What's covered
Key facts
Crime statistics, patterns and the dark figure
The "dark figure" of crime is the amount of crime that is committed but is not reported to or recorded by the police, so it never appears in official statistics.
Explanations of crime — Merton, Becker, subcultural theory
Becker (Outsiders, 1963) argued deviance is not inherent in an act but is created when society labels behaviour as deviant: "deviant behaviour is behaviour people so label".
Patterns of crime — class, gender, ethnicity and age
Carlen's 'class deal' is the promise that women who work for a wage will be rewarded with consumer goods and a decent standard of living.
Social control — formal and informal
Durkheim argued crime performs boundary maintenance: punishing offenders publicly reminds everyone of society's shared values and reinforces the collective conscience.
The social construction of crime and deviance
Becker argued deviance is "not a quality of the act a person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions".
Crime statistics, patterns and the dark figure
Official crime statistics are collected by the police and published by the government, and are used to calculate the crime rate (offences per 1,000 people).
Explanations of crime — Merton, Becker, subcultural theory
Labelling can trigger a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading a person into a deviant career and a deviant subculture.
Patterns of crime — class, gender, ethnicity and age
Carlen argued working-class women turn to crime as a rational choice when the class deal and gender deal break down and offer them no rewards.
Social control — formal and informal
Durkheim argued that crime is inevitable and normal in every society because not everyone is equally socialised into shared norms and values.
The social construction of crime and deviance
Marxists point out that corporate and white-collar crimes such as fraud cost society far more than street crimes such as theft and burglary, yet they are far less policed.
Sample questions
A taste of the 68 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
Which best defines the dark figure of crime?
- •Crime against businesses rather than individuals
- ✓Crime committed but not reported to or recorded by police
- •Crime committed only by repeat or career offenders
- •Crime recorded by police but later proven false
According to Merton's strain theory, what causes crime?
- •A weakening of social bonds that normally prevent deviance
- •Inherited biological traits that make some people criminal
- •Society's reaction in labelling certain people as deviant
- ✓The gap between shared goals and the legitimate means to achieve them
What does the term gender gap in offending describe?
- •Men and women are convicted of crime at equal rates
- ✓Men are convicted of far more crime than women
- •Older people are convicted of more crime than the young
- •Women are convicted of slightly more crime than men
Which type of social control is based on written rules and laws enforced by official agencies?
- ✓Formal social control, enforced by the state and its agencies
- •Informal social control, enforced through unwritten everyday norms
- •Primary socialisation, where the family teaches children norms
- •Value consensus, the shared agreement on society's main values
What is the best definition of deviance in sociology?
- •Any behaviour that breaks the formal written law
- ✓Behaviour that breaks a society's norms, though not always illegal
- •Behaviour that harms other members of society
- •Behaviour that is always punished by the courts
Which three sources do sociologists use to measure crime?
- •Media reports, official statistics and interviews
- •Official statistics, opinion polls and crime maps
- ✓Official statistics, victim surveys and self-report studies
- •Police arrests, court records and prison censuses
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