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GCSE · AQA

GSOC.CR5 Crime Patterns by Class, Ethnicity and Age

AQA 8192 · Calculators not allowed · about 75 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Where a question refers to Item E, use both the Item and your own knowledge in your answer.

Item E: Two wards, two pictures

A hypothetical scenario written for this exercise; the wards, figures and study described are entirely invented.

A student researching crime statistics for a class project compares two neighbouring, entirely fictional wards. In Ashfield ward, police stop-and-search rates for young people are three times higher than in Oakdene ward. However, an anonymous self-report survey of teenagers in both wards, carried out for the same class project, finds broadly similar levels of reported drug use in Ashfield and Oakdene. Ashfield also has a larger number of visible police patrols and CCTV cameras than Oakdene.

The 'dark figure of crime' refers to...

A) crimes committed at night
B) the gap between crimes that actually occur and crimes recorded in official statistics
C) crimes committed only by children
D) the total number of crimes solved by the police

(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)

Official crime statistics are the most commonly quoted source of crime data.

(Total for Question 2 is 2 marks)

Sociologists urge caution when using official crime statistics to compare offending between different social groups.

(Total for Question 3 is 4 marks)

Explain one reason official statistics on crime and social class might be affected by policing practices rather than only by offending.

(Total for Question 4 is 4 marks)

Official statistics on crime and age show young people to be overrepresented among those recorded as offenders.

(Total for Question 5 is 4 marks)

Sociologists use the term 'desistance' to describe a common pattern over the life course.

(Total for Question 6 is 2 marks)

Age is one of the clearest patterns found in recorded crime statistics.

(a)State one recorded pattern in official statistics regarding age and crime.(2)

(b)State one reason sociologists give for treating this pattern with some caution.(2)

(Total for Question 7 is 4 marks)

Look at Item E. Police stop-and-search rates for young people are three times higher in Ashfield ward than in Oakdene ward, but a self-report survey found broadly similar levels of drug use among teenagers in both wards.

Explain what this difference between recorded stop-and-search rates and self-reported drug use in Ashfield and Oakdene might suggest about the relationship between official crime statistics and policing.

(Total for Question 8 is 6 marks)

Look again at Item E. The class project used both police-recorded figures and a self-report survey.

Explain why sociologists would say using both official statistics and self-report data, as in Item E, gives a fuller picture of crime than official statistics alone.

(Total for Question 9 is 6 marks)

A national survey that asks a sample of the public directly whether they have been a victim of crime in the last year, whether or not they reported it to the police, is called a...

A) self-report study
B) victim survey
C) official statistic
D) moral panic

(Total for Question 10 is 1 mark)

State one limitation of victim surveys as a way of measuring crime.

(Total for Question 11 is 2 marks)

Explain one reason official crime statistics might undercount crimes committed within private households.

(Total for Question 12 is 4 marks)

Sociologists argue that comparing recorded crime rates between different ethnic groups requires particular caution.

(Total for Question 13 is 4 marks)

State one reason self-report studies might also have limitations when studying patterns of crime by social group.

(Total for Question 14 is 2 marks)

Both official statistics and self-report studies have strengths and limitations for studying patterns of crime.

(Total for Question 15 is 4 marks)

Explain one way researchers try to make self-report studies more reliable.

(Total for Question 16 is 2 marks)

Explain one reason official crime statistics for a local area might rise even if actual offending has not increased.

(Total for Question 17 is 4 marks)

Mark scheme · GSOC.CR5 Crime Patterns by Class, Ethnicity and Age

Question 1

B1 B (the gap between crimes that actually occur and crimes recorded in official statistics)
Answer: B

Question 2

B1 figures on crime that has been reported to, and recorded by, the police (oe)
B1 development, e.g. compiled and published nationally, for example by the Office for National Statistics
Answer: Figures on crime that has been reported to and recorded by the police, compiled and published nationally, for example by the Office for National Statistics.

