Official statistic in crime and victimology Flashcards
what is a social fact?
The idea that something is true and valid and that we should take official statistics at face value
What is a social construction?
Statistics are biased and reflect values of society rather than owning absolute truth
What is the dark figure of crime?
The crimes which are not reported e.g. rape
Why are some crimes not reported?
Fear of it not working, being an illegal immigrant, expensive for lawyers, could incriminate yourself, some people don’t trust the police
What survey looks at victims and what have they found?
The british crime survey (BCS) found that 4% of crimes are reported .
Evaluation for the british crime survey?
Its limited to memory
doesn’t look at corporate crime or those against homeless people as its a phone interview
early surveys omitted young people
Who did unstructured victim surveys on women?
Dobash and Dobash
What did Dobash and Dobash find?
77% have experienced violence in a relationship but interpreted it as anger or how serious they were in the relationship. It often became routine and they didn’t realise they were victims.
Who studied inner city London citizens?
Lee and Young
What did Lee and Young find?
Inner city London citizens worry about unemployment as much as they did assault. 28% of them felt unsafe in their homes
