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CRIME STATISTICSCrime and Deviance GCSE Sociology
Where do crime figures come from? Victim surveys – British Crime Survey Self report studies – Offending, Crime
and Justice Survey Official statistics - crimes recorded
by the police
Victim Survey
Sample of 40,000 homes 16 and over England and Wales Have you been a victim of an offence
in the last 12 months? Where they reported to the police? Does not cover all crime - murder,
fraud or victimless crimes are not recorded
Self report Studies
Question people about their own offending
Drug use, anti-social behaviour amongst 10 to 25 age group
Sample taken from households in England and Wales
Provides information on crime which may not be dealt with by the courts or police
Official police statistics Recorded by the police Published annually by the Home
Office – Crime in England and Wales Positives… Statistics collected for a long time –
can look for patterns and trends Can compare different parts of the
UK Negative….What do you think?
Is all crime reported and recorded?????
The Dark Figure of Crime….
What is the “Dark Figure”?
Why are some crimes not reported?
Why do you think that some crimes are not reported?
Discovery…
Discovery..
What if the victim is unaware that a crime has taken place?
If a thief takes £5 from a wallet containing £45 it may go unnoticed
The crime may not be witnessed
Crime or accident…?
Crime or accident…?
A victim must define an incident as criminal
If this smashed window is seen as accidental damage them is there any chance of it being reported?
Reporting crime…
Are crimes that are witnesses or discovered reported to the police?
BCS 2007/2008 58% of crimes not reported
How will this effect the crime figures?
Crimes that are reported….
Crimes that are reported…
93% of car theft and burglaries
Why is this figure so high?
Crimes that are not reported…. Too trivial Victim suffered no loss Fear of insensitivity….rape, serious assault,
domestic violence, child abuse Too private….don’t want to involve the
police Work place crime ….employers often deal
with it themselves rather than involve the police – this may account for the amount of white collar crime such as fraud/theft in the work place being under reported
Police may choose not to record a crime… Too trivial Doubt the honesty of the person reporting Not enough evidence
Sociologists are very cautious when using official statistics
They may not show the true figure of crime They believe crime statistics are socially
constructed
Social Construction….
The statistics are socially constructed as they are a result of a series of decisions made by individuals
The individual…they decide if they are going to report the crime
The police make decisions if they are going to report a crime
Has the crime been defined as a crime…who’s definition….Society? Police? Individuals?
Homework questions
Explain why a victim survey might show the number of crimes actually committed more accurately than police statistics. (5 marks)
Discuss how far sociologists would agree that official statistics of crimes recorded by the police provides a complete picture of the extent of crime in Britain. (12 marks)