5. Crime statistics and Patterns of offending

Question 1

Official statistics (PCR)

Answer 1

• For comparison with previous years to discover trends in crime
• To look at the police clear-up rate to measure police efficiency
• To show whether the police should concentrate resources to reduce crime
• To provide the public (often via the media) with information on crime patterns
• To provide a basis for sociologists to explain crime, including what is and what isn’t shown in the statistics
• To reveal policies assumptions and stereotyping, as the statistics are in part generated by the activities of the police themselves and the offenders they choose to pursue and the offences they choose to reach

Question 2

4 Sources of crime statistics

Answer 2

1. Police recorded crime (PRC) - these are offences either detected by or reported to the police, and recorded by them
2. Victim surveys - these surveys the victims of crime and include unreported and unrecorded crime. They give a more accurate picture than PRC, and are not affected by the recording/counting rules that police statistics are bound by. E.g., includes CSEW - this is a face-to-face survey in which people resident in households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of crime in the 12 months before interview
3. Self-report studies - these are anonymous questionnaires in which people are asked to own up to committing crimes, whether or not they have been discovered
4. Court and prison records - reveal some of the characteristics of offenders who have been caught

Question 3

Reasons for unreported crime

Answer 3

• Too trivial, involved no loss, police can’t do anything
• Private matter which was dealt themselves
• Don’t want to be viewed as a ‘snitch’
• May not know a crime is being committed
• Fear of potential consequences

Question 4

Reasons for unrecorded crime

Answer 4

• Regard the matter as too trivial to waste their time on (e.g., anti-social behaviour, small amount of money)
• Already been satisfactorily resolved or the victim does not wish to proceed with the complaint
• Regard the person complaining as too unreliable to take into account seriously (drug addicts, tramps)
• Interpret the law in such a way that what is reported is not regarded as an offence

Question 5

Functionalism/New Right/Right Realism views of Crime Statistics

Answer 5

Accepts statistics as accurate and representative of most crime and useful for establishing patterns in crime and as a base for forming hypotheses and building theories

Question 6

Interactionism/Labelling theory views of Crime Statistics

Answer 6

Statistics are social constructions and useful only to reveal the stereotypes, labelling and assumptions of the public, and the institutional sexism and racism of the CJS

Question 7

Marxism/Neo-Marxism views of Crime Statistics

Answer 7

Statistics provide a biased view of crime, as they under represent crimes of the powerful - white-collar and corporate crime and give the impression that the main arrivals are w/c

Question 8

Feminism views of Crime Statistics

Answer 8

Statistics under-represent the extent of female crime and crimes by men against women, such as domestic violence and rape

Question 9

Left Realism views of Crime Statistics

Answer 9

Statistics are broadly correct, though they under-represent white-collar and corporate crime and exaggerate the extent of w/c crime, particularly by some MEG

Question 10

10 Factors of changes in reporting, and counting and recording of crime

Answer 10

1. The media - Media reports may exaggerate and distort events, generate moral panics and make problems seem worse than they are
2. Changing police attitudes, priorities and policies - a stronger desire by the police to prosecute certain offenders due to changing attitudes and policies towards some offences (crack-down on prostitution, drug-dealing, knife crimes)
3. People may be bringing to the attention of the police less serious incidents which they may not have reported in the past
4. Changing social norms and public attitudes - changing attitudes to offences like rape may have resulted in more offences being reported, even though no more have been committed
5. Community policing and higher policing levels - more crimes may be recorded and detected/offenders caught
6. Changing counting rules - can lead to higher numbers of offences being recorded, but not necessarily more crime
7. More sophisticated police training, communications and equipment- use of CCTV, DNA testing increasing detection of crime
8. Changes in the law - lead to more thing being illegal
9. Easier communications - phones, emails, website all making reporting of crime easier
10. People have more to lose today - people tend to have more consumer goods, and more people have household contents insurance cover

Question 11

Limitations of victim surveys

Answer 11

1. People may exaggerate
2. People may forget they were victimized
3. People may not realise they have been the victims of a crimes
4. They often don’t include all crimes
5. As with all surveys, there is the issue of whether the survey is representative
6. Victims may feel embarrassment or guilt at admitting to being a victim
7. Consensual or victimless crimes

Question 12

Limitations of self-report studies

Answer 12

1. The validity of findings
2. They may ignore respondents’ own definitions of crime
3. They rely on memory
4. Lack of representativeness

