Problems in defining Crime Flashcards
What is considered a crime and how it is dealt with?
varies considerably from culture to culture
What is all research in forensic psychology considered?
Ethnocentric
What are official statistics?
government records of all recorded crime in the previous year, based on police reports
What is an issue with official statistics?
lack validity as not all crime is reported or recorded by the police. For example, domestic violence against men is an under reported crime.
What is a second issue with using offical statistics?
lack reliability as there are differences between police forces about which crimes are recorded, for example some police forces do not record theft if the value is less than £10.
What are victim surveys?
Crime Survey for England and Wales selects 50,000 households randomly and asks them to document any crimes they have been a victim of in the past year.
what is an issue with victim surveys?
Respondents may get years mixed up and report a crime happening in that year, when in fact it was the year before, this is known as telescoping
What is a strength of victim surveys?
higher in validity that official statistics as victims are more likely to report trivial offences in these surveys, things they wouldn’t go to the police with, as they might think it a waste of time.
What are offender surveys?
nvolve Individuals volunteering the number and types of crimes they have committed
Who do offender surveys tend to target?
offenders based on ‘risk’ factors such as previous convictions, age, social background etc
What are issues with offender surveys?
lack validity as offenders are unlikely to be truthful about the real extent of their own criminality. It may also be that they can’t accurately remember how many crimes, they have committed and exactly when they took place