Question 3

B1 identifies that recorded statistics measure crimes that are reported and recorded, not all crime that actually occurs
B1 development, e.g. differences between groups in recorded crime rates can reflect differences in policing and reporting practices
B1 further point, e.g. as well as, or instead of, real differences in offending
B1 explicit framing point: recorded statistics are therefore evidence about the criminal justice system as much as about behaviour
Answer: Official statistics measure crimes that are reported and recorded, not all crime that occurs, so differences between groups in recorded rates can reflect differences in policing and reporting practices as much as, or instead of, real differences in offending; recorded statistics are evidence about the criminal justice system as much as about behaviour.

Question 4

B1 identifies that policing resources are often concentrated on public, street-level offences, for example through patrols in particular areas
B1 development, e.g. this can mean offences more visible in lower-income areas are more likely to be detected and recorded
B1 further point, e.g. offences more associated with wealthier groups, such as fraud, may be investigated by different regulatory bodies
B1 development, e.g. these offences are therefore less visible in headline police-recorded crime figures, even when they cause serious harm
Answer: Policing resources are often concentrated on public, street-level offences, making offences in some areas more likely to be detected and recorded, while offences more associated with wealthier groups, such as fraud, are often investigated by different regulatory bodies and are less visible in headline crime figures.

Question 5

B1 identifies that young people spend more time in public spaces, where most policing and CCTV coverage is concentrated
B1 development, e.g. streets, town centres and public transport
B1 explains this can make young people's rule-breaking more visible to the police than rule-breaking that happens in private, such as among some older adults
B1 notes that recorded offending typically declines for most individuals as they get older, a pattern sociologists call desistance
Answer: Young people spend more time in public spaces, where policing and CCTV coverage are concentrated, making their rule-breaking more visible than rule-breaking that happens in private; recorded offending also typically declines for most people as they get older, a pattern called desistance.

Question 6

B1 the process by which an individual gradually stops offending, typically as they move into adulthood (oe)
B1 development, e.g. often linked to taking on roles such as stable employment or family responsibilities
Answer: The process by which an individual gradually stops offending, typically as they move into adulthood, often linked to taking on roles such as stable employment or family responsibilities.

Question 7

(a) B1 identifies a genuine pattern, e.g. recorded offending rates tend to be highest among teenagers and young adults, then decline with age
(a) B1 brief accurate development
(a) Answer: Recorded offending rates tend to be highest among teenagers and young adults, then decline with age.
(b) B1 identifies a genuine reason, e.g. it may partly reflect where and how policing resources are focused rather than only real changes in behaviour
(b) B1 brief development
(b) Answer: The pattern may partly reflect where and how policing resources are focused, such as greater surveillance of public spaces young people use, rather than only real changes in behaviour with age.

Question 8

B1 identifies the higher recorded stop-and-search rate in Ashfield despite similar self-reported drug use in both wards
B1 explains this suggests recorded or detected activity can reflect where police choose to focus resources, not only where an activity actually occurs
B1 links this to Item E's detail about Ashfield having more visible patrols and CCTV
B1 explains self-report data, gathered directly from young people rather than through police contact, gives a different picture of underlying behaviour
B1 concludes that a higher recorded rate in one area does not, by itself, prove people there break rules more than people elsewhere
B1 accurate use of the item's specific details throughout
Answer: Since self-reported drug use is similar in both wards but recorded stop-and-search is three times higher in Ashfield, which also has more visible policing, the difference in recorded figures likely reflects where police resources and surveillance are concentrated rather than a real difference in underlying behaviour between the two wards.

Question 9

B1 identifies self-report studies as asking people directly, often anonymously, whether they have committed offences
B1 explains this can uncover unreported or undetected behaviour, such as the drug use reported by teenagers in both wards in Item E
B1 identifies that together these sources can reveal a 'dark figure' of crime that official statistics alone miss
B1 explains this matters for interpreting patterns such as the Ashfield/Oakdene comparison, since official figures alone would have suggested a real behavioural difference between the wards that Item E's self-report evidence does not support
B1 development, e.g. combining sources helps sociologists check whether a recorded pattern reflects real behaviour or policing practice
B1 accurate use of terminology throughout
Answer: Self-report studies ask people directly, often anonymously, whether they have offended, which can uncover behaviour official statistics miss, such as the similar drug use across both wards in Item E; combining this with police-recorded figures shows that Ashfield's higher recorded stop-and-search rate does not reflect a real behavioural difference, revealing the dark figure that official statistics alone would have hidden.

