2. crime stats (c&d) Flashcards
why do sociologists use official statistics?
-to compare with prev years to find trends
-show where police should concentrate resources to reduce crime
-provide public with info on crime patterns
-provide a basis for sociologists to explain crime including what is and what isn’t shown in stats
A02- CSEW 2014-15
-theft of vehicles 93%
-attempted theft from vehicle 27%
-domestic burglary 63%
why don’t people report crime to police?
-too trivial- involved no loss, or police wouldn’t have been interested
-was too inconvenient to report
-it was a private matter which they dealt with themselves
-offence was a common occurrence, it was victims fault
why might police not record an offence?
-may regard matter as too trivial
-already been satisfactorily resolved
-may regard person complaining as too unreliable to take their account of the incident seriously
sociological perspectives on crime statistics
-functionalism- a positive perspective who believe that stats are reliable and valid
-marxism- official stats are reflection of ruling class ideology
-feminism- underplay the role of women as victims
-interactionism- distortion of reality and tells us more about who compiled them then the crime rate
-left realists- have some use and shouldn’t be rejected out of hand
factors distorting crime
-the media- may lead to more reporting of incidents by more intolerant public
-changing police attitudes- may give impression of inc in that type of crime, when it isn’t
-changing social norms- may result in more offences being reported even if no more has been committed
-community policing- more crimes recorded & offenders caught
-changing counting rules- more offences being recorded
-changes in law- more things becoming illegal
-easier communications- sms, email, easier to report
police recorded crime evaluations
strengths:
-can see what police are doing
-shows selective law enforcement
-more likely to be useful and truthful
limitations:
-someone is deciding whether or not to record it
-bias
-socially constructed
victim surveys evaluations
strengths:
-can be sent out to lot of people
-includes unrecorded crime, wider view
-first hand experience
limitations:
-not everyone will fill it in may be too scared
-may not accurately recall
self report survey evaluations
strengths:
-anonymous
-less likely to be voluntary, ppl willing to complete
-may help with unresolved crimes
limitations:
-ppl won’t admit to crimes if they think they will be caught- may be too traumatic
-not practical
-impression management- may manipulate truth
court and prison records evaluation
strengths:
-can identify trends & types of ppl convicted vs not convicted
-court- thorough investigation so more likely to be accurate
-more info presented to courts
limitations:
-only includes previous offenders that were taken to prosecution
-open to bias
-open to corruption- false statements
trends in crime
-1930-50s gradual rise in crime- end of war, rise in standard of living
-1950-80s steeper rise in crime- economic growth & social anomie
-1980- mid 90s rapid increase- economic recession led to higher relative deprivation
-mid 1990-2016 gradual decline- changes in reporting
important changes
-1998- counting rules were changed
-2002- national crime recording standard- created a consistent standard across police forces, & moved towards victim focussed recording rather than police being satisfied that a crime had taken place in order to record it
trends in crime reported
-PRC & CSEW crime in england & wales peaked in mid 1990s
-CSEW crime has more than halved since its peak in 1995, & in 2015 was lowest estimate since survey began in 1981
-PRC crime has dropped by about 25% in last 10 years
office for national stats
-3 most common crimes recorded by police in england and wales were robbery, knife & sharp instruments, homicide (2024)
-2 offences least likely to be reported to CSEW are criminal damage (668,000) and computer misuse (952,000)