Question 13

Trends in crime

Answer 13

• 1930s - early 1950s, there was a gradual rise
• 1950s - early 1980s, there was a steeper rise
• 1980s - mid 1990s, there was a rapid increase
• mid 1990s - 2015, there was a gradual annual decline

Question 14

Underrepresentation of females in crime statistics - The chivalry thesis

Answer 14

Put forward to explain why women are less likely to be prosecuted for their offences than me. It states women are treated more leniently than men by the CJS because the police, magistrates and other law enforces tend to be men, and have often have been raised or socialised to be chivalrous to the opposite sex (i.e., being polite and respectful)
This means the police are less likely to charge women and the courts will tend to give women a lighter sentence, even when they have committed the same offences as men. For example, they may receive a ‘caution’ instead of a punitive sentence.
May explain why women are under-represented in crime statistics

Question 15

Underrepresentation of females in crime statistics - Less detectable crimes

Answer 15

Women, compared to men, often commit crimes that are less likely to be detected, reported and lead to prosecution, such as shoplifting. Theft from shops is the most common type of crime women commit; men commit more crimes of handling stolen goods than women.
One of the reason why females get away with shoplifting is they tend to steal smaller, less detectable and less expensive items (e.g., perfumes) compared to mens larger and more detectable, expensive items (e.g., electronic equipment)

Question 16

Underrepresentation of females in crime statistics - Group v individual crimes

Answer 16

Females tend to commit crimes alone, whereas males frequently tend to commit crimes in groups, which may be a major reason they are likely to be caught and prosecuted.

Question 17

Underrepresentation of females in crime statistics - The private sphere

Answer 17

Males dominate the public sphere where most crimes are committed, while females dominate the private sphere (e.g., home), which restricts their opportunity to commit a crime, which may explain why women commit less crime

Question 18

Underrepresentation of females in crime statistics - Parsons - Sex Role theory

Answer 18

Parsons - females commit less crime than men due to the socialisation that that they receive as children and their access to adult role models. Boys have less access to adult role models in the home so are more likely to turn to all male gangs for masculine identity.

Question 19

Reasons for Male Crime rates - Masculinity Theory

Answer 19

Messerschmidt - men commit crime in order to show their masculinity and prove that they are men. He clarifies between Hegemonic and Subordinate masculinity.
Evaluation - Could be considered a description of offenders rather than an explanation. Not all men commit crime to accomplish masculinity. Too far reaching

Question 20

Reasons for Male Crime rates - Labelling Theory

Answer 20

Mere often stereotyped as being more violent than women which can lead to a SFP on how they should behave. Additionally men are labelled as providers for the family and may turn to crime in order to do this.
Evaluation - Not all men a criminal. Rise of the symmetrical family and women in the world of work means that men are no longer seen as the sole providers for family

Question 21

Reasons for Male Crime rates - Opportunity

Answer 21

Men have more opportunity to commit crime both blue collar and white collar crime. Men are more likely to be in situations that can lead to violent action and have access to commit white collar crime.
Evaluation - It doesn’t explain why men commit the crimes they do and not all men commit crime.

Question 22

Ethnicity - Victimisation studies

Answer 22

• We can gain information about ethnicity and offending from such surveys when they ask victims to identify the ethnicity of the person who committed the crime against them.
• E.g., in the case of ‘mugging’, Black people are significantly over-represented among those identified by victims as offenders.
• Great deal of crime is intra-ethnic – it takes place within rather than in-between ethnic groups.

Question 23

Philips and Bowling (2012) - ethnicity victimisation studies

Answer 23

Evidence suggests that White victims may ‘over-identify’ Black suspects, saying the offender was Black even when they are not sure.

Question 24

Self-report studies - ethnicity

Answer 24

They challenge the stereotype of Black people as more likely than White people to offend, though they support the widely held view that Asian people are less likely to offend.

Question 25

1. Ethnic Differences - Stop-and-Search

Answer 25

Police racism – Macpherson (1999) - The Macpherson inquiry found the police were institutionally racist and claimed certain ethnic groups were more likely to be victimised by the criminal process. This is because some police officers hold prejudices and negative stereotypical views of certain ethnic minorities, meaning such groups are more likely to be targeted by stop-and-search practices.
Ethnic differences – The high level of stop-and-search may reflect the belief blacks and some ethnic groups are more likely to engage in certain crimes compared to other groups. Therefore, police offers are acting upon information from previous patterns of criminal profiting of the offender (i.e., characteristics of an offender compared with the characteristics if their type of offence). E.g., Asians are more likely to be stopped under the Terrorism Act than white people.

