Patterns Of Crime And Crime Statistics Flashcards
Police recorded crime
Crime statistics are socially constructed- they are the end product of processes which manipulate what they show. For example: 1990s- all time high in crime. This is an artificial increase.
Dark figure
There is an estimated 800,000 crimes that go unreported due to the amount of discretion the police have. For example: in 2003 the sexual offences act included indecent exposure- caused a 17% increase in crime overnight. In 2012, stalking was an official criminal offence, in 1997, criminal damages counted for all values, not just £20 or over.
Issues with crime statistics
Crimes dealt by Inland Revenue and the British Transport police are separately recorded and don’t appear in official crime statistics.
Multiple crimes against one victim are counted as one crime.
Previously, only indictable offences were counted, but summary offences count too now.
June 2020 - the Manchester police
Over 80,000 crimes went unrecorded by the Manchester police. Some closed prematurely, some unreported.
1/5 of all crimes went unrecorded
1/4 crimes of all violent crimes went u;recorded
7/10 domestic violence cases were closed prematurely
Why might crime go unreported to the police?
Lack of faith in police: 1/2 of all ethnic minorities and women lack confidence in police.
Victims may be unaware of their own victimisation: crimes like identity theft and fraud is likely to be done discreetly and young children may not recignise recognise abuse or crime at home.
Some crimes are victimless: who’s the victim in drug deals and prostitution?
Fear of reprisals: victims can be afraid of their abusers or ex gang members may be afraid of being hunted down by gang due to ‘snitching’.
The crime survey
Victim survey - between 36,000 and 46,000 interviews take place with victims of over 16 y/os. Since 2009, an additional sample of victims between 10 to 15 years were added in.
Victims were asked whether they’d been victimised in the last 12 months. There’s a 75% response rate. This shows that there’s twice the crime in society than what police say.
The survey does not cover theft from businesses, fraud or murder.
The crime survey - criticisms
It doesn’t include crimes against children, against the homeless or people in prison.
Suffers problems with telescoping.
Self report studies
Study asks what crimes someone has committed in the past 12 months. Shows that crime is a lot more normalised than we really think.
This research suggests only 3% of crimes end in conviction or caution.
Focuses on street crimes, not white collar crimes.
Proves that more men commit crimes than women, and the lower the social class, the more likely someone is to commit crimes. The majority of crimes are committed by young people.
There is an even distribution of offences against all ethnic groups.
Self report studies - criticisms
Crimes may be exaggerated or downplayed. Some may not be mentioned at all.
Limited and close ended questions can lead to misunderstandings.
