Defining and Measuring Crime Flashcards
what are cultural issues of defining crime?
a criminal act in once culture isn’t a criminal act in others (UK made forced marriages illegal 2014)
what are historical issues of defining crime?
things that are criminal change over time - being gay was a crime in Britain until 1967
what are official statistics of measuring crime?
official government records of crime - 75% is the dark figure
how is the dark figure a negative evaluation of official statistics?
only 25% is actual recorded crime
75% is the dark figure which is only am estimate
what is Farringdon and dowd’s negative evaluation of official statistics?
Farringdon and downs found that some places record minor crimes like petty thefts, while other didn’t
(this would mean crime is underestimated in some areas)
what are victim surveys?
50,000 houses were randomly asked to decent crimes against them in the past year
positive evaluation of victim surveys?
more likely to contain detail that has gone unreported to the police
negative evaluation of victim surveys?
telescoping is where trauma makes the victim crime happened within a year but it actually happened over a year ago
what are offender surveys?
random people are asked the number and types of crimes they have committed -
done to see which crimes apply to certain groups
positive evaluation of offender surveys?
gives insight into which social groups commit certain crimes (corporate fraud more middle class)
negative evaluation of offender surveys?
working class crime like robbery are over represented
middle class crime like tax evasion is under represented
