measuring crime Flashcards
(20 cards)
measuring crime
what are the two ways that crime is measured in england and wales?
- police recorded crime stats
- the crime survey of England and Wales
measuring crime
what are the main problems with police recorded crime?
- the dark figure of crime
- police targeting
- overrepresentation of certain groups in police recorded crime
- differences in cases recorded by police across different police forces
measuring crime
official statistcs
- statistics published by the government or other official bodies
measuring crime
what type of data is official statistics and who favours it?
- quantitative data
- positivists
measuring crime
what are 3 advantages of official statistics?
- should be quite current, representative and reliable
- can be used to identify patterns and trends
- time and cost effective
measuring crime
which sociologist can be linked to using official statistics to identify patterns and trends?
- Durkeim as this helps to identify cause and effect relationships
measuring crime
what are 3 disadvantages of official statistics?
- sociologists say that official statistics are a social construct (not objectively tru and not a social fact)
- official stats may be manipulated by the government to appear a certain way
- offical statistics dont cover the dark figure of crime
measuring crime
victimisation studies
- a study in which individuals are questioned about what crimes they have been a victim of
measuring crime
what are 3 advantages of victimisation studies?
- can help uncover the dark figure of crime
- high reliability and representativeness
- can be used to identify trends
measuring crime
what are 3 disadvantages of victimisation studies?
- victims must be aware and remember if theyve been a victim of crime
- a household survey, so exludes homeless individuals and prisoners
- does not include victimless crimes or crimes where the victim cannot report the crime such as murder
measuring crime
self report studies
- a way of studying crime where individuals are asked to talk about crimes they have committed
measuring crime
what are 3 advantages of self report studies?
- useful for investigating victimless or pretty crimes which may not have been reported crimes eg underage drinking
- provides an indivication of the extend to which crime may be misrepresented in official stats
- Can help identify trends in offending eg who commits what crimes
measuring crime
what are the disadvantages of self report studies?
- individuals are unlikely to be truthful about if theyve commited a serious crime
- concerns about validity of individuals answers
- repondants may interpret questions differently eg what counts as theft
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what did report Stephen Box say about self report studies?
- Box stated that in self report studies , individuals may exaggerate their criminality or be unwilling to admit their criminality
measuring crime
crime survey for england and wales (CSEW)
- a study involving face to face structured interviews with a sample of around 35,000 adults
measuring crime
how long has the CSEW been going?
- 40 years
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what type of study/s is the CSEW?
- a self report and victimisation study
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what are 3 advantages of the CSEW?
- looks at patterns and trends in crime
- helps to investigate unreported crime
- high reliability and quite high representativeness
measuring crime
what are 3 disadvantages of the CSEW?
- individuals must be away they have been a victim of crime to disclose it
- face to face structured interviews may mean individuals do not feel comfortable enough to disclose if theyve been a victim (no rapport)
- researchers discard certain events if they dont think they constitute crime - impacts validity of the data
measuring crime
how many crimes reported to the police go unrecorded each year?
- over 80,000
