MEASURING CRIME Flashcards
What do police recorded crime figures include?
All police recorded crime in England and Wales.
Give 3 strengths of using police recorded crime statistics.
1) Easy to access and have already been complied.
2) Up-to-date and standardised.
3) Ethical problems of studying criminal behaviour is not an issue.
Give 3 weaknesses of using police recorded crime statistics.
1) Do not include undetected or unreported crime.
2) Do not include unreported offences - ‘The Dark Figure of Crime’.
3) Pressure on police to meet crime reduction targets may result in some crimes ‘disappearing’ from figures.
What is the dark figure of crime?
Term used for all unrecorded crime. Hard to estimate how large this figure is because it includes crimes which are not even known about.
Give an example of a statistic used to support the dark figure of crime.
Survey on rape and sexual assault carried out by Mumsnet in 2012 found that 83% of those who had been assaulted did not report it.
What is police discretion?
Police recorded crime figures may be affected by the discretion and decisions made by police. Some officers may be corrupt.
Why do Functionalists accept police statistics as accurate social facts?
Believe there is a value consensus in society and see the police as representing all of us.
Why do New Right theorists support police statistics?
Accept the official picture of the typical criminal. Focus on explaining criminality amongst the ‘underclass’.
Why do left realists support police statistics?
The stats are not perfect, but they should not be dismissed.
Why do some feminists support the use of police statistics?
Accept the official picture that females commit significantly less crime than males.
Why do marxists challenge the idea of the ‘typical criminal’?
See police crime figures as a tool to control the working class and justify police control and oppression.
Why do Interactionists challenge the use of police statistics?
Focus on the social construction of crime statistics, paying particular attention to police labelling.
Why do radical criminologists challenge the idea of the ‘typical criminal’?
Tend to focus on the power of the police to label for political reasons.
Why do other feminists challenge the use of police statistics and the idea of the ‘typical criminal’?
Focus on the way female offenders are treated differently by the justice system. Male crime against women is underrepresented.
What is a self-report study?
Asks people which crimes they have committed themselves.
What types of crime do self-report studies tend to pick up?
Quite minor offences.
How can self-report studies be qualitative? Give an example of a study.
Rather than measuring crime, this method gives an insight into criminality. E.g. ‘The Jack-roller’ (Shaw, 1966)
How can self-report studies be quantitative? Give an example of a study.
Involve a list of offences requiring the respondent to tick ones they have committed. E.g. Campbell (1981) study on young males and females.
How can self-report be longitudinal? Give an example of a study.
Follow the same group of participants over a number of years to get an overview of their criminality. E.g. the Cambridge Study, followed the criminal careers of 411 South London boys.
What are victim surveys?
Surveying people who have been victims of crime. Cast doubt on accuracy of police recorded crime figures.
What is the CSEW?
Crime survey for England and Wales.
What is the response rate of the CSEW?
2013-14: 75% and 68%
What types of crime are people asked about in the CSEW?
Property crimes such as burglary and personal crimes such as theft from the person or violence.
How much higher does the CSEW suggest crime is compared to police figures?
4 times higher.
What has the CSEW been particularly successful in identifying?
The extent of domestic violence, stalking and sexual victimisation.
Give a limitation of the CSEW.
Victimless crimes, or crimes where the victim is a large corporation, will not appear.
What do Hough and Matthew comment about victim surveys despite carrying one out themselves?
‘Survey and police statistics combined enable the outlines of crime to be mapped far better than police statistics.’
Give another example of a victim survey besides the CSEW.
The Islington Crime Survey.
What did the first Islington Crime Survey show?
That a third of all households have been touched by serious crime in the last 12 months.
What did Dobash and Dobash’s research into domestic violence involve?
In-depth interviews with women at a refuge, measuring the impact of crime on their lives who usually go unnoticed.
What did Young argue about the dark figure of crime?
He argues that the dark figure of crime is also present in victim surveys. The accuracy of victim surveys relies on the memory and honesty of the victim.
Give a concern about the validity of self-report studies.
Concerns about truthfulness and accuracy of data.
Give a strength of self-report studies.
High response rate.
What is the main ethical concern relating to self-report studies?
Informed consent, confidentiality and the right to withdraw.
How did the Edinburgh study get access to a lot of young people?
Gained consent through letters to parents.
Parents who didn’t want their child to participate said so on a tear off slip.
What does attrition refer to?
Participation and drop-out rates in studies.
Give an example of a study that was high in response rates.
Edinburgh study. 94.4% response rate after four ‘sweeps’
