What's covered
Key facts
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the age of criminal responsibility is 10.
Examples of formal sanctions include fines, prison sentences, detentions and being excluded from school.
All crimes count as deviant, but not all deviant acts are crimes.
Official statistics show men commit much more recorded crime than women.
All crimes are deviant, but not every deviant act is a crime.
The criminal justice system has three main parts: laws, the courts, and the police.
Examples of informal sanctions include being praised, being told off, being teased or being ignored by friends.
A crime is an act that breaks the law.
Men commit about 90% of murders.
Deviance is breaking the unwritten rules (norms) about how to behave, even if it is not illegal.
Sample questions
A taste of the 50 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
What are the three main parts of the criminal justice system?
- •Laws, the army, and the council
- ✓Laws, the courts, and the police
- •Prisons, lawyers, and juries
- •Schools, parents, and the police
What is a positive sanction?
- •A law passed by the government
- •A punishment that discourages rule-breaking
- ✓A reward that encourages good behaviour
- •A rule that everyone must follow
What is the best definition of a crime?
- •A habit that is unusual but harmless
- •A rule made up by a family at home
- ✓An act that breaks the law
- •Any behaviour that annoys other people
What does it mean when sociologists talk about a crime pattern?
- •A law that decides exactly who is allowed to break the rules
- •A list of all the crimes one single person has done
- ✓A trend showing which groups are more likely to be caught offending
- •Proof that everyone in a group will definitely commit a crime
What is the difference between a crime and deviance?
- ✓A crime breaks a written law; deviance breaks unwritten norms
- •A crime breaks unwritten norms; deviance breaks written laws
- •A crime is minor; deviance is always very serious
- •A crime is never punished; deviance is always punished
In the justice system, who decides whether an accused person is guilty?
- ✓The courts
- •The newspapers
- •The police
- •The witnesses
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