Defining And Measuring Crime

• Problems in defining crime ?


  Cultural- What is considered crime in one culture may be legal in another. E.G- marriage laws, in the UK having more than one wife is the crime of bigamy, however, some cultures practice polygamy. In the UK forced marriage was illegalised in 2014, but it is still practiced in some cultures.

  Historical- Definitions of crime change over time. EG- a parents right to hit their children was outlawed in 2004 with the introduction of the Children's Act. Homosexuality was a crime until 1967.
• Ways of measuring crime ?

  Official statistics- Figures based on the numbers of crimes reported and recorded by the police which are often used by the government to inform crime prevention strategies.

  Victim Surveys- A questionnaire that asks a sample of people which crimes have committed against them over a fixed period of time and whether or not they have reported them to the police.

  Offender Survey- A self-report measure that requires people to record the number of crimes they have committed over a period of time.
• Evaluation of Official statistics ?

  Limitations- Significantly underestimate the true extent of crime. Crimes go unreported to the police 25% of the time. May be unreported by the victim or the criminal, either due to miss trust of the police or fear. Police priorities may distort figures (A brough of Nottingham's police force are more likely to report theft of under £10, others don't)
• Evaluation of Victim Surveys


  Strengths- More likely to include details of crime that were not reported to the police so have a greater degree of accuracy than official statistics. In 2007 official statistics showed a 2% decrease in crime where as the British Crime Survey showed a 3% increase.

  Limitation- Telescoping may occur, which is when a victim may misremember an event that occurred in the last year when really it didn't, the trauma may be fresh in their mind and make them believe the offence was more recent. May distort the figures
• Evaluation of Offender Surveys

  Strengths- Provides insight into how many people are responsible for certain offences.

  Limitation- Although confidentiality is insures, results may be unreliable. Offenders may want to conceal some of their more serious crimes, or exaggerate the numbers. Certain types of crime, like burglary, are overrepresented, where as offences like fraud are unlikely to be included.