Sociological Perspectives on Measuring Crime

Question 1

What are the three methods for measuring crime?

Answer 1

Police recorded statistics, victim surveys and self-report studies.

Question 2

Positivists

Answer 2

Objective. Based on the uncritical acceptance of the accuracy of official criminal statistics. Early sociological theories of crime and deviance.

Question 3

Interpretivist

Answer 3

Subjective. Rejects the accuracy of crime statistics. Instead, it concentrates on understanding the way they are socially constructed. Labelling.

Question 4

Marxists

Answer 4

Believe the law and its enforcement reflects the interests of the ruling class. The crimes of the poor are strictly enforced and the immoral activities of the rich are either ignored or not defined as criminal.

Question 5

Feminists

Answer 5

Believe that crime statistics do not reflect the amount of crime against women, such as sexual attacks and domestic violence. These often occur in a ‘private’ domestic setting where the police are reluctant to get involved. Also, many women do not feel they can report ehse offences.

Question 6

Left Realists

Answer 6

Accepts that crime is a genuine problem, especially for poorer groups in society. Crime statistics cannot simply be rejected as inaccurate. Left realists favour detailed victim surveys in local areas. These can reveal the basis for many people’s genuine fear of crime