Crime And Deviance - Measuring Crime

Question 1

What are the source of crime statistics?

Answer 1

Police recorded crime
Victim surveys
Self-report studies
Court & prison records

Question 2

What is police recorded crime?

Answer 2

Crime that is detected, reported to & recorded by the police

Question 3

What are Victim surveys?

Answer 3

A face-to-face survey where households are asked about their experience of crime within the last 12 months e.g. the crime survey for England and Wales (CSEW)

Question 4

What are self-report studies?

Answer 4

Anonymous questionnaires where participants own up to crimes whether discovered or not

Question 5

What are court & prison records?

Answer 5

Records that reveal some of the characteristics of offenders who have been caught

Question 6

What are crime statistics used for?

Answer 6

Comparing crime rates with previous years
Revealing police efficiency and to help them concentrate their resources
Providing the public with information about criminal activity

Question 7

Why do sociologists treat statistics with caution?

Answer 7

They reveal more about the process of reporting (by the public) and collecting (by the police)

Question 8

SOCIOLOGIST: Why do labelling theorists criticise statistics?

Answer 8

Argue they reveal more about the definitions & stereotypes adopted by the police & courts

Question 9

What are the problems with the representativeness of statistics?

Answer 9

Unrecorded crime -> not all crimes are recorded which produces a ‘dark figure of crime’

Question 10

What 3 things must happen before a crime is reported?

Answer 10

Must come to someone’s attention
Must be reported to police
Police must be willing to accept the law has been broken

Question 11

SOCIOLOGIST: What criticisms of statistics do Jones & Young have?

Answer 11

The problem with the crime rate is that it is based on crimes reported to the police

Question 12

What are the factors that affect the reporting & recording of crime?

Answer 12

Public reporting
Invisible crime
The police
The judiciary
Media & Politics

Question 13

Why do some people not report crime?

Answer 13

Can be seen as too petty
Only reported if it is beneficial
They distrust the police
The victim is unaware
The victim is unable to report the crime
The victim is embarrassed
The victim doesn’t want to harm the offender
They see it as a ‘private matter’

Question 14

SOCIOLOGIST: What do Kinsey, Lea & Young say about people’s trust in the police?

Answer 14

Inner city residents have little faith in the police
w class people turn a blind eye & not get involved in crime (fear of reprisal from the criminals)

Question 15

What is invisible crime?

Answer 15

A crime where victims are unaware it has occurred e.g. white collar crime (hard to detect)
Hidden by internal inquiry

Question 16

What is the police response to crime?

Answer 16

Many crimes deemed as petty & usually take the social background of the reporter into account

Question 17

What is the police’s categorisation of crime?

Answer 17

When they ‘filter’ crimes

Question 18

What is dispersal of resources?

Answer 18

When resources are targeted by police

Question 19

What is differential enforcement?

Answer 19

Regional priorities taken by the police

Question 20

What is police discretion?

Answer 20

Selective policing (gender, ethnicity etc.)

Question 21

What is police culture?

Answer 21

The police’s attitude to arrests/levels etc.

Question 22

What are some issues with the judiciary?

Answer 22

Stereotyping in court
Solicitors crafting of cases
Biased jurors
‘middle class/white’ magistrates
Police distortion of facts

Question 23

How does politics affect crime?

Answer 23

Laws created -> creates biased attention to certain groups & the power of certain groups to shape the law in their interests

Question 24

How does the media affect crime?

Answer 24

deviance amplification & sensitisation

Question 25

What are the strengths of victims surveys?

Answer 25

help to overcome the problem of offences not being reported to the police

Question 26

What are the criticisms of victims surveys?

Answer 26

People may exaggerate/lie -> social desirability bias People may forget they were a victim -> might have repressed traumatic memories Doesn't include all crime -> surveys households & excludes commercial premises e.g. no shops = no record of business crime Issues with generalisability

Question 27

What is the logic behind victim surveys?

Answer 27

People tell researchers more about their experience of crime than to the police because it is confidential -> gains more accurate picture of criminal activity

Question 28

Who are the real victims of crime?

Answer 28

Young, w class black males

Question 29

What are some strengths of self-report techniques?

Answer 29

Provides information about the characteristics of offenders that aren't reported to/caught by police Help discover the risk factors with offending e.g. difficult childhood

Question 30

What are some criticisms of self-report techniques?

Answer 30

Issues with validity -> people exaggerate/lie (if the crime is really bad e.g. paedophilia Relies on memory -> people may not remember every offence May ignore the respondent's own definition of crime -> some subcultures find some crimes common & accept it Lack of representation -> Those who live chaotic lifestyles/persistent or serious offenders may not participate

Question 31

What do functionalists think about statistics?

Answer 31

Stats accurate & representative (useful for establishing patterns)

Question 32

What do interactionists think about statistics?

Answer 32

stats are social constructions & useful to reveal stereotypes create self-fulfilling prophecy provide police a guide of 'typical offender'

Question 33

What do Marxists/Neo-Marxists think about statistics?

Answer 33

They are biased, underrepresent crimes of the powerful and give an impression all crimes w class

Question 34

What do feminists think about statistics?

Answer 34

underrepresent extent of female crime & crimes committed by men against women

Question 35

What do left realists think about statistics?

Answer 35

they are broadly correct though underrepresent white-collar & corporate crime & exaggerate w class crime particularly by some minority ethnic groups