the social distribution of crime ---> gender Flashcards
TYPES OF CRIME STATISTICS
3 types of crime statistics
- police recorded statistics
- victim studies
- self report studies
one example of police recorded statistics
official statistics
what do official statistics tell us about rates of?
reporting, recording and conviction, public and police practice and trend in crime over time
how often is the official crime tate compiled?
annually by the police for the home office
what does the official crime rate show that criminals are likely to be?
male, w/c, young, disproportionately black, poor educational record and come from a ‘broken home’
2 strengths of official crime statistics
- easily accessible and up-to-date (published yearly)
- use the statistics to generate and test sociological explanations of crime e.g., left realists take official statistics at face value
2 weaknesses of official crime statistics
- CSEW shows the public don’t alway report crimes e.g., due to a belief the police would or could do nothing, shame. this lowers the validity of official statistics
- police dont record all crime. e.g., due to lack of evidence and resources CSEW estimates police only record 75% of reported crime. creates a dark figure of crime
why cant police recorded statistics be taken at face value?
they can be seen as a social construction
what are victim studies?
the CSEW asks people to report all cases where they have been a victim of crime in the last year.
what do victim studies give a clearer idea of?
the extent of crime, who is likely to be a victim and people’s fears about crime
2 strengths of victim studies
- overcome the problem of offences not recorded by police, so are more valid e.g., domestic violence
- they’re a social survey so provide quantitative data that is representative and reliable and favoured by positivists
2 weaknesses of victim surveys
- people may have been a victim of crime and not realise it or they may give false answers
- people may have difficulty remembering whether and how they’ve been a victim of crime which reduces the validity of the data
what are self-report studies?
ask ordinary people to confess to crimes they committed over the past year
what do self-report studies give a better picture of?
high levels of petty criminality
what crimes do self-report studies focus on?
minor misdemeanour rather than serious acts of deviance
2 strengths of self-report studies
- useful to find out about ‘hidden offenders’ who aren’t caught by police
- can uncover ‘victimless’ crime such as illelgal drug use
2 weaknesses of self-report studies
- respondents can forget, play-down or exaggerate the extent of criminal activity they’ve been involved in
- most are done on young people so samples are unrepresentative
GENDER AND CRIME
what % of offenders that commit sexual offences are male?
97%
what % of offenders that commit sexual offences are female?
3%
why did male-dominated criminology traditionally neglect female criminality?
because females were seen as committing less crime, and female behaviour was seen as less in need of controlling
what % of females have a criminalconviction by the age of 40?
9%
what % of males have a criminalconviction by the age of 40?
32%
EXPLANATIONS FOR MALE CRIME
what is Messerschmidt (1993) main idea?
masculinity as a social construct
what does Messerschmidt say about masculinity?
men have to work at constructing and presenting it to others
what does Messerschmidt say is the most dominant form of masculinity?
hegemnic masculinity
what is hegemonic masculinity?
‘work in the paid-labour market, the subordination of women, heterosexism and the driven and uncontrollable sexuality of men’
what kind of masculinities do other men have?
subordinated masculinities
3 examples of men who may have subordinated masculinities
- gay men
- lower-class men
- ethnic minority men
what does Messerschmidt see crime and deviance as a way for some men accomplishing?
masculinity
why do white middle-class youths accomodate masculinity in school?
they have to subordinate themselves to teavhers in order to achieve m/c status
how do white middle-class youths accomodate masculinity outside school?
through drinking, pranks and vandalism`
what do white working-class youths construct their masculinity around?
sexist attitudes, being tough and opposing teachers’ authority
where do white working-class youths express their masculinity?
inside and outside of school
what study does white working-class youths’ masculinity link to?
Willis
how may black working-class youths express their masculinity?
gang membership and violence