Measuring Crime Flashcards
(25 cards)
What are recorded crime statistics?
Official data compiled from police reports. They include crimes that are investigated, whether or not they lead to a conviction.
What are the limitations of recorded crime statistics?
Not all reported crimes are recorded; police may filter out cases or misclassify incidents.
What are reported crimes?
Crimes brought to the attention of the police by victims, witnesses, or third parties
What are reasons some crimes go unreported?
Fear, shame, mistrust of police, thinking the crime is too trivial, or believing nothing will be done.
Why might reported crimes not be recorded?
Police discretion, lack of evidence, assumptions that no crime occurred, or administrative filtering.
What is a victim survey?
A large-scale study (e.g., British Crime Survey) that asks around 50,000 people annually if they’ve been victims of crime in the past year.
What are strengths of victim surveys?
They uncover the ‘dark figure’ of crime – crimes not reported or recorded by the police.
What are limitations of victim surveys?
People may not realize they were victims, misremember incidents, or define crime differently than the law.
What are court records?
Official records of prosecuted cases, including details about the defendants, victims, crime types, and trial outcomes
What are weaknesses of court record data?
Only reflect crimes that reach court. Many crimes are dropped, resolved outside of court, or end in plea deals.
What are prison records used for in crime analysis?
To study the demographic makeup of inmates (age, class, ethnicity), sentence lengths, and reoffending rates.
Why can prison data give a biased view of crime?
Not all crimes lead to imprisonment. Wealthier offenders often avoid custody, skewing data toward working-class offenders.
What is a self-report survey?
A confidential survey asking people if they’ve personally committed any crimes in the past year.
What are strengths of self-report surveys?
They reveal hidden offending and help measure the gap between actual and recorded crime.
What are weaknesses of self-report surveys?
Relies on honesty and memory. Some may deny or forget crimes, or not realize certain behaviors are criminal (e.g., speeding).
What is the Functionalist view on crime statistics?
Functionalists (and Right Realists) generally accept official statistics as valid and objective representations of crime patterns.
How do Interactionists view crime statistics?
As social constructions — shaped by police practices, stereotypes, and societal reactions, rather than true crime levels.
Why do Interactionists criticize official stats?
They argue statistics reflect the biases of law enforcement rather than actual offending.
What is the Marxist/Neo-Marxist view of crime statistics?
They argue stats reflect ruling-class interests, focusing on working-class street crime while ignoring white-collar and corporate crime.
Why do Marxists say official crime statistics are biased?
Because they are produced by state institutions that criminalize the poor while shielding the powerful.
What is the feminist critique of crime statistics?
Official stats under-represent female offenders and underreport crimes against women like rape and domestic abuse.
Why do feminists say crimes against women are underreported?
Due to fear, stigma, mistrust in authorities, and victim-blaming attitudes in the justice system.
What do Left Realists believe about official crime statistics?
They see them as broadly accurate but argue they exaggerate working-class crime and underplay white-collar and corporate crime.
Why do Left Realists still value crime statistics?
Because they help understand crime patterns in deprived urban areas, even if they’re not perfect.
