WJEC A2 Unit 3, Crime and Deviance - Measuring Crime

1. WJEC A2 Unit 3, Crime and Deviance - Measuring Crime

2. Do official crime statistics give us an accurate picture of crime? • Objectives: • To know three ways that crime can be measured • To understand reasons why crime is under-reported and under-recorded with examples • To understand the term ‘dark figure’ of crime. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

3. Methods of measuring crime Official statistics OCR or PRC Victim surveys BCS or CSEW Self-report studies What are they looking for? Trend – a change over time Pattern – a link between one variable and another e.g criminality and gender. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

4. Crime Trend in the UK Over Time This growth in crime is generally reflected globally. However, rates are still low in Japan, Singapore, and Scandinavian countries. Totalitarian states tend to have lower crime rates. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

5. Reasons For The Rise in Crime More state action: as policing gets better more crimes are detected. More laws: Because of more legislation on the statute book, there are more possible crimes (traffic offences, financial fraud, computer related crimes, etc.) More sensitivity: People are more sensitive to reporting crimes physical and sexual violence to the police. More victims: Because of increased affluence there are more things to steal. As opportunities have risen, so have crimes. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

6. The Official Crime Rate (OCR) In 1998, common assault, possession of a weapon, assault on a constable and harassment, were added to recorded crime. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

7. Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) The BCS measures the amount of crime in England and Wales by asking 50,000 people about crimes they have experienced in the last year. It is now called ‘Crime Survey in England and Wales’ The BCS includes crimes which are not reported to the police, so it is an important alternative to the Official Crime Rate. Victims do not report crime for various reasons. Without the BCS the government would have no information on these unreported crimes. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

8. The Hidden ‘Dark’ figure of crime How does a crime become a statistic in the PRC? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzdTiM5wS_c Jot down reasons why people do not report crimes Are there any reasons why the police may not record crimes? Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

9. The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) for the year ending December 2015 shows there were an estimated 6.4 million incidents of crime against households and resident adults aged 16 and over. • This represents a 7% decrease from the estimated 6.9 million incidents in the previous year. The survey also estimated that there were 829,000 incidents of crime against children aged 10 to 15. • There was a 7% increase in police recorded crime compared with the previous year, with 4.4 million offences recorded in the year ending December 2015. Most of this rise is thought to be owing to improved crime recording by the police leading to a greater proportion of reports of crime being recorded in the last year. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

10. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

11. Dark Figure of Crime Statistics Sociologists argue that the Official Crime Rate seriously underestimates the real or true rate of crime. It is estimated by the BCS that only 31% of crimes are reported and recorded. The difference between the official crime rate and the real crime rate is referred to as the ‘dark-side’ of crime statistics Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

12. What lies beneath? Draw an iceberg on pg 7 and label it to show the percentage of crime which is hidden, and crimes which are likely to be under-reported or under-recorded Extension – now write your own definition of the hidden figure of crime! Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

13. Clear Definition would look like this: The hidden figure of crime is also known as the ‘dark side’ of crime statistics. It refers to the amount of crime that takes place which is not reported by the victim e.g abuse, or recorded by the police e.g minor assault. These crimes are not shown in the Official Crime Statistics – they are hidden. How does this answer our question for this lesson? Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

14. Official Crime Rate Figures By Crime 2004-05 Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

15. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

16. Prison Populations The prison population at 31 December 2011 was 86,172, an increase of 3,117 (4 per cent) compared to 31 December 2010 when the total population was 83,055. This increase includes the impact of the public disorder in UK cities from 6 to 9 August 2011 which resulted in immediate growth in the prison population by around 900 prisoners. Since then the number of prisoners held for public disorder related offences has stayed around 900. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

17. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

18. Underreporting of Crime The British Crime Survey found that: 44% of crime victims felt the incident was not sufficiently serious to report. 33% claimed the police would be unsuccessful in solving the crime, so felt it was not worth reporting it. 22% did not report the crime as they felt the police would not be interested. 4% did not report crimes because they were fearful of reprisals. 4% did not report crimes because of inconvenience. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

19. Underreporting (Continued) Some crimes are not reported because they are victimless, e.g. drug-taking, smuggling, prostitution, etc. Some crimes are not reported because of the humiliation felt by the victim such as rape, domestic violence, etc. Corporate and white-collar crime is extremely difficult to detect and thus report. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

20. Under-recording: Police as ‘Filters’ Seriousness: the offence may be regarded as too trivial. ‘Social status’ of the victim:important people tend to get a more favoured response than the poor, down and outs and homeless. Classifying the crime:(minor ‘assaults’ may not be investigated but ‘aggravated assaults’ usually are). Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

21. Police as Filters (continued) Discretion:each police officer has the discretion to press charges or let the individual off – even if they are known to be ‘guilty’. (Those whose demeanour is deferential, co-operative and polite are more likely to be let off for minor offences. Consider HowardBecker’slabelling theory. Promotion and relations at work: Police officers have to tread a tightrope between trying to impress senior officers and not appearing too keen (as this makes more work for their colleagues). Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

