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CRIME AND DEVIANCE (2) - CRIME STATISTICS - Coggle Diagram
CRIME AND DEVIANCE (2) - CRIME STATISTICS
TYPES OF CRIME STATISTICS
OFFICIAL STATS
incl. crime recorded by police, records of conviction/ cautions
gives general picture of crime trends; first point of referral for public + politicians
one main record of govt. action against crime
for assessing effectiveness of law enforcement agencies
doesn't represent all crimes
not all govt. agencies incl., e.g., home office
police have to follow govt. rules on how to count crime (bias/ inaccuracy)
UNOFFICIAL STATS
VICTIM SURVEY (CSEW)
sample selected; questioned w/ questionnaires/ surveys. finds out what proportion are victims + of what crimes they are victim of
alternative crime estimate of official stats
finds out if crimes are reported, if not, why. helps develop ways to encourage reporting
only reports on victim crimes; very little on 'victimless' crimes (e.g. prostitution)
some victims aren't aware they're victims
relies on valid answers; some crimes can be underestimated
relies on participants' subjectivity; people have different definitions on what is/ isn't a crime
too generalised
SELF REPORT STUDIES
asks respondents what crimes they've done
reveals that more of the population has done crime than what's shown by courts
presents questions of credibility to trad ideas of 'typical offenders'
relies on respondent accuracy; some hide their crimes/ exaggerate them
more about trivial offences instead of serious; not representative of all crimes
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF CRIME STATS
DARK FIGURE
sociologists argue official stats are highly invalid
crime stats are socially constructed - more about the process of reporting + stereotypes/ activities of police
validity is questionable due to inconsistencies - several offences done at the same time are bunched into one offence, or forces classify offences differently
police validity is also questionable with how true their portrayal of crime is as not all are discovered, reported or recorded
UNREPORTED CRIME
~ 60% of crimes aren't reported (csew)
csew's three reasons for unreported crime
too trivial
private matter
inconvenient
other reasons
common offence
victim feels responsibility
offender not responsible
fear of reprimand
dislike/ fear of police
concerns of harm to an institution (instances of white-collar, etc.)
UNRECORDED CRIME
police can make decisions to not record an offence
their reasons
too trivial
already satisfactorily resolved/ victim doesn't wish to proceed
complainant is too unreliable for their case to be taken seriously
interpretation of law means they don't regard a report as an offence
OTHER ISSUES
official stats can be distorting due to other factors
the factors
MEDIA
~ 85% of recorded crimes are brought to police attention by public reports
media can exaggerate and distort events, creating moral panics
people as a result are sensitised to certain demographics/ crimes, making stats on crime reporting inaccurate
CHANGING POLICE ATTITUDES, PRIORITIES + POLICIES
changing attitudes to rape, domestic violence, child abuse etc. lead to more of these offence types being reported (rising awareness)
CHANGING SOCIAL NORMS/ PUBLIC ATTITUDES
police may strong wishes to make prosecutions of some offenders due to police attitudes + policies, leading to more police action
this gives the impression of increasing crime, but in fact police are only making more efforts + sending more officers for such crimes, so more offences are recorded
SOPHISTICATED POLICE TRAINING, COMMUNICATIONS + EQUIPMENT
e.g., CCTV, DNA testing, forensic science = ↑ crime detection
PERSPECTIVES ON CRIME STATS
FUNCTIONALISM
positivist
; sees stats as reliable + valid for establishing crime patterns + trends
MARXISM
reflection of ruling class ideology; stats are biased + underestimates powerful's crime. false impression of w/c being main criminals
FEMINISM
stats underrepresent extent of female crime + crimes against women (domestic violence, sexual offences etc.)
INTERACTIONISM
stats are a distortion; a social construction that reveals stereotypes, institutional racism + sexism of cjs. stats lead to self-fulfilling prophecy
LEFT REALISM
stats aren't valid; restricts the population. underrepresents white-collar, corporate, exaggerates w/c crimes
RIGHT REALISM
stats are proof that society is becoming more immoral, and more firm policing is needed