A level Sociology Crime and Deviance: Key Theories and Concepts

Table of Contents

Last Updated on September 20, 2026 by Karl Thompson

AQA 7192/3 · Paper 3Updated September 2026

This page brings together everything on the site for crime and deviance sociology at A-level: revision notes on every sociological theory of crime, crime control and punishment, patterns of offending by social class, ethnicity and gender, victimology, the media, and globalisation, state and green crime (everyone’s favourite).

Crime and deviance is examined on AQA Paper 3 (7192/3), Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods. The crime and deviance section carries 50 of the paper’s 80 marks, across a 4-mark, a 6-mark, a 10-mark and a 30-mark question.

Written by Karl Thompson, who taught A-level sociology for eighteen years and examined all three AQA papers from 2010 to 2018. Looking for another topic? Go back to the homepage.

Start here Exam practice Revision notes bundle

Understanding A level sociology Crime and Deviance

This section includes some introductory posts on crime and deviance for A level sociology.

Perspectives on Crime and Deviance – A Very Brief OverviewA summary grid of 21 theorists, with their key points, perspective and an evaluation. Cut it up and it doubles as a sentence sort.Read the notes → Key Concepts for A Level Sociology Crime and DevianceDefinitions of most of the key concepts you need for the crime and deviance module.Read the notes → Updated 2026The Social Construction of CrimeA timeline of acts that were once legal and are now criminal, showing how changes in the law create crime.Read the notes → Sociological Perspectives on the London RiotsUses the riots to introduce the perspectives on crime, and contrasts media explanations with the LSE’s research on the causes.Read the notes →

Crime and deviance A level sociology mind map. Shows topic areas including criminology theories, control and punishment, globalisation, green crime and state crime.

Crime and Deviance Exam Practice

Start with the guide to how the crime and deviance questions on Paper 3 are assessed, then work through the model answers below.

Exam guideHow to Answer the AQA Crime and Deviance QuestionsHints on how the crime and deviance section of Paper 3 is assessed.Read the guide → Past papersAQA Sociology Past PapersWhere to find AQA sociology past papers to practise with.Find the papers → 10-markOutline and Analyse Two Ways in Which Patterns of Crime Vary by Social ClassModel answer to a 10-mark question.See the answer → 10-markAnalyse Two Criticisms of the Theory That Police Racism Is the Main Factor Which Explains the Higher Imprisonment Rates of Ethnic MinoritiesModel answer to a 10-mark question.See the answer → 4 and 6-markEthnicity and Crime Short Answer QuestionsTwo example outline questions with answers.See the answers → 30-mark essayEssay: The Contribution of Consensus TheoryA full 30-mark essay, at the end of the functionalism post.Read the essay → 30-mark essayEssay: The Marxist Theory of CrimeA full 30-mark essay, at the end of the Marxism post.Read the essay →

Consensus Theories of Crime and Deviance

Consensus theories start from the assumption that society rests on shared values. They are usually the first theories taught on the crime and deviance module, and every later perspective — Marxism, labelling theory, realism — is set against them.

The three consensus theories differ in the question they ask. Functionalism asks what crime does for society. Strain theory asks what society does to produce crime. Control theory asks why most people don’t offend at all.

Functionalism, Strain and Control Theory

Updated 202630-mark essayThe Functionalist Perspective on Crime and DevianceDurkheim on why crime is normal and inevitable, and the four positive functions of crime, with the suffragettes as the case study.Read the notes → Updated 2026Merton’s Strain Theory of DevianceAnomie and all five adaptations to strain, applied to white collar crime and to mass shootings in the United States.Read the notes → Updated 2026Control Theories of Crime and DevianceHirschi’s four elements of the social bond, plus Gottfredson and Hirschi, Harriet Wilson, Hagan, Pat Carlen, and Sampson and Laub.Read the notes →

Subcultural and Underclass Theories

Updated 2026Subcultural Theories of CrimeCohen on status frustration, Cloward and Ohlin’s three subcultures and Miller’s six focal concerns, and the two gaps in Merton they fill.Read the notes → Updated 2026Charles Murray’s Underclass Theory of CrimeThe most politically contested theory on the specification, and the NEETs debate. The evidence against it makes excellent evaluation material.Read the notes →

Marxist Theories of Crime and Deviance

Marxists argue that capitalism itself is criminogenic, that the law is written by and for those who own property, and that the criminal justice system polices the poor while the far more costly crimes of the powerful go largely unpunished. Marxism is usually taught straight after the consensus theories, which it is largely a reaction against.

