Patterns and trends in crime

Gender and crime

  • Men commit more crime- Around 80%-90% of convicted offenders are male

  • Female crime rates are rising- Linked to liberation theory (Adler)

Explanations-

  • Chivalry thesis (Pollak)- Women are treated more leniently by the CJS

  • Sex role theory (Parsons)- Women’s traditional roles discourage criminality

  • Control theory- (Heidensohn)- Women are more controlled (home, work, public)

  • Liberation thesis- (Adler)- Female crime is increasing due to gender equality

Ethnicity and Crime

  • Black and Asian people are overrepresented in the prison population

  • Stop and search: Black individuals are distortionary targeted

Explanations-

  • Labelling theory (Becker, Cicourel): Police label ethnic minorities as deviant

  • Institutional racism (Macpherson report)- The result of a public inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence

  • Left realism (Lea and young)- Relative deprivation and marginalisation

  • Neo-Marxism (Gilroy)- Myth of black criminality; resistance to oppression

Social class and crime

  • Working class are more likely to be convicted of crimes

  • White collar and corporate crime are often under-policed or ignored

Explanations-

  • Marxist theory- Crime is a result of capitalist exploitation

  • Labelling theory- WC more likely to be labelled deviant

  • Strain theory (Merton)- WC experience blocked opportunities

Age and crime

  • Young people (15-25) are more likely to commit crime

  • Peak age of offending is around 17

Explanations-

  • Status frustration (Cohen)- Youth form subcultures

  • Subcultural theory’s (Cloward and Ohlen) Different types of subcultures (criminal, conflict, retreatist

  • Edgework (Katz)- Crime is thrilling and expressive

Trends over crime

  • Crimle rates fell significantly from the mid 1990s to the early 2010s

  • Violent and property crime decreased according to the crime survey for England and Wales

  • Cybercrime and fraud have increased recently

The dark figure of crime

The amount of crime that isnt reported to or recorded by the police and therefore dosent appear in official statistics

  1. Crimes not reported-

Victims may feel-

  • The crime is too trivial

  • Fear retaliation (Domestic abuse)

  • Distrust the police

  • Be unaware a crime occured (fraud)

  1. Crimes reported but not recorded-

Police may-

  • Doubt the victims credibility

  • Use discretion and decide not to log it

  • Be under pressure to meet targets or reduce recorded crime

Official crime statistics may underestimate the true level of crime

  • Leads to a bias in understanding of-

  • Who commits crime

  • Who are victims

  • Which crimes are most common