Crime statistics

Question 1

What are crime statistics?

Answer 1

A collection of numerical data based on various methods of measuring the amount of crime in society

Question 2

What is the dark figure of statistics in crime?

Answer 2

A large amount of crimes aren’t reported and therefore aren’t a part of the statistics so ultimately are inaccurate

Question 3

Are statistics facts or social constructions?

Answer 3

Social constructions as social control agencies e.g. police and courts control the construction of crimes
-Also victim, public and perpetrators are influential
-The way law evolves means some behaviours become legal and illegal comparing trends

Question 4

What are the 3 ways to record data for crime statistics?

Answer 4

Police recorded statics
Victim surveys
Self report studies

Question 5

What are police recorded statistics?

Answer 5

police recorded statistics are drawn from the records kept by the police and other official agency’s published every 6 months by the home office
-Collected since 1857
-Detect and reporting and recording of crimes

Question 6

Problem with police recorded statistics?

Answer 6

Not all crime are reported to the police

Question 7

Charactaristics of someone thats more likely to be taken seriously by the police?

Answer 7

White, middle class and male

Question 8

Pleabarganing and their influence of police statistics?

Answer 8

Informal agreement where defendants will try to get the lightest sentence possible
Affecting statistics because sentences may not reflect severity of crime

Question 9

What are victim surveys?

Answer 9

Surveys asking a sample of the population weather they have been victims of crime and if so, has it been reported to the police
-Used by the govt providing a comparison to the police statistics
-CSEW (Crime survey for england and wales)

Question 10

VS- how do the CSEW maximize the representativeness of the survey?

Answer 10

Getting 40,000 sample
all household involved

Question 11

VS- how can groups be left out?

Answer 11

Dosent evenly proportion ethnic minoritys and genders

Question 12

VS- what crimes are excluded from surveys?

Answer 12

Homicide
Crimes against businesses
Sexual offence

Question 13

Strengths of police statistics and victim survay?

Answer 13

-Significant proportion of offences never recorded by police
-Local victim survey highlight higher victim allegations than national figure of certain groups of certain crimes
-Gives a good picture of victimisation

Question 14

Weakness of police statistics and victim survays?

Answer 14

-May choose not to report
-Categorisation of crimes different to police
-Problem basing statistic on memory

Question 15

What are self report studies?

Answer 15

Surveys selecting a cross section of the population and ask them what criminal behaviour they have committed
-Used by sociologists e.g. campbell

Question 16

Self report studies strengths?

Answer 16

-Most usefull method to find out about victimless crime (drug)
-Useful to find out characteristics of offenders not processed via police

Question 17

Self report weaknesses?

Answer 17

-Uncovers minor deviance, unlikely to reveal big crime
-Lack of representativeness e.g. youth
-Respondents may lie or exaggerate (social desirability)

Question 18

Interpretivists on crime statistics?

Answer 18

Does not concentrate on understanding way people are socially constructed

Question 19

Criticisng positivists view on crime statistics?

Answer 19

We arent understanding why people are ignoring underlying reasons

Question 20

Left realist view on crime statistics?

Answer 20

Prefer local crime surveys as they revel basis for many peoples genuine fear of crime

Question 21

Femenist veiw in crime statistics?

Answer 21

Critical as they dont reflect woman sexually assulted in private settings and those that cant report crime

Question 22

Marxists view on criminal statistics?

Answer 22

Crimes committed by the rich are unrepresented to keep rich in power using lower class as a scapegoat