Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457): Topic: Law and criminality — Revision Notes

For full explanations and worked paragraphs, read the Law and criminality study guide first.

These notes follow the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025), sections 2 to 4. Law and criminality is one of the 22 topics in section 3, used for Component 1 Written Exam, Component 2 Individual Report and Component 3 Team Project. Topic knowledge is not assessed: the syllabus says “knowledge of content is not assessed in this syllabus”. These notes show how to use law and crime to practise the assessed skills of research, analysis, evaluation, reflection, communication and collaboration.

Test yourself with the Law and criminality practice questions. Course links: IGCSE Global Perspectives hub and checklist.

The syllabus in one table

Component (section 4)	What it asks you to do with a topic like this	Marks and length
1 Written Exam	Q1 analyse sources; Q2 evaluate research and suggest how to test a claim; Q3 evaluate arguments; Q4 assess actions using all sources	1 hour 25 minutes, 70 marks, 35%
2 Individual Report	Global research question on an issue that divides opinion; local and/or national and global perspectives; causes, consequences, one course of action; your own view	1500–2000 words, 60 marks, 30%
3 Team Project	Local issue; each member researches a different aspect; plan, carry out and measure an action; individual Reflective Paper	70 marks, 35%

Assessment objectives: AO1 Research, analysis and evaluation, AO2 Reflection, AO3 Communication and collaboration.

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Issue (syllabus)	“An important subject or problem for discussion”
Perspective (syllabus)	“A viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning”
Crime	An act that breaks the criminal law and can be punished by the state
Criminal justice system	Police, courts, prisons and probation
Deterrence	Punishment stops offending through fear of consequences
Retribution	Punishment as a deserved response
Rehabilitation	Helping an offender change so they do not offend again
Restorative justice	Offender meets victim or community and repairs the harm
Reoffending	Committing another crime after punishment
Decriminalisation	No longer a criminal offence, though still against the rules
Legalisation	Made fully lawful
Recorded crime	Crime reported to and logged by police
Vested interest	Someone gains from a particular outcome

Real-world examples at a glance

Use these as research starting points. Verify them again before you cite them.

Who / what	What happened	Why it is useful	One evaluation point
UNODC Global Study on Homicide 2023	Estimated about 458,000 intentional homicides in 2021, more than conflict and terrorism deaths combined	Global perspective on scale	Country data quality varies; a global total hides regional differences
Portugal, Law 30/2000 (in force July 2001)	Decriminalised personal possession and use of all illegal drugs; trafficking stayed criminal	National case for “crime or health issue?”	Other policies changed too, so causes of later trends are hard to isolate
Minimum age of criminal responsibility	10 in England and Wales; Scotland raised 8 to 12 by a 2019 Act; UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (General Comment No. 24, 2019) encourages at least 14	National and global perspectives on one question	Shows values differ even between neighbouring systems
Budapest Convention (2001) and UN Convention against Cybercrime (adopted 24 December 2024)	International treaties on cross-border online crime	Global cooperation as a course of action	Some human rights groups warned of surveillance risks

Perspectives at a glance

Who	Typical concern	Why they may hold it
Victim of crime	Justice being seen to be done	Direct experience of harm
Police officer	Powers and resources to prevent crime	Responsible for public safety day to day
Former offender	A fair second chance	Has faced barriers such as finding work with a record
Youth worker	Facilities and support for young people	Sees causes linked to lack of opportunity
Shop owner	Protecting property and customers	Vested interest: losses from theft or damage
National government	Cost, public confidence and results	Must balance the whole country’s budget and voters
International body	Common standards and rights	Looks across many countries’ systems

Explain the reason behind each view with empathy before you weigh them (AO2).

