measuring crime Flashcards
what does ocs stand for?
official crime statistics
what are the 2 types of data collected by the ocs?
-police record crime reported by victims, the public, and officers
-annual victim survey: csew
what does the csew stand for?
Crime Survey for England and Wales
how many people annually are involved in the csew?
40,000
what are some advantages to police recorded crime figures?
identifies successfully:
-volume of crime
-the types of crime committed
-trends in crime
-effectiveness of the law
what are some limitations to police recorded crime figures?
-does not account for the dark figure of crime
-police discretion
in 2014, uk parliament found ___ % of crime reported to police were not recorded
1 in 5 crimes reported were unrecorded
what is a marxist/ interactionist argument against police crime stats?
question validity of them. police statistics are a social construction not based on objective facts. statistics reflect more about society than crime
what is the dark figure of crime?
all unreported crimes
what is the ‘clear up rate of crime’?
the proportion of recorded crimes which are solved and the perpetrator is charged
how many new offences did the labour government create between 1997 and 2010?
3,600
what did anderson et al in 1994 say about the police?
that they were more likely to arrest youth if they were interpreted as disrespectful
what did left realist young 1988 say about the csew?
doesnt detail on specific locations in the uk
what are some disadvantages of self report studies?
-usually cover minor crimes
-poor validity
belson 1986 self report study research:
majority of adolescent boys admit to crime, confirming a dark figure of crime
campbell 1981 self report study research;
majority of teenage girls admit to crime, confirming a dark figure of crime
sharp and budd 2005 self report study:
-mixed-race participants were more likely to admit to class c drug use
-white participants were more likely to admit to class a drug use
what is youngs critique of victim surveys?
assumes everyone is equally likely to be a victim of crime