OxfordAQA A-Level Sociology (9690): Deviance, Harm and Crime — Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions; examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. As 9690 is a newly launched qualification (first teaching September 2026), use these alongside OxfordAQA’s own specimen papers and mark schemes.

Related: Deviance, harm and crime revision notes

These questions cover specification section 3.1.2.5 Deviance, harm and crime of OxfordAQA International AS/A level Sociology (9690), Unit 2 Section A. Tariffs (2, 2, 4, 4, 8 and 20) follow the 40-mark Section A pattern used on the course’s other Marlbridge practice pages.

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Questions

1. Define what is meant by green crime. [2]

2. Outline one example of an action that causes social harm but is not usually treated as a crime. [2]

3. Identify and briefly explain two ways in which definitions of crime and deviance differ between societies or over time. [4]

4. Identify and briefly explain two reasons why corporate crime may be under-represented in official statistics. [4]

5. Explain two strengths of self-report studies as a way of researching crime. [8]

6. Using examples from a society you know, evaluate the view that official statistics give an accurate picture of patterns of offending by gender, social class, age and ethnicity. [20]

Extra practice

7. Distinguish between white-collar crime and state crime. [4]

8. Explain one reason why some crimes are described as “victimless” and one criticism of this label. [4]

9. Identify and briefly explain two problems sociologists face in researching cybercrime. [4]

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Mark schemes

1. [2] Crime, and wider harm, against the natural environment and other species — for example illegal dumping of toxic waste, illegal logging or wildlife trafficking (2). Partial: “crime against nature” (1).

2. [2] Any clearly explained example (2): deaths from unsafe but legal working conditions; pollution within legal limits that damages health; marketing harmful but legal products; poverty resulting from government policy. Credit reference to the social harm approach (Hillyard and Tombs, 2004).

3. [4] Two ways, 2 marks each: alcohol or gambling legal in some societies and illegal in others; behaviours criminalised over time, such as new online offences; behaviours decriminalised as attitudes change; different norms about dress, sexuality or religion; moral panics change what is seen as deviant at particular times.

4. [4] Two reasons, 2 marks each: victims often do not know they have been harmed (e.g. price-fixing); complex offences are hard to detect and investigate; companies have resources to avoid prosecution; offences are often handled by regulators rather than police; corporate harm may be treated as an accident rather than a crime.

5. [8] Two strengths, 4 marks each (identify, explain, develop, link to evidence):

• Reveal the dark figure — they uncover offences never reported or recorded, giving a fuller picture of how much crime there is.
• Information about offenders — they show offending among groups rarely arrested, testing whether official statistics over-represent some groups (for example by class).
• Anonymity can encourage honesty about minor offending.
• Large samples and standardised questions allow comparison between groups and over time.

6. [20] Levels: 17–20 detailed, analytical, a range of evidence and examples from a named society, sustained evaluation, justified conclusion; 13–16 good knowledge, some evaluation; 9–12 reasonable knowledge, limited evaluation; 5–8 basic; 1–4 fragments.

For the view:

• Official statistics are large-scale and regular, showing consistent patterns — more male than female offending, a peak in young adulthood — that also appear in self-report studies.
• Serious crimes such as homicide are usually recorded.
• Statistics allow comparison over time and between areas.

Against the view:

• The dark figure: many crimes are never reported or recorded.
• Class: white-collar and corporate crime is under-recorded, so statistics exaggerate the share of working-class offenders.
• Gender: possible lenient treatment of women; domestic and sexual violence heavily under-reported, affecting victimisation patterns.
• Age: young people are more visible in public spaces and more often targeted by police.
• Ethnicity: over-representation may reflect discriminatory policing as well as offending.
• Interactionists: statistics are socially constructed by decisions of victims, police and courts; moral panics (Stanley Cohen, 1972) can increase recording of particular groups.
• Victim surveys and self-report studies give different pictures.

Application: reward specific examples from a named society — for example how statistics are collected there, or a recorded pattern.

Conclusion: reward a supported judgement, for example that statistics show some genuine patterns but distort class and ethnic patterns most.

7. [4] White-collar crime is committed by individuals in high-status jobs during their work, for their own benefit (e.g. embezzlement) (2); state crime is committed by governments or state agencies, often on a large scale (e.g. torture or genocide) (2).

8. [4] “Victimless” because there is no obvious individual victim who reports the offence, as with some drug use or consensual gambling (2); criticism: harm may still fall on families, communities or the offender’s health, and such crimes can fund organised crime (2).

9. [4] Two problems, 2 marks each: offences cross national borders, making data hard to collect; many victims (individuals and companies) do not report cyber offences; offenders are anonymous and hard to identify; definitions and laws change quickly with technology.

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Frequently asked questions

Which sociologists help with 3.1.2.5? The specification suggests Stanley Cohen for section 3.1.2; Hillyard and Tombs are useful on social harm, and Sutherland on white-collar crime.

Must every 20-mark answer include my own society? Practise doing so; the specification requires examples from students’ own or a known society in selected extended responses.

How do I show evaluation in question 6? Compare official statistics with victim surveys and self-report studies, and apply interactionist arguments about how statistics are constructed.

Related pages: Exploring Sociology study guide | Exploring Sociology practice questions