patterns and trends in crime

class

gender

age

ethnicity

green crime

global crime

offending

victimisation

  • Sutherland (1949) = 'criminal statistics' show that crime has a high incidence in lower socio-economic class
  • Social Exclusion Report (2002) = many prisoners have a history of social exlusion -> associated with growing up in poverty
  • 5% unemployment rate in wider population, 67% unemployment rate in prison population
  • 0.9% wider population are homeless, 32% of prison population have been homeless
  • William (2012) = factors (ran away from home, deviant and truant school, alcohol and drug use) are more common with the prison population
  • British Crime Survey (2010) = young households, unemployed and lone parent homes are twice as likely to be victims to burglary
  • British Crime Survey (2010) = Unemployed are 2x more likely to be victim to a violent crime
  • Young (1988) = 'myth of equal victimisation' - the poor are hit much harder when they become a victim of crime
  • Merseyside crime survey (1984) = victim of burglary, lower class will be worse off financially

offending

victimisation

  • Police recorded crime firgures : males commit around 80% of all recorded offences
  • Ministry of justice : females accounted for 18% of all arrests in 2013
  • Official crime statistics : peak offending age for girls is 15, boys is 18
  • CSEW shows that fewer females are victims of crime than men
  • higher proportion of men are victims to violent crime, more women are victim to sexual offences
  • women are 7x more likely to be victim to sexual assult
  • Stanko (2000) over a 24hr period, an incident of domestic violence was reported every second, very few led to arrests
  • man account for 7/10 of all homocides , men are more likely to be killed by a stranger, women are most likely to be killed by a partner or husband (2 woemen are killed by partner / week)

offending

vicitimisation

offending

victimisation

  • those aged 10-17 make up 10% of the population, yet account for 23% of police recorded crime
  • juvenile offenders are more likely than adult offenders to receive a caution rather than a conviction
  • Soothill (2004) = peak age of burglary is 16, peak age of drug use is 25. Different crimes have different peak ages
  • CSEW (2012/13) = adults from an ethnic minority background are more at risk of being a victim of personal crimes compared to white people
  • Home Office (2005) = black people are 5x more likely to be murdered than a white counterpartner
  • Intra-racial crime (black on black crime more likely than ethnicially driven crime)
  • Ministry of Justice data = black people were stopped and searched 7x more than white people
  • Black people account for 3% of the population but make up 15% of all stop and searches
  • Black people were arrested 3x more than white people in 2010
  • elderly are more likely to fear crime, despite youth more likely to be victims of crime
  • Islington Crime Survey (1988) = although elderly are less likely to be a victim of crime, when they are, they are more likely to be injured and have a greater affect on their lives
  • only since 2009 have those aged under 16 been asked about their experience with crime (CSEW)
  • CSEW (2014) found that 12% of those aged 10-15 have been a victim of violent crime

global crime transcends national borders and police forces : it is therefore difficult to investigate and punish. - due to border issues, different laws

  • crime committed for a financial or other material benefit
  • United Nations (2009) stated that transnational organised crime is estimated to be an £870 billion buisness
  • this is 10% of global GDP

examples = drug trafficking, money laundering, human traficking

  • Pablo Escobar , 'King of Cocaine' became the 7th richest man in the world and was estimated to be behind 80% of cocaine shipped to the US
  • Italian Maia , estimated to have made £20 billion revenue from illegal activities
  • Castells (2000) = organised crime groups like buisness networks
    They take the opportunity to link w/ criminal groups in other countries to max profits
    They may base management in low-risk areas and target their markets in more affluent areas
  • Robertson (1995) = 'glocalisation'
    The intertwining of global and local, how local conditions impact global produce and profits

Green crime is crime that affects the environment : dumping toxic waste, poaching, fly-tipping

  • 'green criminologists' also focus on legal actions that are damaging to the environment : deforestation, fishing
  • Franko Aas (2007) = like organised crime, green crime points out the intersection between local and global - local environmental harm has an impact globally (oil spill)

Marxists argue that capitalists get away with commiting green crimes as they are the ones who defined the law

  • should be measured in terms of harm, not what those in power have defined as criminal
  • harm to environment and humans - poor drinking water, dumping of toxic waste
  • Potter (2004) the poorest members of society have to suffer the consequence of the richest actions

primary green crimes = crimes that cause harm on the environment
examples :

  • deforestation
  • air pollution
  • dumping of toxic waste

secondary green crimes = crime that comes from trying to cover up/regulate environmental disasters
examples :

  • state violence against oppositional groups (Raindow Warrior bombed sunk - protest about stopping nuclear weapon testing in the pacific)
  • using criminal organisations to help dump toxic waste