Question 26

2. Ethnic Differences - Arrests and Cautions

Answer 26

The arrest rate for Black people was over three times the rate for White people. By contrast, Black and Asian arrestees were less likely than White arrestees to receive a caution.
One reason for this may be that members of MEG are more likely to deny the offence and to exercise their right to legal advice. However, not admitting the offence means they cannot be left off with a caution and are more likely to be charged instead.

Question 27

3. Ethnic Differences - Prosecutions

Answer 27

Before a case goes to court, Crown Prosecution Services decide whether to proceed with a prosecution brought by the police. The CPS is more likely to terminate cases involving ethnic groups than whites. Evidence presented to the CPS by the police is often weak, and could also be a result of holding negative stereotypes (Philips and Bowling (2002))
When cases do go ahead, there is a greater likelihood of a defendant from an ethnic group pleading ‘not guilty’ and electing for a trial in the Crown Court rather than a Magistrate’s Court.
If found guilty, they are likely to face a more severe sentence by the Crown Court than they would if they had entered a guilty plea or opted for a trial in a Magistrate’s Court

Question 28

4. Ethnic Differences - Convictions and Sentencing

Answer 28

Black and Asian defendants are less likely to be found guilty.
This suggests discrimination, in that the police and CPS may be bringing weaker or less serious cases against members of minority groups that are thrown out by the courts
Hood (1992) – Black and Asian people are also more likely to be imprisoned for a longer period than white British people

Question 29

5. Ethnic Differences - Prison

Answer 29

Black people were almost 4 times more likely to be in prison than White people.
Within the total prison population, all minority groups have a higher than average proportion of prisoners on remand (awaiting trial). This is because defendants from MEG are less likely to be granted bail while awaiting trial.

Question 30

1. Links between ethnicity and offending - Neo-Marxist approaches

Answer 30

Gilroy (1982) – argued that crime by black people was a form of political action, representing a culture of resistance to inequality and oppressors in the form of police racism.
It offers a form of political resistance against oppressive white society and culture
Labelling, stereotyping and racism in the CJS e.g., racist canteen culture in police forces, stop and search and institutional racism
Black crimes is exaggerated to justify aggressive styles of policing and, in the 1970s, to reassert the power of the state, which was facing a crisis of hegemony
Gilroy believed black criminality is a myth created by racist stereotypes. In reality, these groups are no more criminal than any other. But, because the police act on these racist stereotypes, ethnic minorities come to be greater in the official statistic numbers.

Question 31

2. Links between ethnicity and offending - Left Realism

Answer 31

Lea and Young acknowledge that the police often act in racist ways and the results are unjustified. But they don’t believe discriminatory policing fully explains the differences.
Black people have a higher criminalisation rate than Asians, so the police would have to be very selective in their racism. 3 factors contribute to this:
Marginality – Some MEGs are pushed to the edges of mainstream society by underachievement in education, lack of employment or low pay, and lack of legitimate opportunities to influence events. These create resentments and a sense of powerlessness, further fuelled by the experience of racism.
Relative deprivation – This is most likely to be felt by those facing more deprived social situations, as many of those in MEGs do.
Subculture – Marginality and relative deprivation can combine in contributing to the formation of subcultures in deprived communities, which provide a form of peer-group support for young black males, and may involve gang culture, violence etc as a response to the resentments and status frustration they feel

Question 32

3. Links between ethnicity and offending - Poverty, Social exclusion and the search for identity

Answer 32

Bowling and Phillips (2002) suggest higher levels of robbery by black people could be linked to poverty and social exclusion, which black communities are more likely to suffer from, and such activities can generate both peer-group status and a sense of a powerful black identity otherwise denied.
Clearly affects Asians as well, etc. Pakistanis among the poorest groups in British Society
However, their lower crime rate may be because Asian cultures offer a much clearer cultural identity, and there are generally stronger controls within Asian families and communities, limiting the opportunities and perhaps the desire to commit crime

