation). Reward explanations and caution about the statistics.
Possible reasons. Differences in opportunity, social conditions such as poverty, and the way certain groups may be policed and labelled more heavily.
Caution. The statistics may reflect how crime is policed and recorded, not just who offends, so they can be misleading.
Judgement. The patterns are real in the statistics, but they must be explained carefully, because the way crime is policed and recorded shapes who appears in them.
Related dot points
- 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.
- 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.
- Social control through formal agencies such as the police, courts and law, and informal agencies such as the family, peer group and media, working through positive and negative sanctions to maintain social order.
A focused answer on social control for WJEC GCSE Sociology: formal control through the police, courts and law, informal control through the family, peers and media, and how sanctions maintain social order.
- Forms of social differentiation and inequality beyond class: gender, ethnicity, age and disability, the meaning of prejudice and discrimination, and how the law seeks to promote equality.
A focused answer on other forms of inequality for WJEC GCSE Sociology: differentiation by gender, ethnicity, age and disability, the meaning of prejudice and discrimination, and equality law.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC GCSE Sociology (Wales) specification (C200QS) — WJEC (2017)