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Unlock This CourseHow much crime is there in your town? Is it going up or down? Governments, police and sociologists all want to know. But crime is often hidden. Offenders do not announce what they have done, and many victims say nothing. So sociologists use several measurements, and each one gives a different picture.
Key terms:
Remember, official statistics are figures collected and published by the government. Official crime statistics are mostly the crimes that the police record, plus figures from courts and prisons. They show how many crimes were recorded, how many people were arrested and how many were convicted.
They are free and easy to find. They cover a whole country, so there is a very large sample. They are quantitative, so it is easy to compare years and places. They are published regularly over many years, so they are useful for spotting trends.
They only show crimes that were reported and recorded, so they leave out the dark figure. A change in the figures may mean a change in the law, in police priorities or in recording rules, not a real change in crime. They say little about why people offend.
Interpretivists often say that official crime statistics are not simply a fact about crime. They are the result of decisions made by the public and the police about what to report and what to record.
In a self-report study people are asked, usually through an anonymous questionnaire or interview, which crimes they have committed. Many are carried out with young people, for example in schools.
They can reveal offences that the police never hear about. Anonymity can make people more willing to be honest. They give a picture of offenders, not just of those who were caught. Interviews can ask people their reasons for offending.
People may lie, forget or exaggerate to look tough. They may leave out serious crimes in case they are traced. The sample may not be representative. Few people will admit to the most serious crimes. They take time and money to carry out.
A victim survey asks a sample of people whether they have been the victim of crime in a set period, such as the last year, and whether they reported it. Some are local: they cover one town or neighbourhood and show local worries. Others are national: they use a large sample to cover the whole country. The Crime Survey for England and Wales is a well-known national example.
They reveal crimes that were never reported to the police. They show why people did not report. They show who is most at risk. National surveys use large, representative samples and are repeated, so trends can be followed.
People may forget, exaggerate or misunderstand what counts as a crime. Victimless crimes such as drug use have no victim to ask. Murder victims cannot answer. Local surveys cannot be generalised to the whole country.
Unreported crime is crime that the public never tells the police about. Unrecorded crime is crime that is reported but the police do not write down. Together they make up the dark figure of crime. This means official figures are always lower than the real level of crime.
They think it is too minor or that the police will not act. They fear revenge, or want to protect an offender who is a friend or family member. They are embarrassed or ashamed. They do not trust the police. They do not realise it was a crime.
They decide there is not enough evidence, or that the matter is too trivial. They may treat a dispute as a private matter. They may record it under a different category. Pressure to show falling crime may also play a part.
Some crimes are very likely to stay hidden, such as domestic violence and some white-collar crime, where the victim may not even know. This is why sociologists compare more than one source.
Question: Explain one limitation of using official crime statistics.
Answer: They only include crimes that were reported and recorded (1). Many victims do not report crime because they think it is too minor, so the real level of crime is higher than the figures show (1).
1. Saying official statistics show the "real" amount of crime. They show recorded crime only. 2. Mixing up unreported (the public does not tell the police) and unrecorded (the police do not write it down). 3. Writing "people lie" with no more detail. Say who might lie and why. 4. Forgetting that a strength of one method is often the limitation of another.
Answer all parts. This follows the style of the Paper 2 crime questions.
(a) Define the term victim survey. [2]
(b) Give two reasons why crimes may not be reported to the police. [2]
(c) Explain three limitations of official crime statistics. [6]
(a) A victim survey asks a sample of people (1) whether they have been victims of crime, including crimes not reported to the police (1).
(b) The victim thinks the crime is too minor (1). The victim fears revenge or is embarrassed (1).
(c) Any three developed limitations, for example: They only show crimes that are reported and recorded (1), so the dark figure is missing (1). Changes in the law or recording practice can change the figures (1), so a rise may not be a real rise in crime (1). Police may decide not to record some reports (1), for instance because they think the matter is trivial (1).
For a "three limitations" question, write three separate points, each with a short explanation. Do not repeat the same idea in different words.