Official Statistics

Question 1

What are official statistics

Answer 1

Official statistics are numerical data produced by national and local governments. They cover a wide range of issues including births , deaths , marriages and divorces

Question 2

Types of official statistics

Answer 2

-Crime statistics
-Police recorded crime
- Victim surveys

Question 3

What are victim surveys

Answer 3

Official statistics on crime , they take the form of structured interviews and ask participants whether they have been victims of particular crimes over the past year.

Question 4

What are crime statistics

Answer 4

Statistics that measure the extent of crime.

Question 5

Strengths of official statistics

Answer 5

• Official statistics are readily available and cost little or nothing to use.

-Care is taken to select representative samples and sample sizes are often large

• some official statistics such as those on births and deaths are seen as both valid and reliable

Question 6

Limitations of official statistics

Answer 6

-They involve problems of validity due to what governments choose to include & exclude. Not all people crimes are reported.

-Does not reveal reasons for people’s behaviour

-Not all information may be available to those collecting the statistics