Measuring Crime Flashcards
What are patterns of crime?
The numbers recorded by police and the crimes not recorded.
- Perceptions about crime do not always match patterns of crime through statistics.
What is police recorded crime (PRC)?
Offences detected by or reported to the police, and recorded by them.
Form the basis for official crime statistics.
Strengths of PRC:
- Reveals police assumptions and stereotyping, as statistics are generated by activities of police themselves.
- Useful for understanding crime patterns and allows comparisons from past statistics to discover trends.
Weaknesses of PRC:
- Dark figure of crime (not all crime is reported/recorded). 57% of all crime reported fails to make it into official statistics.
- The Role of the Courts: only 75% plead guilty, judges decide if someones guilty or not, and this could be influenced by appearance, gender, etc.
What factors may affect police decision to record a crime?
Seriousness = not worth reporting as it fails to be defined as a crime. E.g: anti-social behaviour.
Discretion = The chances of being arrested for an offence depends on the ‘demeanour’ of the person.
Promotion = Arrests reflect a balance between comradeship and a desire for promotion; fellow officers dislike someone who is too ‘keen’.
What are Victim Surveys?
Survey the victims of crime, including unreported crime. A sample is selected, asked which offences have been committed against them. E.g: Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW).
Evaluation of Victim Surveys:
Strengths = Overcomes unreported/unrecorded crimes, gives a picture of patterns of victimisation, provides insight into victims of crime.
Weaknesses = People may exaggerate/lie, relies on victims’ memories (may have repressed traumatic incidents or forget victimisation), victim may be unaware of crime.
What are Self-report studies?
Asks what offences people have committed and whether or not they were caught - to own up.
Evaluation = provides information on characteristics of offenders, takes victimless crimes into account. But offenders may exaggerate/lie, may not own up to worse offences.