Question 10

B1 B (victim survey)
Answer: B

Question 11

B1 identifies a genuine limitation, e.g. they cannot capture crimes with no clear individual victim to report them, such as some drug offences
B1 brief development, e.g. or a victim may not realise, or may not wish to report, that a crime happened
Answer: Victim surveys cannot capture 'victimless' crimes with no individual to report them, such as some drug offences, and rely on victims being willing and able to recall and disclose what happened.

Question 12

B1 identifies that some offences, e.g. domestic abuse, happen in private and may not be witnessed by anyone outside the household
B1 development, e.g. victims may feel unable or unwilling to report such offences
B1 further point, e.g. for example out of fear, shame or dependency on the offender
B1 concludes official figures likely understate the true scale of such offences
Answer: Offences such as domestic abuse happen in private and may not be witnessed by anyone outside the household; victims may feel unable or unwilling to report them, for example out of fear or dependency on the offender, so official figures likely understate their true scale.

Question 13

B1 identifies that recorded rates reflect who is stopped, searched, arrested and charged, as well as who offends
B1 development, e.g. sociologists point to evidence that policing attention, such as stop-and-search, is not spread evenly across different areas and groups
B1 explains this can affect recorded figures independently of underlying offending
B1 concludes that recorded differences are evidence about the criminal justice system's practices as much as, or more than, straightforward evidence about who commits more crime
Answer: Recorded crime rates reflect who is stopped, searched, arrested and charged, as well as who actually offends; since policing attention such as stop-and-search is not spread evenly across areas and groups, recorded differences between ethnic groups are evidence about criminal justice system practices as much as, or more than, straightforward evidence about underlying offending.

Question 14

B1 identifies a genuine limitation, e.g. respondents might underreport their own offending, or over- or under-estimate its seriousness
B1 brief development, e.g. so self-report data is not a perfect measure either
Answer: Respondents might underreport their own offending, or over- or under-estimate its seriousness, so self-report data is not a perfect measure of crime patterns either.

Question 15

B1 identifies that each method has different blind spots, e.g. official statistics miss unreported crime, self-report studies rely on honesty
B1 development, e.g. combining official statistics, victim surveys and self-report studies can build a fuller and more reliable picture than any single source alone
B1 further point, e.g. cross-checking where different sources agree or disagree, as in Item E, can itself reveal useful information about policing practices
B1 accurate, developed conclusion
Answer: Each method has different blind spots, so sociologists recommend combining official statistics, victim surveys and self-report studies to build a fuller picture than any single source alone; cross-checking where sources agree or disagree, as in Item E, can itself reveal useful information about policing practices.

Question 16

B1 identifies a genuine method, e.g. guaranteeing participants anonymity or confidentiality
B1 brief development, e.g. to encourage more honest answers about offending
Answer: Researchers often guarantee participants anonymity or confidentiality, to encourage more honest answers about offending.

Question 17

B1 identifies that increased police numbers or patrols in an area can increase the number of offences detected and recorded
B1 development, e.g. a change in recording practices or local policing priorities can also raise the recorded figures
B1 further point, e.g. more public reporting, for example due to a local awareness campaign, can raise recorded figures without a real rise in offending
B1 conclusion linking this back to the general caution about reading recorded statistics as a direct measure of offending
Answer: Increased police numbers or patrols, a change in recording practices or local priorities, or a rise in public reporting (for example following an awareness campaign) can all increase recorded crime figures for an area without any real rise in offending.

Crime Patterns by Class, Ethnicity and Age - Worksheets, Questions and Revision