22. The ‘Cuffing’ of Crime The dishonest practice of not recording crimes is known inside the police as ‘cuffing’ or ‘Spanish practices’. It is suggested by some that the fall in crime in the 1990s was manipulated by police ‘cuffing’ rather than a real fall in crime rates. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

23. Under-recording by police Now complete activity on pg 7 identifying reasons why police may/may not record crimes. 5 mins Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

24. Self-Report Studies These ask people to honestly confess to crimes they have committed over a period of time. They can be an important way of getting a better picture of some crimes like drug-use. Anne Campbell gave a self-report study to young females and found they had almost as high a crime rate as young males. However,Steven Box argued that if petty crime was removed then the male-female ratio was closer to the official one: 5:1. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

25. Recap questions Explain some reasons why crime is a social construction What do official statistics tell us about typical criminals? Explain the difference between a pattern and a trend. Explain the trend in crime rates since the 1930s and then since 2002. Why did statistics show a sudden increase in crime in 1998? What does this show about the production of crime statistics? Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

26. Weaknesses of Official Statistics They are a social construction as there are many social processes and people involved in their production e.g courts, police and public. Don’t include crimes not reported or recorded Don’t include victimless crimes and crimes involving people under 16. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

27. Weaknesses of Victim Studies Relying on people's memory is a problem as recollections may be incorrect or biased. Sometimes people put crimes into the wrong categories. Surveys exclude white-collar crimes such as fraud and corporate crime: these become effectively 'invisible crimes'. People will not report 'victimless crimes' such as drug taking, or prostitution. Murder victims cannot speak – they are deceased. There is an under-reporting of personal attack, domestic violence and sexual crimes, despite anonymity. (Note: the media sensitising issues can encourage people to report). Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

28. Weaknesses of Self-Report Studies Steven Box (1971) argues self-report studies suffer from issues of validity, representativeness and relevance: ‘Validity’: are they true to life? Respondents can forget, play-down or exaggerate the extent of criminal activity they have been involved in. ‘Representativeness’. Since most self-report studies are on young people, they rarely include professional or managerial adults. ‘Relevance': the majority of crimes reported are trivial. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

29. Functionalist View on Statistics Functionalists share the view of positivists and tend to accept crime statistics uncritically. The functionalist-inspired subcultural theory for example started with the view that crime is a young, working-class, male phenomenon. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

30. Interactionist/Labelling Theory View of Statistics This interpretive approach sees crime statistics as largely useless and a distortion of reality. They argue statistics are a social construction and tell us nothing about the real level of crime, only who compiled them and how. Labelling theory is more interested in questions such as why some acts are viewed as more deviant than others and why some groups become labelled as deviant. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

31. Marxist View on Statistics Marxists recognise the systematic bias in favour of the powerful in the application of the law. As a general rule, the higher people are in the social system the less likely they are to be arrested, charged, prosecuted and found guilty. Marxists stress the significant ‘dark-side’ of white-collar and corporate crime that is largely invisible and absent from crime statistics. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

32. Feminist View on Statistics Feminists argue that crime statistic underplay the extent of females as victims: personal attack; domestic violence, etc. Until recently the police viewed attacks in the home as “domestics” and were reluctant to get involved. Many female victims of physical and sexual attack are reluctant to report offences. (See Chapter 8 for more detail). Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

33. Left Realist View on Statistics Left Realists are almost unique (apart from Functionalists) in accepting that official statistics have some value and should not be rejected out of hand. They accept the statistical view that typical offenders are young, male, working-class and disproportionately black. Using victim studies, they highlight how people (especially the poor and vulnerable) have real fears of crime. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

34. Statistical Explosion in a Risk Society Ulrich Beck (1995, pictured left) coined the term ‘risk society’ to refer to the shared knowledge of contemporary risks, including rising crime. Mike Maguire (2002) notes how we are bombarded with data not just from the Home Office but researchers, agencies and even victims. This adds to our knowledge and fear of crime. Garland (2001) argues in late modernity we have lost confidence in governments. This explains why when officially the crime rate is falling, many people believe it is still rising. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

35. Reflective Questions We saw how crime is a social construction stemming from Governments changing laws in response to cultural changes and influence of powerful groups. 1. Why does this make comparing crime rates and trends difficult over time? Most judicial systems reward people if they plead guilty. In the USA this is quite open and known as plea bargaining. 2. What impact might this have on the seriousness of crimes admitted to and solved? Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime

36. Task Describe and evaluate the three ways of measuring crime. Make a plan for a 500 word essay 150 – Describing ways of measuring crime 150 – Evaluation – reasons why methods are inaccurate. 200- Comparing and contrasting perspectives views on crime. Crime and Deviance Chapter 2: Measuring Crime