Topic 1: Measurement of Crime and Deviance Flashcards
What are some examples of surveys that measure crime? (3)
BCS
Victim Survey
Self-report studies
What does the release of crime figures spread concern about?
That the country is experiencing a crime wave
What are the strengths of official statistics? (6)
Cheap Readily available Covers large part of the population Collected by the state - high validity Comparable with previous statistics - trends and patterns - ability to go back and check findings - reliable Few ethical problems
When were official statistics collected since? And what does this provide?
1857
A historical overview of changing trends
Official statistics are a social construction, they can not be taken at face value. What are the only crimes that they show?
Crimes reported to and recorded by the police.
Official stats are purely quantitative data. What do they not show?
Don’t show hidden issues and causes for the offence
Interactionists critique on quantitative official stats
Need qualitative data to gain ‘verstehen’
BCS - we know individuals are less likely to report a crime to the police if the regard it as (5)
Too trivial Private matter Embarrassing The victim may not be in a position to give info They may fear retaliation
People are more likely to report a crime if…
2
They see some benefit to themselves e.g. claim benefits (inflates claims - invalid)
Have faith in the police ability to achieve a positive result
Some reported crimes are still unrecorded by police and therefore fail to appear in the official stats. What statistic supports this?
57% of all crimes committed that are reported to the police don’t appear in the official stats
Define Cuffing
When police do not record crimes they think they would be unable to solve
Statistic that represents the ‘criminal iceberg’
Approx. 10% of crime are actually uncovered by the police
Maguire
Official crime figures don’t include all crimes, such as, tax evasions and benefits fraud
Plea-bargaining
Where the defence in court bargains for the lightest possible prosecution
Weaknesses of official statistics (6)
Data on deviance may not be available
Many crimes are not recognised by the victim (e.g. they think their wallet is lost)
Depends on the individuals definition of crime - may not consider it to be a crime so doesn’t report the action
Some who are convicted are innocent, some who aren’t convicted are guilty
This means there us a huge lack of validity within the data collected
Statistics are affected by the changes in recording policies e.g. damage to property worth
Coughing is a form of plea-bargaining, define the term
The police encourage people to own up to crimes they haven’t committed in return for leniency in sentencing
Functionalist view on official statistics (Include sociologist) (3)
Used them to develop patterns
Merton - assumed stats were valid and reliable and used them to develop theories about the working class and crime
Useful because it covers a large population
Marxist view on official statistics (3)
Working class are criminalised by statistics as the ruling class engage in manipulation as stats are used to maintain ruling class ideology STATS ARE IDEOLOGICAL WEAPONRY OF BOURGEOISIE Prosecuting crime is a subjective process - white collar crime is rarely measured and prosecuted - the law doesn't define crimes of the rich as criminal
Feminist view on official statistics (4)
Criticise patriarchal nature of stats
Gender stereotypes are transmitted through the use of selective laws and punishments
Stats do not reflect amount of crime committed against women (e.g. sexual attacks and domestic violence)
Women feel they cannot report these offences due to it being a private matter
Left realist view of official stats (2)
Stats are flawed
However there is a reality to crime
Interactionist view of stats (4)
Regards official stats as of little worth
Numerical data tells us little about the mind of the criminal or deviant person
We need qualitative data to gain verstehen
Stats are a social construction
What are official statistics?
Crimes recorded by the police and statistics about people who have been convicted of offences
What are victim surveys?
A sample of the population (locally or nationally) is asked which offences have been committed against them over a certain period of time
How often are victim surveys carried out?
Annually and 48,000 interviews are conducted in homes
How has the home office used data from victim surveys?
The home office now includes this data in its statistics
What are the strengths of victim surveys? (2)
Covers large target population
Overcomes how a lot of crimes go unrecorded by the police, makes it more reliable
What are the weaknesses of victim surveys? (3)
A number of crimes are not covered by the survey e.g. crimes against business
Interview effects
Up to 40% of all incidents reported to the police were not recorded as crimes
Reporting varied enormously according to the crime
How should the findings of BCS be treated?
With caution
What were the statistics that showed how reporting varied enormously according the the crime (Victim surveys)? (3)
93% - vehicle thefts
36% - assaults without injury
32% - vandalism
Croall - 4 main problems with victim surveys
Crimes can only be reported if victims are aware of them
Results are limited by respondents memory and definitions of events
Survey only covers households so doesn’t cover crimes committed against businesses or organisations
Sample doesn’t include people under 16
Left realist view of victim surveys
Some groups are more likely to be victimised than others
Can reveal peoples genuine fear of crimes
What viewpoint does Cicourel take?
Interactionist
What does Cicourel believe about stats being a social construction?
The police are prone to judging people and labels applied will affect offending rates
Becker (interactionist) supports Cicourel saying…
Deviance is a product of labels applied to individuals
Explain how the media sensitises perceptions of crimes for victims
The media plays a key role in portrayal of crimes, meaning some can have heightened sensitivity causing the public to report more of that crime
Provide an example of how the media has sensitised the public towards certain crimes
Change in portrayal of domestic violence from a family matter to being a criminal activity
What are self-report studies?
Surveys where people admit to crimes they have committed
What do self-report studies aim to do?
To build up a picture of the deviant and their social characteristics
What weakness does self-report studies respond to?
The fact that most criminals are not part of the CJS
How do SRS contradict official stats?
Shows that stats exaggerate the extent of working class and some male crime
How does SRS show the criminal iceberg
Only a small number of offenders are convicted of crimes
Box (SRS)
Data from 40 SRS from diff countries rejected impression created by official stats that w/c youths are more likely to engage in delinquency than m/c youths - these can be compared with official stats to discover which type of offender is most likely to be convicted and show that only a small portion of offenders are convicted of crimes
Strengths of SRS? (3)
Discover characteristics of criminals
The data can be compared with official conviction rates to discover which types of offender are most likely to be convicted
Strong form of survey - estimated through lie detector tests that around 80% of those who respond do tell the truth
Graham and Bowling (SRS)
Social class had no influence on whether young British males and females would admit to having committed offences, although lower social classes were more likely to, to more serious offences
Weaknesses of SRS (4)
They may exaggerate/forgotten the offence - less validity
Limited number of offences may covered
Samples are often distorted - therefore ignores crimes committed by other less accessible groups - low representativeness
Individuals may wish to conceal their acts
What types of crime may be ignored on SRS?
White-collar/corporate crime
What term has Garland introduced?
Responsibilisation
Explain Garlands notion of responsibilisation (3 stages)
The gov. engages in risk management - pushes responsibility for avoiding being victims of crime back onto individuals - The stats are part of this process of informing individuals how best to avoid being victims of crime
What percentage of violent crime was recorded in BCS?
20%
Who are most likely to be victims of violence?
Young unemployed/low-waged males
What % cases of violence do the victim and perpetrator know each other?
88%
Who are most likely to be victims of property crime?
Low income households living in poorer areas
Define repeat victimisation
Where the victim is targeted more than once
What is the peak age for offending in males
18
What is the peak age for offending in females
14
