Crime statistics - victim/self-report surveys

Question 1

What are victim surveys?

Answer 1

These help to find the “real” burden of crime by getting crimes that aren’t reported or recorded

Question 2

What are self-report studies?

Answer 2

Asking people about crime directly means we can get crimes not officially recorded or not effectively reported

Question 3

Why can victim surveys lack validity?

Answer 3

• Victims can exaggerate for sympathy or attention
• People can forget or poorly recall minor crimes
• Victims are often unaware of white-collar crimes against them

Question 4

Why can victim surveys lack reliability?

Answer 4

• Not everyone responds so we get an unrepresentative sample
• Surveys show most people see minor crimes as “victimless”, so they don’t report them in victim surveys

Question 5

Why can self-report studies lack validity?

Answer 5

• Social desirability bias
• Demand characteristics
• Responses can change when they’re being given to a stranger (Hawthorne effect)
• Responses rely on memory, which is inaccurate and can be influenced by leading questions

Question 6

Why can self-report studies lack reliability?

Answer 6

• People who are busy, disengaged with the “system” are less likely to take part, reducing the sample’s representativeness