Neo-Marxists keep the focus on capitalism but add what the traditional Marxist account leaves out: the meaning of the act to the offender, and the way society reacts to it.

Updated 202630-mark essayThe Marxist Theory of CrimeCriminogenic capitalism, selective law enforcement and corporate crime, with current figures on the scale of fraud.Read the notes → The New CriminologyTaylor, Walton and Young’s radical criminology and their fully social theory of deviance, which combines Marxism with interactionism.Read the notes → Policing the Crisis: Hall on Ethnicity and CrimeHall et al. on the 1970s moral panic about mugging as a response to a crisis of British capitalism.Read the notes →

Interactionist Theories of Crime and Deviance

Interactionist theories within crime and deviance sociology examine the social interactions that contribute to crime.

Updated 2026The Labelling Theory of CrimeBecker’s master status, the self-fulfilling prophecy and Cicourel’s negotiation of justice, applied to crime and to education.Read the notes →

Realist Theories of Crime and Deviance

Realist theories of crime and deviance sociology are vital in understanding practical solutions to crime issues.

Updated 2026Right Realist CriminologyRational choice, routine activities, broken windows and Murray’s underclass, with a comparison table of right and left realism.Read the notes → Updated 2026Left Realist CriminologyRelative deprivation, marginalisation, subculture and the square of crime, and the policies left realism inspired.Read the notes → Updated 2026Evaluating Broken Windows TheoryWilson and Kelling’s 1982 theory, and why the evidence for it doesn’t hold up well.Read the notes →

Post and Late Modern Theories of Crime and Deviance

Updated 2026Post and Late Modern CriminologyHow crime changes as society becomes more consumerist, fragmented and globalised.Read the notes → Updated 2026Jock Young – Late Modernity, Exclusion and CrimeThe vertigo of late modernity and the bulimic society: included in consumer culture, excluded from the means to take part in it.Read the notes → Updated 2026Cultural Criminology – Crime as EdgeworkWhy some crime is about the thrill of risk rather than gain: Lyng’s edgework and cultural criminology.Read the notes →

Controlling and Reducing Crime – the Role of the Community, the Police and Different Forms of Punishment

This topic covers what societies do about crime: the three prevention strategies, the growth of surveillance as a means of control, and how offenders are punished once caught. The specification groups these together, and exam questions move between them freely.

Crime Prevention and Control

There are three main crime prevention strategies (situational, environmental, and social and community), and each rests on a different theory of what causes crime. Situational and environmental prevention are associated with right realism; social and community prevention with left realism.

Crime Prevention and Control StrategiesSummary notes on all three strategies: situational, environmental, and social and community crime prevention.Read the notes → Updated 2026Environmental Crime Prevention StrategiesRestoring order to neighbourhoods before disorder turns into crime, the broken windows thinking behind it, and the criticisms.Read the notes → Updated 2026Zero Tolerance Policing: Definition, Examples and EvaluationWhat zero tolerance policing is, where it has been used, and the evidence on whether it actually reduces crime.Read the notes → Updated 2026ASBOs and the Orders That Replaced ThemAnti-social behaviour orders, the arguments for and against them, and the orders that replaced them.Read the notes → The Role of the Community in Controlling and Reducing CrimeConsensus, right realist, left realist and postmodern views on the community’s part in controlling crime.Read the notes → The Role of the Police in Controlling and Reducing CrimeWhat the police do to control and reduce crime, and how far they succeed.Read the notes →

Surveillance and Crime Control

Foucault – Surveillance and Crime ControlFoucault on the shift from physical punishment to disciplinary power, the panopticon and self-surveillance.Read the notes → Synoptic Surveillance and Crime ControlSurveillance from below: all of us watching each other, not just the state watching citizens.Read the notes → Actuarial Justice and Risk ManagementStatistical surveillance: targeting people according to their risk profile, the way insurance companies do.Read the notes → Security, Surveillance and Crime Control in Digital SocietyHow digital technology has extended surveillance as a way of controlling crime.Read the notes → 6-markOutline Three Ways Surveillance Is Used to Control CrimeModel answer to a 6-mark outline question.See the answer →

Punishment

How are Criminals Punished in England and Wales?The four main types of sentence: discharges, fines, community sentences and prison.Read the notes → Sociological Perspectives on PunishmentConsensus, Marxist, interactionist, realist and postmodern views on what punishment is for.Read the notes → Does Prison Work?The evidence on whether prison prevents crime. Spoiler alert: it generally doesn’t.Read the notes → What is Restorative Justice and Does it Work?Bringing offenders and victims together, and the evidence that it reduces reoffending.Read the notes → Essay planExamine Sociological Perspectives on Prison as a Form of PunishmentAn essay plan for a 30-mark question on punishment.See the plan →

Crime and Deviance, Social Class and Crime

Social Class and Crime – detailed class notes covering the consensus view which tends to see most crime being committed by the working classes and the underclass, hence these classes are seen as part of the problem of crime; this is contrasted with mainly the Marxist view which sees all classes as committing crime, with agents of social control largely ignoring elite crime.

