Crime and Deviance & Patterns of Crime

Question 1

what is crime?

Answer 1

• an act that breaks the criminal law
• crime is considered to be deviant, but not all deviant acts are crimes

Question 2

what is deviance?

Answer 2

• behaviours that break the norms and values of a society
• not necessarily criminal behaviour

Question 3

where does our knowledge of crime tend to come from? (3)

Answer 3

• official police statistics
• victim surveys
  -self-report studies

Question 4

what are Official Crime Statistics and how often are they produced? and who produces them?

Answer 4

• they are compiled by examining police and court records
• produced on a yearly basis by the Home Office

Question 5

what 2 main things to official crime statistics tell us?

Answer 5

• the total number of crimes known to the police
• the social characteristics of offenders (ethnicity, gender, age…)

Question 6

in general, what do official crime stats tell us? (4)

Answer 6

• most offenders are young (16-24)
• most offenders are male (80%)
• most offenders come from poor home backgrounds
• most offenders lack eduational qualifications

Question 7

how do official crime stats help the government? and/or police?

Answer 7

• published annually therefore hows how recorded crime rates have changed over time
  
  • allows gov to monitor patterns of crime at reliably consistent and regular intervals
• increases or decreases in the stats help identify priority areas for gov AND police
  
  • on-going budget cuts mean that prioritising is crucial

Question 8

contemporary example that show how crime stats may not always be accurate

Answer 8

• BBC News article, 2017
• police are unlikely to pursue shoplifting crimes if the good is worthless than £200
• this is because of a need to prioritise other crimes
• likely to have serious implications on te representation of crime statistics
  
  • a lower record in shoplifting than what is really the case

Question 9

what do crime trends allow researchers to do?

Answer 9

• identify cause and effect relationships

Question 10

contemporary example that shows the problem of reporting crimes (3 points and 1 date)

Answer 10

• 2020
• Greater Manchester Police failed to record 80,000 crimes in a year
• too many crimes prematurely shut down
• the police did not always investigate victims complaints, leaving big gaps in crimes recorded compared to accurate recording of crimes in the region

Question 11

why might someone not report a crime? (4)

Answer 11

• they think the crime is petty e.g. minor theft
• some crimes are regarded as a private matter
• victims of crimes may be too embarrassed to come forward e.g. male victims of DV
• victims of gang violence and drug-dealing offences may be scared of being targeted further - afriad of reprisals
• don’t realise they’re victims
• may be unable to report as they are dead, traumatised or injured
• no faith in the police

Question 12

why might some crimes be reprted more than others? what effect does this have?

Answer 12

• people report crimes when there is an advantage for them e.g. 98% of all car thefts are reported because of insurance claims
  
  • this distortsthe true nature of crimes

Question 13

counter argument to police abusing their power

Answer 13

• reforms to police powers in their use of “stop and search” have been used in recent years, making it much harder for their power to be abused
• camera’s on the police officers vest also helps to build trust as people feel like professionalism in the conduct of the police is guaranteed

Question 14

what community is more likely to have little faith in the police? give one contemporary example

Answer 14

• ethnic minoritiess believe that the police would treat them unfairly and/or not take them seriously
  
  • reference George Floyd case 2020