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Sociology - Crime And Deviance > Measuring Crime > Flashcards

Measuring Crime Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What do we need to look at when measuring crime?

A
  • the number of crimes reported
  • unreported crimes
  • how we perceive crime vs the actual patterns of crime
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2
Q

How is crime recorded?

A

Official statistics

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3
Q

What are the 3 methods to create official statistics of crime?

A
  • police recorded crime statistics
  • victim surveys
  • self report studies
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4
Q

What are police recorded crime statistics?

A
  • collected since 1857

- published every 6 months by home office

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5
Q

What are victim surveys?

A
  • e.g crime survey for England and Wales
  • face to face survey of victim
  • conducted yearly by home office
  • 40,000 over age 10 in England and Wales are asked about experience
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6
Q

What are self report studies?

A
  • surveys to ask if p’s have committed crimes

- conducted by government departments and sociological researchers

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7
Q

What are the 3 most common crimes recorded in England and Wales? (May 2019)

A
  1. Violence against a person: 36,536
  2. Theft offences: 24,825
  3. Criminal damage: 17,886
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8
Q

What 3 offences are least likely to be reported?

A
  1. Sexual offences: 3551, fear of attacker / embarrassment
  2. Drug offences: 7383, doesn’t affect anyone else
  3. Possession of weapon: 1047, not all p’s can be identified
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9
Q

How many people on every age are victims?

A
  • latest survey: 14 in 100 adults

- survey 10 years ago: 24 in 100 adults

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10
Q

Why can police report statistics (PRS) be inaccurate?

A
  • product of society
  • only show crimes that are reported and recorded
  • dark figure: unreported crimes
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11
Q

Why are people less likely to report crimes!

A
  • fear of consequences of reporting
  • crime is within family
  • some seen as unnecessary
  • some don’t know if it’s a crime
  • embarrassed
  • not able to report e.g child abuse
  • self incrimination
  • victim less crime e.g graffiti
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12
Q

Why are people more likely to report a crime?

A
  • immediate physical danger
  • if you gain e.g compensation
  • if conviction rates are high
  • if others come forward
  • have faith in the police
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13
Q

What was found from a report in 2014?

A
  • 1/5 crimes reported that should have been recorded weren’t included in stats
  • police are filtering info reported by public
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14
Q

What factors affect if you he police recorded a crime?

A
  • seriousness of offence
  • police have limited funding so prioritise bigger crimes
  • police can turn a blind eye
  • social status of person reporting it e.g homeless
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15
Q

What are the strengths of police recorded crime stats?

A
  • representative of England and Wales: large scale, generalise
  • can reveal police assumptions and stereotypes
  • reliable
  • easy to access: can find online
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16
Q

What are the weakness of police recorded statistics?

A
  • not valid: doesn’t include dark figure
  • ignores corporate crime
  • doesn’t explain why crimes are committed
  • different police forces may have more staff so record more crimes and vise versa
17
Q

What are the strengths of victim surveys?

A
  • reveals crime p’s feel necessary to report
  • no police bias
  • can show trends over time
  • anonymous so p’s might be more truthful
18
Q

What are the weakness of victim surveys?

A
  • rely on victims memories and recollections
19
Q

What are the strengths of self report studies?

A
  • p’s more likely to tell the truth
  • reveal hidden offenders
  • removes police bias and police stereotyping
  • useful to find out victim less crime
20
Q

What are the weaknesses of self report studies?

A
  • might downplay or exaggerate
  • majority of crimes revealed tend to be criminal
  • majority are on young p’s so don’t reflect older p’s
21
Q

What do functionalists say about official statistics?

A
  • reliable
  • objective
  • can identify and measure patterns behaviour
  • can test hypothesis and develop laws to explain patterns of behaviour
22
Q

What do Marxists say about crime statistics?

A
  • reject crime stats
  • reflect inequalities and scope gating
  • working class crimes are investigated
  • corporate crimes are ignored
23
Q

What do feminists say about crime statistics?

A
  • reject crime stats
  • don’t reveal amount of crime against women
  • e.g sexual attacks and domestic violence
  • occur in private which police are reluctant to get involved in
24
Q

How do interactionists view crime stats?

A
  • Rejects crime statistics
  • social constructed
  • represent the labels officials attach to p’s

Sociology - Crime And Deviance (16 decks)

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