Types of Crime

    OCR
    GCSE

    Candidates must analyse the sociological categorisation of crime, moving beyond 'common sense' definitions to evaluate the social construction of deviance. The study focuses on the differentiation between 'street crime' and complex forms including White-Collar, Corporate, State, Green, and Cyber crime. Mastery requires understanding how power dynamics (Marxism) and social interactions (Interactionism) influence which acts are criminalised, the 'invisibility' of elite crime, and the impact of globalisation on criminal networks (Castells).

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    Objectives
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    Exam Tips
    3
    Pitfalls
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    Key Terms
    4
    Mark Points

    What You Need to Demonstrate

    Key skills and knowledge for this topic

    • Credit accurate use of sociological classifications, specifically distinguishing between 'occupational' (white-collar) and 'corporate' crime.
    • Award marks for explicit links between specific crimes and the relevant social control mechanisms (formal vs informal).
    • Responses must apply sociological perspectives (Marxist, Functionalist, Feminist) to explain the motivation behind specific crime types.
    • Credit analysis of how technological change has created new categories of deviance (e.g., distinguishing cyber-trespass from cyber-violence).

    Marking Points

    Key points examiners look for in your answers

    • Credit accurate use of sociological classifications, specifically distinguishing between 'occupational' (white-collar) and 'corporate' crime.
    • Award marks for explicit links between specific crimes and the relevant social control mechanisms (formal vs informal).
    • Responses must apply sociological perspectives (Marxist, Functionalist, Feminist) to explain the motivation behind specific crime types.
    • Credit analysis of how technological change has created new categories of deviance (e.g., distinguishing cyber-trespass from cyber-violence).

    Examiner Tips

    Expert advice for maximising your marks

    • 💡When citing 'violent crime', specify whether it is expressive or instrumental to demonstrate depth.
    • 💡For 12-mark questions, ensure chains of reasoning link the type of crime to a theoretical explanation (e.g., Marxism and corporate crime).
    • 💡Use official statistics cautiously; explicitly acknowledge the 'dark figure' of unrecorded crime when discussing trends.
    • 💡Allocate 1 minute per mark; ensure the 12-mark essay includes a conclusion with a substantiated judgment.

    Common Mistakes

    Pitfalls to avoid in your exam answers

    • Conflating 'crime' (legal breach) with 'deviance' (norm breach) without acknowledging the overlap or distinct sanctions.
    • Providing anecdotal or 'common sense' examples rather than sociological case studies or official statistics.
    • Failing to distinguish between white-collar crime (individual gain) and corporate crime (organizational gain).

    Key Terminology

    Essential terms to know

    Likely Command Words

    How questions on this topic are typically asked

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    Discuss
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