Question 33

4. Links between ethnicity and offending - Labelling, stereotyping and racism in policing and the CJS

Answer 33

Labelling theorists and Marxists argue that statistics suggesting black and Asian people are more likely to be offenders than whites are misleading, and are evidence of selective law enforcement rather than higher rates of criminality
Racism and racist stereotypes in police culture and practice mean the behaviour of black and Asian people is more likely to be labelled as criminal
Reiner (2000) – points to a racist ‘canteen culture’ among the police, which includes suspicion, macho values, and racism, and this encourages racist stereotypes and a mistrust of those from non-white backgrounds.
From this point of view, the link between crime and ethnic minorities is socially constructed fabrication – a product of racial prejudice and discrimination against black people and Asians by the police and other criminal justice agencies

Question 34

Phillips and Bowling (2012) - Indirect racial discrimination

Answer 34

Mistrust of the police – This means minority ethnic suspects are less likely than white offenders to cooperate with police officers or prosecutors, and less likely to admit offences during interview or before trial. Refusing to admit to offence means they are ineligible for a caution or reduced sentences.
Social position – MEGs are more likely than white offenders to display the social characteristics which make a remand in custody more likely than release on bail, because they are thought to be more likely to abscond (run away). This includes factors like poor housing and a lack of community.

Question 35

Phillips and Bowling (2012) - Direct racial discrimination

Answer 35

1. Stop and search – Black and Asian people (especially youth) fit police stereotypes of ‘troublemakers’ and they are therefore targeted for heavier policing.
2. Institutional racism – Macpherson report (1999) was highly critical of the Metropolitan Police, pointing to the existence of institutional racism in the police force.
3. Arrests, charges and court proceedings – Police officers appear to arrest and charge some black and Asian suspects without sufficient evidence. CPS more likely to drop cases against ethnic minorities before they reach court and those which are brought to court have a lower conviction rate than those involving white offenders. This suggests there wasn’t enough evidence for the police to charge them in the first place to charge them in the first place, nor for the CPS to secure convictions as they were bringing such weak cases to court
4. Discrimination in sentencing – Black people, compared to white offenders in the same position, face a greater likelihood both of being given a prison sentence and of receiving longer sentences
5. Over-representation in prison disproportionate rates of imprisonment for people from MEGs. In 2013, black people made up over twice the proportion of prisoners compared to their proportion in the general population. Phillips and Bowling – cite evidence showing that, in prison, black and Asian prisoners face a more brutal regime than white prisoners, including abuse, violence and intimidation, denial of earned privileges and disproportionate disciplinary action.

Question 36

Evaluation of ethnicity

Answer 36

Difficult to discover whether differences between ethnic groups are a result of their ethnic identity or because of differences in age, social class and the areas in which they live.
For example, compared to white people, MEGs tend to have higher proportions of young people, those suffering social and economic deprivation, and those living in deprived urban communities; higher crime rates may be related to these factors rather than ethnicity itself.
However, there is evidence (confirmed by self-report studies), that higher rate of offending by some MEGs shown in official statistics may be an exaggerated distortion created by racist stereotyping, unjustified assumptions and labelling by the police and by racial discrimination in the CJS.

Question 37

Ethnicity and Victimisation

Answer 37

Racist victimisation occurs when an individual is selected as a target because of their race, ethnicity or religion. Was brought back into greater public focus with the racist murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993 and the subsequent inquiry into the handling of the police investigation (Macpherson 1999)
Information on racist victimisation comes from victim surveys (CSEW) and police-recorded statistics. These usually cover:
-Racist incidents - perceived to be racist by victim
-Racially or religiously aggravated offences – offender is motivated by hostility towards members of a racial or religious group.

Question 38

Risk of victimisation - ethnicity

Answer 38

Risk of being a victim of any sort of crime varies by ethnic group. 2019/20 CSEW shows people from mixed ethnic backgrounds had a higher risk (20%) of becoming a victim of crime than did Black (14%), White (13%) or Asian (13%) people
Factors such as being young, male and unemployed are strongly linked with victimisation of violent crimes. Ethnic groups with a high proportion of young males are thus likely to have higher rates of victimisation.
Sampsons and Phillips (1992) – note racist victimisation tends to be ongoing over time, with repeated ‘minor’ instances of abuse and harassment interwoven with periodic incidents of physical violence.
The resulting long-term psychological impact needs to be added to the physical injury and damage to property caused by the offenders.

Question 39

Responses to victimisation - ethnicity

Answer 39

• Members of minority ethnic communities have often been active in responding to victimisation (such as situational crime prevention measures (fireproof doors and letterboxes) and organised self-defence campaigns aimed at physically defending neighbourhoods from racist attacks)
• Such responses need to be understood in the context of under-protection by the police, who have failed to record or investigate reported incidents properly.