8. Crime statistics

Question 1

Define trends of crime

Answer 1

Movement of the official crime statistics.

Question 2

Define patterns of crime

Answer 2

The characteristics of the offenders e.g social class, age, gender etc

Question 3

Define the crime rate

Answer 3

The number of crimes committed per 1000 people.

Question 4

Why don’t sociologists trust crime rates?

Answer 4

Because they claim they are socially constructed

Question 5

What is the dark figure of crime?

Answer 5

Crime that has either not been reported to the police or has been reported but not recorded.

Question 6

Factors that can make it seem crime is rising when it isn’t?

Answer 6

-The media
-Changing police attitudes, priorities etc
-Changing social norms
-Lower tolerance of acts
-Higher policing levels
-More sophisticated policing techniques.

Question 7

Name the 4 methods of measuring crime?

Answer 7

-Police recorded crime
-Self-report surveys
-Victim surveys
-Crime survey of England & Wales

Question 8

Police recorded crime

Answer 8

-Supplied by 43 territorial police forces
-Published every 6 months
-Can only include crimes the police become aware of and those which they record
-Can be very inaccurate

Question 9

Reasons crime statistics are useful?

Answer 9

-Easy to access
-Up to date
-Covers whole population
-Goes back years to see trends
-Accurate reflection of reality.

Question 10

Limitations to crime statistics?

Answer 10

-Doesn’t include undetected or unreported crime
-Lacks specific detail
-Public awareness of certain crimes influences reporting rate
-Manipulation by police

Question 11

Crime Survey of England & Wales

Answer 11

-Biggest victim survey
-Carried out annually via face to face structured interviews
-Used alongside police statistics
-Suggests some crimes are 4x a high as police recorded figures

Question 12

What are/ is the aim of victim surveys?

Answer 12

-Ask the public if they have been the victims of crime
-To provide more accurate picture to make up for crimes missed due to lack of reporting or recording.

Question 13

Weaknesses of victim surveys

Answer 13

-People may exaggerate or lie
-People may forget they were victimised
-People may not realise they have been victims of crime

Question 14

What is a self-report study?

Answer 14

-Question people on what crimes they have/haven’t committed using an anonymous quantitative questionaire
-Usually carried out on younger people for minor crimes

Question 15

What do self report studies help to do?

Answer 15

-Highlight victimless crimes
-Compare to official statistics
-Provide information on criminal profiles
-Determining bias in criminal justice systems.

Question 16

What have self report studies shown?

Answer 16

Self report studies have shown that young females commit as much crime as young males, W/C youths commit as much crime as W/C youths.

Question 16

Problems with self-report studies

Answer 16

-Validity is a major issue
-Ignores respondents own definitions of crime
-Rely on memory
-Lack representativeness