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)