Crime Statistics

Question 1

crime statistics - purpose of official statistics

Answer 1

• for comparison to discover trends
• to measure policy efficiency
• provide information to the public
• allow sociologists to explain crime

Question 2

crime statistics - sources

Answer 2

• police recorded crime
• victim survey
• self-report studies
• court and prison records

Question 3

crime statistics - social construction; reliability

Answer 3

theres inconsistencies in how crimes are classified

police have some discretion

Question 4

crime statistics - social construction; validity

Answer 4

doesn’t provide true/complete picture of crime

many offences not discovered, reported, recorded

Question 5

crime statistics - percentage of crimes not recorded or detected

Answer 5

19% - reported not recorded

27% - recorded not detected

Question 6

crime statistics - percentage of unreported crimes and why

Answer 6

60%, because:

• unimportant for the police to be interested or do anything
• private matter that they deal with individually
• inconvenient to report
• fear of revenge
• fear/dislike of police due to previous bad experience

Question 7

crime statistics - reported but not recorded

Answer 7

• regard offence as insignificant (antisocial behaviour)
• already been resolved, victim doesn’t want to proceed
• person complaining may be unreliable to take it seriously

Question 8

crime statistics - the media

Answer 8

influences where the public report a crime

creates moral panics which sensitises people, leading to more reporting of incidents

Question 9

crime statistics - changing police attitudes, priorities and policies

Answer 9

police make extra efforts to tackle crimes provoked by media than others
people bring to the attention of police less serious incidents which might not have reported in the past
(no longer tolerant of anti-social behaviour)
changing rules for the way police count/record crime

Question 10

crime statistics - changing social norms and public attitudes

Answer 10

more rape & domestic/child abuse being reported
community policing & higher policing levels
neighbourhood watch schemes & policing teams means more crime reported

Question 11

crime statistics - more sophisticated police …

Answer 11

training, communication & equipment

CCTV & forensic science lead to increased detection of crime

Question 12

crime statistics - people have more to lose

Answer 12

insurance claims for crimes need a police crime number

so more crime is reported

Question 13

crime statistics - overcome limitations of official statistics; victim surveys

Answer 13

overcomes problem of offences not reported to police

gives insight into victims

Question 14

crime statistics - criticisms of victim surveys

Answer 14

• may lie/exaggerate to impress researcher
• construct face memories that haven’t occurred
• may not realise they are a victim (white-collar)
• not representative or generalisable
• feel embarrassed at admitting to being a victim (internet scams, sexual offence)

Question 15

crime statistics - overcome limitations of official statistics; self-report studies

Answer 15

people tell researchers they offences they committed & whether they were caught
provides characteristics for offenders and factors associated with risks of offending

Question 16

crime statistics - criticisms of self-report studies

Answer 16

• exaggerate; affects validity
• offenders may not see common crime as criminal and not report it
• might repress memories or constructed false ones
• young offenders who live chaotic lives less likely to participate; lack of representativeness