Outline and Analyse Two Ways in Which Patterns of Crime Vary by Social Class – 10 mark exam style question

See also the perspective links above, especially Marxism!

Ethnicity and Crime

Exploring the intersection of ethnicity and crime within A level sociology crime and deviance reveals systemic issues.

Official Statistics on Ethnicity and Crime – Official statistics suggest that black people are around 4 times more likely to go to jail than white people, while Asians are 2-3 times more likely to go to jail. Of course there are limitations to these statistics!

Ethnicity and Crime – The Role of Cultural Factors – structural theorists focus on some of the background differences between ethnic groups. Pointing out, for example, that the high rates of absent fathers among British-Caribbean households may explain the higher rates of recorded offending by ‘black’ boys especially.

Left Realist Explanations for Ethnic Differences in Crime – left realists explain the higher rates of offending among certain ethnic groups as being due to higher rates of relative deprivation and marginalisation.

Neo-Marxist Approaches to Ethnicity and Crime – Applying the fully social theory of deviance to explaining the higher rates of black offending.

Paul Gilroy’s Anti-Racist Theory – summary notes on this classic text, taken from Haralambos.

Criminal Justice, Ethnicity and Racism – Selected Key Statistics – evaluative post

Racism in the Criminal Justice System – Selected Evidence – there is A LOT of evidence that suggests the police are racist – the stop and search stats alone point to this, with black people being almost 30 times as likely to be stopped compared to white people in some circumstances. There is also more qualitative evidence based on Participant Observation which suggests this.

Ethnicity and Crime – Two examples of possible short answer 4 and 6 mark ‘outline’ questions.

Outline and Analyse Question on Police Racism – 10 mark exam question and answer – ‘Analyse two criticisms of the theory that police racism is the main factor which explains the higher imprisonment rates of ethnic minorities’

Gender and Crime

Men commit far more crime than women, and far more of the serious and violent crime. Almost every theory in this section is either trying to explain that gap or questioning whether the official statistics show it accurately.

Most of the sociology of gender and crime comes from feminists, who criticised earlier criminology for ignoring women almost entirely. The more recent work on masculinities turns the question round, and asks what it is about being a man that leads to crime.

Gender and Crime StatisticsThe differences in male and female offending and prosecution rates, and the patterns of victimisation by gender.Read the notes → Gender and Crime: Sex-Role TheoryParsons’ expressive role and gender socialisation: why traditional femininity discourages crime and traditional masculinity encourages it.Read the notes → The Chivalry ThesisOtto Pollak’s argument that the police and courts treat women more leniently, so fewer female offenders appear in the statistics, and the evidence for and against it.Read the notes → Updated 2026Adler’s Liberation Thesis: Women’s Liberation and Female CrimeFreda Adler and Rita Simon on why female crime rose as women gained freedom, the marginalisation thesis, and the recent figures that don’t fit.Read the notes → Feminist Perspectives on Crime and DevianceHeidensohn’s control theory, Pat Carlen’s class and gender deals, doing gender, and a brief look at intersectionality.Read the notes → Masculinities and Crime: James W. MesserschmidtWhy any theory of gender and crime has to deal with different types of masculinity, and why hegemonic masculinity is the one most linked to crime.Read the notes →

Globalisation, state and green crime

The impact of globalisation on crime and deviance sociology is a growing area of interest for sociologists.

Globalisation and Crime – An introductory post exploring different types of global crime, the consequences of global crime for British society and why global crimes have increased.

Globalisation, global criminal networks and crime – covering Misha Glenny’s work on the McMafia. He argues that the growth of the Mafia in ex-communist countries such as Bulgaria have been central to the growth of global crime – because they are perfectly located to ship illegal products such as drugs and sex-slaves from the global south to meet demand in the wealth global north.

Capitalism, Globalisation and Crime – A Marxist perspective on global crime covering global finance and tax havens and TNCs and law evasion.

