Measuring crime

Question 1

Define the term ‘crime’.

Answer 1

A legal wrong that can be followed by criminal proceedings, which may result in punishment.

Question 2

Define the term ‘deviance’.

Answer 2

Behaviour which is disapproved by most people in society as it doesn’t conform to shared norms and values.

Question 3

Give examples that show how crime and deviance is relative.

Answer 3

Gay marriage, jay walking, drinking under 21.

Question 4

What are police recorded crimes?

Answer 4

Official statistics recorded by government bodies and collated by the Home Office and ONS once a year.

Question 5

What do functionalists think about police recorded crimes?

Answer 5

See that the authority are reliable so do not question their motives or ability to produce representative results.

Question 6

What do the New Right think about police recorded crimes?

Answer 6

They trust the picture of a typical criminal and blame crime on those with a poor social background and socialisation.

Question 7

What do left realists think about police recorded crimes?

Answer 7

They recognise that police statistics aren’t perfect but appreciate the mix of different methods to collect data.

Question 8

What 2 things may some feminists think about police recorded statistics?

Answer 8

1) They accept the idea that women are criminalised less than men due to the imbalance in levels of social control enforced on them.
2) That crimes against women are underrepresented.

Question 9

What do Marxists think about police recorded statistics?

Answer 9

That it is a tool used to control the working class and justify their oppression.

Question 10

What do Interactionists think about police recorded statistics?

Answer 10

Recognise the inaccuracy through police labelling and crime statistics being a social construction.

Question 11

What do radical criminologists think about police recorded statistics?

Answer 11

They focus on the power of the police and their political motives that unfairly judge ethnic minorities.

Question 12

What are the advantages of police recorded statistics?

Answer 12

Easy to access, show patterns and trends and are exact measurements (not estimates).

Question 13

What are the limitations of police recorded crimes?

Answer 13

Victims may not report crime, it doesn’t provide a complete picture and public pressure may effect.

Question 14

What are victim surveys?

Answer 14

A survey questioning those who claim to have been victimised by a crime.

Question 15

What year did the CSEW start surveying?

Answer 15

1982

Question 16

What ages can respond to victim surveys?

Answer 16

Since 2009, 11 years plus can participate.

Question 17

What is the response rate like for victim surveys?

Answer 17

75%

Question 18

What are the advantages of victim surveys?

Answer 18

Shows inaccuracy of police recorded crimes, is more detailed, shows the Dark Figure of Crime through sexual and domestic abuse cases.

Question 19

What are the limitations of victim surveys?

Answer 19

Victimless crimes aren’t included, child victims aren’t included and are not that representative.

Question 20

What did Young say about the Dark Figure of Crime in victim surveys?

Answer 20

There is hidden crime within victim surveys also, as not all ages or types of crime are included.

Question 21

What are self report studies?

Answer 21

`Surveys questioning those who claim to have committed a crime themselves.

Question 22

What are the advantages of self report studies?

Answer 22

Shows petty crime is more prevalent, uses mixed methods and have validity in longitudinal nature.

Question 23

What are the limitations of self report studies?

Answer 23

People may withdraw statements, relies on memory and crime definition is subjective.

Question 24

What is a study that shows self report studies are longitudinal?

Answer 24

‘The Cambridge Study’ (Farrington et al) that followed boys age 8 to 32 and assessed the rates of crime among them as they grew up.

Question 25

What is a study that shows self report studies are qualitative?

Answer 25

‘The Jack-Roller’ (Shaw) that used unstructured interviews to build up a ‘life story’.

Question 26

What is a study that shows self report studies are quantitative?

Answer 26

‘The typical criminal’ (Campbell) that shows the image the police recognise as a typical delinquent is inaccurate.