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AQA A-LEVEL SOCIOLOGY 7192/3 PAPER 3
CRIME AND DEVIANCE WITH THEORY AND
METHODS – JUNE 2026 QUESTION PAPER +
MARK SCHEME
## SECTION A: Crime and Deviance
**(60 marks)**
**Answer all questions in this section.**
---
### Question 1
Outline **two** ways in which the media might contribute to an
exaggerated public perception of crime.
**[4 marks]**
---
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### Question 2
Outline **three** criticisms of left realism as an explanation of crime
and deviance.
**[6 marks]**
---
### Question 3
Read **Item A** below and answer the question that follows.
**Item A**
Functionalist sociologists such as Durkheim argue that crime is an
inevitable and even necessary feature of a healthy society. Crime can
strengthen collective values through public condemnation and can act as
a warning signal that social institutions are failing. However, later
functionalists like Merton focus on the strain between cultural goals and
institutionalised means, suggesting that crime results from this structural
imbalance. Both approaches have been criticised for over-predicting
working-class crime and for ignoring the role of power and labelling.
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Applying material from **Item A**, analyse **two** functions of
crime for society according to functionalist perspectives.
**[10 marks]**
---
### Question 4
Read **Item B** below and answer the question that follows.
**Item B**
Official statistics show that working-class and ethnic minority
individuals are overrepresented in the criminal justice system, from
arrest to imprisonment. Some sociologists argue that this reflects real
differences in offending behaviour, shaped by factors such as relative
deprivation, subcultural values, and poor socialisation. Others,
particularly interactionists and neo-Marxists, argue that these statistics
are socially constructed – they reflect the discriminatory application of
laws and the labelling of certain groups as ‘criminal’. For example,
policing strategies may focus disproportionately on urban, working-class
neighbourhoods.
AQA A-LEVEL SOCIOLOGY 7192/3 PAPER 3
CRIME AND DEVIANCE WITH THEORY AND
METHODS – JUNE 2026 QUESTION PAPER +
MARK SCHEME
## SECTION A: Crime and Deviance
**(60 marks)**
**Answer all questions in this section.**
---
### Question 1
Outline **two** ways in which the media might contribute to an
exaggerated public perception of crime.
**[4 marks]**
---
,2|Page
### Question 2
Outline **three** criticisms of left realism as an explanation of crime
and deviance.
**[6 marks]**
---
### Question 3
Read **Item A** below and answer the question that follows.
**Item A**
Functionalist sociologists such as Durkheim argue that crime is an
inevitable and even necessary feature of a healthy society. Crime can
strengthen collective values through public condemnation and can act as
a warning signal that social institutions are failing. However, later
functionalists like Merton focus on the strain between cultural goals and
institutionalised means, suggesting that crime results from this structural
imbalance. Both approaches have been criticised for over-predicting
working-class crime and for ignoring the role of power and labelling.
, 3|Page
Applying material from **Item A**, analyse **two** functions of
crime for society according to functionalist perspectives.
**[10 marks]**
---
### Question 4
Read **Item B** below and answer the question that follows.
**Item B**
Official statistics show that working-class and ethnic minority
individuals are overrepresented in the criminal justice system, from
arrest to imprisonment. Some sociologists argue that this reflects real
differences in offending behaviour, shaped by factors such as relative
deprivation, subcultural values, and poor socialisation. Others,
particularly interactionists and neo-Marxists, argue that these statistics
are socially constructed – they reflect the discriminatory application of
laws and the labelling of certain groups as ‘criminal’. For example,
policing strategies may focus disproportionately on urban, working-class
neighbourhoods.
