crime statistics and factors

official crime statistics

• released annually by the home office

• includes police recorded crime but excludes crimes that are not reported to the police

functionalist view on crime stats

• broadly accept stats as accurate and representative

• useful for establishing patterns and trends in crime as a base for forming hypotheses

• this view is supported by right realists 

marxist view on crime stats

• provides a biased view of crime that under-represents crimes of the powerful

• implies that main criminals are w/c or ethnic minorities but ignores white collar crime

• this view is supported by Neo-marxists and left realists

feminist view of crime stats

• provides a biased view as they under-represent crimes by men against women

• many crimes against women are unreported, including domestic abuse, rape, and sexual assault

• CJS is patriarchal and male stream

social action theories view on crime stats

• stats are socially constructed and shows labelling of the public by CJS. laws are different in different countries and across time

• fuels stereotypes which generate self-fulfilling prophecy 

3 steps to becoming a crime stat

1. detected - a criminal act must be noticed by a person and identified as a crime

2. reported - it then has to be reported to the police usually by a member of the public 

3. recorded - police must then decide if the act reported is criminal and worth following up. 

percentages of crime that is reported

• some crimes are detected but not reported 

• 90% of crimes that are detected are reported to police 

• only 40% of crimes that are reported are recorded 

• conviction rate is 3%

changes in reporting and recording

1. changing police attitudes - crackdowns on prostitution, drug dealing, knife crime, and drink driving

2. increased reporting - Mike Maguire argues that weaker communities mean people are reporting things they used to deal with themselves 

3. technology - the use of computers, cctv, forensic science, and DNA testing can lead to an increase in detection of crime 

4. changes in the law - e.g. in 2014 280 new criminal offences were written into law while 215 where abolished 

5. insurance - nearly all theft of cars and burglaries with loss are reported so people can claim insurance money. 

victim survey and evaluation

• victim surveys like the CSEW ask the public whether they have been victims of crime and if they reported to the police

however

• people may exaggerate

• people may forget details

• may not realise they are a victim

• often don’t include all crimes, CSEW doesn’t look at commercial businesses

• victims may feel embarrassed

self report studies and evaluation

• asks people to own up to their offending and tell researchers what crime they have done, regardless if they were caught or not

however

• validity of findings is questionable

• ignores respondents own definition of crime

• relies on memory of individuals

• lack of representativeness as young offenders are least likely to participate

crime and gender statistics 

• 60x more men get convicted fro sex offences

• 14x robberies

• 13x possession of a weapon

• 10x public order offences

• 9x drug offences

• 7x criminal damage

• 4x theft

• official stats show that in most countries men commit far more crime in what’s called the crime gender gap. me account for 75% of all people convicted, 85% of those convicted of indictable crimes and 95% of those in prison

• proportion of men found guilty/cautioned are age 17-20 and is 10x higher than rate for women

• men are more likely to be repeat offenders

chivalry thesis

• Otto pollak states that the male dominated CJS protects women

• in 1950 women made up less than 1% of police officers

• they protect women by being more lenient and are more likely to give women cautions and short sentences

• male members of CJS think about their own wives and mothers when interacting with women who had broken the law and therefore they received more sympathy than men

evaluation of chivalry thesis

• 1 in 11 self reported women have been cautioned or prosecuted whereas for men this is 1 in 7

• a study of 3000 defendants found women were about 1/3 less likely to be jailed in similar cases to men 

• women tend to get cautioned more than men because they show remorse 

• this theory is outdated and a rise in feminism for women means courts are changing their attitudes when sentencing women

• the Lucy report found that the MET police are mysoginistic 

• does not clarify type of crime

bias in the justice system

• courts treat females more harshly when they deviate from gender norms (double deviance)

• courts are more likely to punish girls for premature or promiscuous sexual activity 

• women are more likely to be jailed according to the courts assessments of them as wives, mothers, or daughters

• Walklate argues that in rape cases, the victim is on trial and has to prove her repeatability in order to have her evidence acceptance 

liberation thesis

• Freda Adler argues that if society became more equal there would be a rise in women’s crime

• greater equality should lead to a change in offending behaviour to commit more traditionally male crimes like violence and white collar crime

• girls are involved in gang life and there has been an emergence in cadette culture

sex role theory - Parsons

• boys find socialisation more difficult than girls as the father is away at work.

• due to a lack of a male model within the home they distance themselves from the female role and engage in masculinity through aggressive and anti-social behaviour

• society expects boys to be tough aggressive risk takers and so are more disposed to violence

postmodernism and crime - Messerschmidt

• linked offending to two types of masculinity

1. hegemonic masculinity - defined through work in the paid Labour market, subordination of women, being driven, and the uncontrollable sexuality of men

2. subordinated masculinity - defined by some men who have no desire to acquire hegemonic masculinity

• people from w/c and ethnic minority backgrounds lack the resources to achieve hegemonic masculinity and therefore turn to crime.

• m/c men also turn to crime to achieve masculinity but this could be white collar crime.

• the postmodern era has seen a decline in traditional w/c jobs. men now work in the service sector but there are some jobs that allow men to express their masculinity through violence and power. e.g. bouncers, security guard, police and the army.