Crime and the Law Flashcards
Examples of non sexual crimes of violence?
murder, armed robbery, assault, domestic abuse, knife crime
Examples of sexual crimes and crimes of indecency?
rape, sexual assault, child pornography
Examples of crimes of dishonesty?
Housebreaking, fraud, forgery, theft/robbery
Examples of fire raising/vandalism?
Arson, Graffiti, Breaking windows
Examples of other crimes?
carrying a weapon
buying/selling/possession of drugs
Traffic crime - speeding
Hate crimes - racial abuse
Examples of Blue collar and White collar crimes?
BLUE - visible, easily detected and often crimes such as theft/ house breaking/ assault
WHITE - less visible e.g. fraud, embezzlement
Why is it hard to know the extent of a crime with a survey?
Surveys such as Scottish Crime Survey ask people which crimes they have been a victim to. Victims of murders cant respond so don’t show up in the figures.
Crimes also against institutions rather than individuals are also omitted.
Victimless crimes such as drug use overlooked by survey too.
Why is it hard to know the extent of a crime with the police?
Only record crimes which are reported to them. Many people do not report crimes for different reasons and so police figures and gov. reports cannot take account of these crimes.
When are we more likely to report crimes?
> If we have valuable possessions as insurance companies dictate that all property crimes must be reported to the police.
If initiatives has been well publicised - people are more likely to report a crime if it has been publicised e.g. campaigns against drink driving at christmas or against carrying a knife.
If there is confidence in the justice system e.g. that their report will be believed and followed through.
When are we less likely to report crimes?
If we are in fear - e.g. in case of domestic abuse, victims are often too scared or worried about what will happen to them. We may also be worried or afraid of what might happen to the person we know has committed a crime e.g. family member. If the crime has been committed by a friend/neighbour who may wish to take revenge in their own way.
If we are victims of hate crimes - e.g. against gay people or ethnic minorities these are often not reported
If we don’t know we have a victim of crime - e.g.theft or online fraud. elderly people are often vulnerable to this type of theft and don’t know it has occurred.
We have been victims of a sexual crimes - often these crimes have no witnesses so victims are less likely to report since traditionally prosecution levels are low. In some cases of rape, the victim may feel that they are the ones who may put under pressure for leading someone on.
