Crimes recorded/reported

• Only half or all crimes are reported, 3 in 10 crimes are recorded, the victims report crime and the police record it
• Crimes that people are unlikely to report

  • Rape
  • Domestic violence
  • A stolen phone
  • Physical interactions that have led to ABH
  • Racism
• Reasons why people don't report crime

  • May be embarrassed
  • Scared the perpetrator will come back and hurt them
  • They may have insurance that covers the stolen goods
  • They feel that the police will not do anything about it (they will give a police report number)
  • They think they will deal with it themselves
  • They have a negative stigma of the police
  • The crime is seen as petty
• Reasons why crimes are not recorded

  • Not enough evidence
  • Police are understaffed
  • Close to elections police may be told not to note down certain crimes or add them into different categories (soft statistics) to make it seem like since the party have been in power crime has decreased in the hope that they are re-elected
  • From 2010 - 2018 police figures dropped by 15% - BBC
• Sociologists do not believe criminal statistics are accurate. They believe that the statistics provided are the tip of the iceberg, this suggests that there is a dark figure of crime. Only 5.7% of crimes were solved by police in 2022 in England and Wales according to Upday UK.
• Criticisms of official statistics

  • Corporate crime and white collar crimes go unnoticed and are greatly underestimated e.g. not paying tax - Starbucks - police do nothing about it - most that happens is CEOs are fired

  Even though females report rape, only 1% are convicted
• Victim surveys


  A questionnaire whereby you state all the crimes you have been a victim of within a certain period time - anonymous. Positives: More people come forward as they are not embarrassed due to it being anonymous, they are not scared of the perpetrator. Negatives: No way to prove that what is being said is true, they may be lying.
• Self-report studies


  A questionnaire where you state all the crimes you have committed within a period of time - anonymous. Positives: Become more aware of the dark figure of crime. Negatives: Some people may not come forward, in case you go to the police, no way to prove that what is being said is true.
• Hidden crimes


  Unreported and unrecorded crimes which are connected with white collar and blue collar crimes
• Invisible crimes


  Illegal acts that are done and covered up by corporations and governments - go unnoticed
• According to the criminal Justice Act 2003 any crimes that are viewed as 'Hate crime' will definitely be reported and the sentences will be harsher