Topic 9a: Measuring crime and deviance: official statistics Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Topic 9a: Measuring crime and deviance: official statistics Deck (2)
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1
Q

Intro

A

Official crime statistics are drawn from the records kept by the police and other official agencies, and are published every six months.

2
Q

Conclusion

A

Marxists are very critical of the OCS. They suggest that the capitalist state collects and constructs criminal statistics in order to serve the interests of the ruling class. The statistics serve an ideological function – whoever has the power to collect and construct such statistics has the power to control and manipulate public opinion. Marxists therefore argue that the ideological function of the OCS is to criminalise groups such as the young, the working-class and black people. This divides and rules the working-class by diverting the white conformist working-class’ attention away from class inequalities.