IMPORTANT NOTICE: Defining and measuring crime has been removed from the specification. However, it is useful to know as it can help you to evaluate certain studies.
Measuring crime is important as it helps us to understand how often crime is occurring, and it also helps us to compare crime rates from year to year.
Official Statistics
The Office for National Statistics is responsible for collecting a wide range of quantitative data on varying areas including crime. Official statistics is where the government records the total number of crimes reported to police and recorded in the official figures.
Victim Surveys
The Crime Survey for England and Wales, collects data from 50,000 households in the UK, who are selected at random through a “postcode lottery”. This means that not all households will be interviewed and also participants have the right to withdraw or refuse to be interviewed. Adults and children are questioned on their experiences of crime and questions are followed up to obtain their attitudes on crime and the police, as well as to help identify those groups most at risk. The survey can be completed online using the link below.
https://www.crimesurvey.co.uk/en/index.html
Offender Surveys
These surveys are designed to take information from offenders, often those in prison, in order to develop an understanding of the behaviour and attitudes of offenders. The Offending Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS) was a longitudinal study carried out between 2003 and 2006. It took data from a variety of areas including self-reported offending, indicators of recidivism (repeat offending) and the types of offences committed.
Official Statistics
Strengths:
- This method relies on quantitative data that is easily analysed and compared. For example it is easy to compare crime rates from year to year. This gives some insight into the amount of crime that has been recorded by police so that patterns can be identified.
- This measurement helps to develop crime prevention strategies and policing initiatives, and direct resources to those areas most in need.
Weaknesses:
- This method significantly underestimates the true extent of crime. Many crimes go unreported or unrecorded by police known as the ‘dark figure’ – domestic abuse. Therefore this may not always be an accurate or valid measurement of criminal activity.
- This method can be unreliable due to police departments having inconsistent criteria for reporting crime. For example some police forces do not record theft if the value is less than £10. Does not show an accurate picture of crime rates, some may appear inflated or deflated.
- This method only counts the number of criminal acts, rather than the number of criminals. It could be that relatively few criminals are responsible for the majority of crime in an area. Therefore, the overall picture might be misleading.
Offender Surveys
Strengths:
- This method provides insight into how many people are responsible for certain offences. A small group or an individual may have committed many crimes that can now be recorded. This means that information on repeat offending can be used to build up profiles and understand risk factors.
- By interviewing a range of young offenders and looking back over the previous years, trends in anti-social behaviour can be identified. This kind of data helps researchers to identify potential risk factors and develop ways to prevent a person from becoming an offender, for example through treatment programmes targeted at certain age groups.
Weaknesses:
- Despite assurances of confidentiality, people who have committed crimes may not be honest using this method. Offenders may conceal or exaggerate crimes. This is a form of social desirability bias. Offenders may underplay crimes because they want an early release, or they may exaggerate the crimes in order to seek some attention in the spot light.
- The targeted nature of this survey may mean that certain types of crime are over or under-represented. It targets offenders based on risk factors. For example burglary is over-represented and fraud is underrepresented . Therefore is does not reflect all crimes accurately – lacks validity.
- The targeted nature of this survey may mean that stereotypes are formed. For example associating certain races or cultures with certain crimes. This can lead to inaccurate perceptions in the police force
Victim Surveys
Strengths:
- This method is more likely to include details of crimes that are not reported to police and are less likely to conceal ‘dark figures’ of crime. Research from victim surveys showed an increase in crimes compared to official stats. Therefore this method maybe more valid compared to official statistics.
- These methods have the ability to shape public opinion and change social policy. For example young people reporting up skirting has now meant that this has now become illegal. Therefore there have been useful applications as a consequence of the data collected
Weaknesses:
- This method relies on respondents having an accurate recall of the crimes that they have been a victim of. However, telescoping may occur. This is where a victim may misremember an event because the trauma is fresh in their minds, it seems to be more recent than it actually was. Therefore, may not be a valid account.
- This method relies on random sampling which may be biased. Not all people who are contacted will respond, and they must have a postal address. Therefore, the data collected could be biased and distorted.
Alternative points:
- Using a multidisciplinary approach is likely to give the best insight, as by considering all 3 methods of victim surveys, offender surveys and official statistics. This allows are more accurate picture as it is more holistic.
- However, political positions may have an effect on the way crime rates are portrayed. The political party in power will use official statistics to evidence that crime has decreased, but opposing parties may use victim surveys to show that crime is on the increase. This means that not all information given may not be accurate, due to political motives.
CGS Psychology Blog: Mrs Harris 