1. Defining And Measuring Crime

Question 1

What is a crime?

Answer 1

An act committed in violation of law where the consequence of conviction by a court is punishment, especially where the punishment is a serious one such as imprisonment

Question 2

What are official statistics?

Answer 2

Government records of the total number of crimes reported to the police and recorded in official figures. They are published on an annual basis and used as a ‘snapshot’ of the number of crimes occurring in different places across the country. This allows the government to develop crime-prevention strategies.

Question 3

What are victim surveys?

Answer 3

A questionnaire that asks a sample of people which crimes have been committed against them over a fixed period of time and whether or not they have been reported to the police

Question 4

What are offender surveys?

Answer 4

A self-report measure that requires people to record the number and types of crime they have committed over a specified period

Question 5

What is the legalistic definition of crime?

Answer 5

“Breaking the laws of society”

Question 6

What is the normative definition of crime?

Answer 6

“Acts that can cause offence to moral norms or values held by society such as religious beliefs”

Question 7

When deciding on whether a behaviour is considered a crime, we can consider the 4 W’s. What are they?

Answer 7

• (WHEN) Historical context
• (WHERE) Culture
• (WHO) Age
• (WHAT) specific/mitigating circumstances

Question 8

Why is historical context important on deciding whether a behaviour is considered a crime?

Answer 8

Definitions of crime are time bound/era-dependent; what is defined as criminal at one point in time may be considered acceptable at another

Question 9

Give examples of ‘crimes’ that had a historical context

Answer 9

• Gay marriage
• Children act in 2004 (until then was legal to hit your child)
• Smoking inside

Question 10

Why is culture important on deciding whether a behaviour is considered a crime?

Answer 10

Definitions of crime are culturally specific; what is considered a crime in one culture is not always a crime in another. Any given society decides what is and is not acceptable/punishable behaviour

Question 11

Give examples of ‘crimes’ that have a cultural context

Answer 11

• Guns are legal in America
• Bigamy
• Forced marriage

Question 12

Why is age important on deciding whether a behaviour is considered a crime?

Answer 12

Age is an important factor in determining whether or not a person is a criminal. Although stealing is against the law, a 3 year old child who picks up a toy/packet of sweets would not be considered a criminal.

The issue is the level of understanding and whether or not the person had reached the age of criminal responsibility (10)

Question 13

What is the age of criminal responsibility?

Answer 13

10

-legally responsible (criminally) for themselves

Question 14

Why are specific/mitigating circumstances important on deciding whether a behaviour is considered a crime?

Answer 14

‘Mitigating circumstances’ are taken into account when people have broken laws. This may mean that their behaviour is judged as understandable and even commendable rather than illegal.

Individual circumstances play a part as we would not suggest that stealing to feed hungry people is criminal behaviour even though it is against the law. Also, in legal cases juries are instructed to consider issues.

Question 15

Give examples of mitigating circumstances

Answer 15

• Crimes of passion
• Mental health
• Diminished responsibility

Question 16

Name the 3 ways of measuring crime

Answer 16

• Official statistics
• Victim surveys
• Offender surveys

Question 17

What are official statistics?

Answer 17

The official crime rate is based on formal government statistics of crimes that are reported to the police and recorded in the official figures.

These are published by the Home Office on an annual basis and are a useful ‘snapshot’ of the number of crimes occurring across the country and in specific regions. Typically these are used to inform government policy, crime reduction/prevention initiatives.

(Know places that need more help/where to direct police to reduce it)

Question 18

EVALUATION OF OFFICIAL STATISTICS

Evaluate official statistics to do with the ‘dark figure of crime’

Answer 18

Official statistics may not reflect the true extent of crime as only a certain number get reported to the police.

Official statistics have therefore been criticised as unreliable in that they significantly underestimate the true extent of crime.

Hollins found that so many crimes go unreported and unrecorded that only around 25% of offences are included in the official statistics. The other 75% make up what criminologists refer to as the ‘dark figure’ of crime.

This is a limitation as official statistics don’t reflect the true extent of crime.

Question 19

EVALUATION OF OFFICIAL STATISTICS

Evaluate official statistics to do with the role of policing rules in unrecorded crime

Answer 19

One particular reason for unrecorded crime is police recording rules that determine whether or not a specific crime is deemed recordable by the authorities.

Farringdon and Dowds analysed a random sample of police records of crime in Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, and Leicestershire. They found that Nottinghamshire police were more likely to record thefts of less that £10, although this was an informal policy rather than an officially stated policy. Crimes below this value were regarded as minor and reported by the other two police forces. Thus the official crime rate was higher in Nottingham than the other two counties.

Limitation as this suggests police priorities may distort official figures.