What is State Crime? – A simple explanation is that state crimes are crimes committed by governments, which are in breach of human rights. Historically the Nazi Genocide is the most obvious example.

Sociological perspectives on state crime – covering the different types of state crime and a slightly unusual take applying material from global development to analyse state crime.

Green crime and green criminology – revision notes covering primary and secondary green crime, Ulrich Beck’s Risk Society theory and Marxist views of Green Crime.

The problems of controlling global crime – global crime is increasing which makes it very difficult to police, not least because it’s difficult to co-ordinate police forces across several countries!

Understanding Atrocity Crimes – this post explores criminological perspectives on atrocity crimes, which include Genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. It is hugely in-depth and really for degree level students.

Victimology

Victimology is another aspect of A level sociology crime and deviance that seeks to understand the effects on victims.

Victimology – covering trends in victimisation, and positivist and critical victimology.

Who are the Victims of Crime? Ethnic Minorities and younger people are more likely to be victims of crime. There is no obvious correlation between gender or social class and the chances of being a victim of crime. This post also looks at the characteristics of the victims of domestic violence.

The Economic and Social Costs of Crime – a summary of a recent (2021) government report looking at the social and economic harms crime does in England and Wales.

What are the impacts of crime on victims? – a post examining how crime affects individuals and their families, including a look at secondary victimisation.

The Media and Crime

The media is one of the most interesting topics within A level sociology crime and deviance and overlaps with the media option.

How the Media Simplifies Crime – a brief post summarising how the media tends to take the side of the police and victims, focus on crimes with easy to understand individual ‘harm’ stories and provide a narrow analysis of crime control options.

Sensationalisation of Crime in the Media – There are a lot of fictional programmes about crime in the UK, many of them tend to present criminal characters as likeable and make the hideous crimes they commit (in fiction) seem ‘cool’.

Moral Panics and The Media – brief class notes covering the definition of a moral panic, Stan Cohen’s work on the Mods and Rockers and some criticisms.

The Exaggeration of Violent and Sexual Crimes in the Media – The mainstream media exaggerates the extent of violent crime 10 times, tending to focus a lot more on very serious horrific crimes rather than less serious crimes which are much more common according to official statistics.

What is CyberCrime? – A long form post examining crimes such as identify theft, online fraud, ransomware attacks and phishing scams.

Posts on Specific Types of Crime

How do we explain the recent surge in Knife Crime? – exploring this is a useful way to evaluate Right Realist theories of deviance especially.

Sociological Perspectives on Hate Crime – a very ‘postmodern’ type of crime, but some of the other sociological perspectives can also help us understand this crime.

How is Coronavirus affecting crime and deviance? – all of a sudden certain acts that used to be ‘normal’ are now criminal, this is perfect analytical feeding ground for any A-level sociology student!

Fraud and Computer Misuse – this seems to be one of the more common types of crime. Roughly one in five adults was a victim to the twelve months ending December 2020.

A Level Sociology Crime and Deviance Revision Bundle for Sale

If you like this sort of thing then you might like my Crime and Deviance Sociology Revision Bundle.

It contains

12 exam practice questions including short answer, 10 mark and essay question exemplars.
32 pages of revision notes covering the entire A-level sociology crime and deviance specification

Seven colour mind maps covering sociological perspective on crime and deviance

Written specifically for the AQA sociology A-level specification.

A-level sociology revision mega bundle…

For better value I’ve bundled all of the above topics into six revision bundles, containing revision notes, mind maps, and exam question and answers, available for between £4.99 and £5.99 on Sellfy.

Best value is my A Level Sociology Crime and Deviance Sociology Revision Mega Bundle – which contains the following:

over 200 pages of revision notes
60 mind maps in pdf and png formats
50 short answer exam practice questions and exemplar answers
Covers the entire A-level sociology syllabus, AQA focus.

Crime and Deviance in Contemporary Society

Contemporary studies in crime and deviance can enhance our understanding of different aspects of the A level.

Below are some selected, recent posts outlining how you might use contemporary examples to illustrate key concepts within crime and deviance. Examiners like this sort of contemporary focus!

How Coronavirus is changing crime – all of a sudden sitting on a park bench was illegal!

The deportation of foreign nationals – an example of a state crime? Outlines when the UK government tried to deport 42 criminals (in some cases ‘criminals’) back to Jamaica on their release from prison, despite the fact that some of them had been in the UK since they were children!

Contemporary examples of crime and deviance in the news – further examples from 2019 and 2018 which are relevant to A-level sociology.