Measuring Crime Flashcards

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What are the three main ways sociologists measure crime?

Official statistics, victim surveys (like the CSEW), and self-report studies.

What are official crime statistics?

Figures based on police recorded crime and other justice data, published nationally by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

What is the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW)?

A large household survey that asks people about crimes they experienced in the past 12 months, whether or not they reported them.

What do self-report studies measure?

They ask people to admit offences they have committed, often anonymously.

Why might official statistics not show all crime?

Some crimes are not reported to the police or not recorded under the rules.

Give one strength of official statistics.

They cover the whole country and are collected regularly, so trends over time are easy to track.

Give one limitation of official statistics.

They only include crimes that are reported and recorded, so some crime is missed.

Give one strength of victim surveys like the CSEW.

They include crimes that were not reported to the police.

Give one limitation of victim surveys like the CSEW.

They miss crimes against businesses and people not in private households, and people may forget or misreport.

Give one limitation of self-report studies.

People may lie or forget, and serious offenders may not be in the sample.

How can changes in recording rules or policing affect crime figures?

They can make numbers go up or down without a real change in crime levels.