Must-know distinctions

• Topic vs issue. “Crime” is a topic. “Should short prison sentences be replaced by community sentences?” is an issue.
• Recorded crime vs actual crime. Unreported crime is missing from police figures. More reporting can look like more crime.
• Crime vs fear of crime. A survey of feelings is not a count of offences.
• Correlation vs causation. Crime falling after a policy does not prove the policy caused it. Look for a comparison group.
• Decriminalisation vs legalisation. Do not mix them up when reading a source.
• Deterrence vs rehabilitation vs retribution. Different aims lead to different judgements about the same punishment.
• Fact vs claim vs opinion. A fact can be checked; a claim needs support; an opinion is a personal view.
• Perspective vs opinion. A perspective rests on evidence and reasoning; an opinion need not.
• Local, national, global. The Individual Report needs local and/or national and global perspectives; the Team Project needs a local issue.

Mini essay plan: assessing actions (Component 1 Question 4 style)

Question type: “Which action would be most effective in reducing youth crime in the town described in the sources? Explain your judgement with reasons and evidence.”

1. Set criteria in one sentence: effectiveness (cause or symptom), fairness, cost, speed, unintended consequences.
2. Action 1 (e.g. curfew): what it would do; evidence from the sources; strength; limitation such as treating innocent young people as suspects or moving crime elsewhere.
3. Action 2 (e.g. mentoring): evidence; strength (targets a cause); limitation (slow, costly, weak evidence base).
4. Action 3 (e.g. extra patrols): brief comparison.
5. Weigh them against each other using the criteria, not one at a time in isolation.
6. Judgement: choose one (or a combination), say why it beats the others, and name the evidence that would make you more confident.

The real exam marks extended answers using levels of response, so the quality of the comparison and judgement matters more than the number of points.

Quick self-test

1. What does the syllabus say about knowledge of content?
2. Give the syllabus definition of a perspective.
3. Why is “crime” not a good Individual Report issue?
4. Give two reasons recorded crime might rise when actual crime has not.
5. What is the difference between decriminalisation and legalisation?
6. A security firm publishes a survey on fear of burglary. Which source-evaluation term applies?
7. Name the four Component 1 question tasks in order.
8. What is self-selection and why does it matter in evaluating a crime-prevention scheme?
9. Give one global and one national perspective on the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
10. What must a Team Project action allow the team to do, according to section 4?

Answers

1. It is not assessed; topics are contexts for practising skills.
2. “A viewpoint on an issue based on evidence and reasoning.”
3. It is a topic, not a question that divides opinion; nobody argues for crime.
4. More victims report it; police change recording rules or focus (also: new offences created, easier online reporting).
5. Decriminalisation removes criminal penalties but the act may still be against the rules; legalisation makes it lawful.
6. Vested interest (the firm gains if people fear burglary), which may lead to bias.
7. Analyse several sources; evaluate research and suggest how to test a claim; evaluate arguments; assess actions using all sources.
8. People choose to join a scheme, so they may already be more motivated to stop offending; results may not be caused by the scheme.
9. Global: the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child encourages at least 14. National: England and Wales set it at 10; Scotland raised it to 12.
10. Measure the success of the action (and evidence it through the Evidence of Action).

Where marks are usually lost

• Describing crime in general instead of using the sources in front of you.
• Accepting a crime statistic without asking how it was recorded, who collected it and what it leaves out.
• Saying “this source is biased” with no named vested interest, value or one-sided selection.
• Ignoring a comparison group: a fall after a policy is not proof the policy worked.
• Listing perspectives without explaining why each group holds its view.
• Writing a one-sided Question 3 answer that agrees with the speaker you like instead of judging argument quality.
• Assessing actions one at a time with no comparison, then adding a judgement that does not follow.
• Using stereotypes about groups instead of evidence.
• In coursework, choosing a national law change as a Team Project action that cannot be carried out or measured locally.

Official syllabus

These notes are based on the Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (0457) syllabus for examination in 2025, 2026 and 2027, Version 2 (published April 2025), sections 2, 3 and 4. Your teacher will confirm deadlines and how your school uses this topic. For more on each component, see the Written Exam study guide, Individual Report revision notes and Team Project revision notes.