S3 Statistics and Key Facts

• The ONS (2017) found that 74% of convicted offenders in England and Wales were men
• The Ministry of Justice (2021) found that 85% of all those arrested are men
• Official statistics show that 1 in 3 males have a criminal conviction by the age of 40, compared to less than 1 in 10 females
• Government statistics show that from 2021 to 2022, Black people were 2.4x more likely to be arrested than White people
• The Ministry of Justice (2016) found that Black people were 8x more likely to be stopped and searched than White people
• In 2007, 26% of male prisoners and 29% of female prisoners were BAME, even though they only made up 9% of the general population
• 20% of people from mixed ethnic backgrounds reported being victims of crime in the 2020 TCSEW
• While 12% of the working-age population are in receipt of out-of-work benefits, 35% of those prosecuted after the 2011 London riots were
• In the year ending June 2015, the CSEW estimated 750,000 incidents of domestic burglary, compared to around 600,000 fraud offences
• Women from households earning less than £10,000 are 3.5x more likely to be victims of domestic violence than women from households earning more than £20,000
• Official statistics show that roughly half of all those convicted are age 21 or under
• The CSEW found that in the year ending March 2023, the victim was female in 74% of domestic abuse cases
• 40% more crimes were recorded in London's most income deprived areas in 2023, compared to the least income-deprived areas
• Government statistics show that in the year ending March 2020, the reoffending rate of delinquents was 34%, compared to roughly 25% for adults
• 19.5% of people aged 16 to 25 reported being victims of crime in the 2023 CSEW
• In 1957, men committed 11x as many offences as women, but by 2008 this ratio had narrowed to 4:1
• Government statistics show that from 2021 to 2022, over half of young people who were cautioned or sentenced were eligible for FSM
• Erikson criticises Durkheim for ignoring the influence of power on someone's ability to enforce the law
• Cohen criticises Merton for failing to explain non-utilitarian crimes
• Gill found that residents in a working-class area did not believe it was wrong to commit some crimes
• Braithwaite criticises Miller by arguing that some crimes, such as those involving direct harm, are viewed as wrong in all Western societies
• Young argues that marginalised groups, such as African-American immigrants, commit crimes such as rioting as a form of political action against their marginalisation
• Postmodernists suggest that we live in a 'pick and mix' society where we can choose our own identities due to consumer culture. This promotes individualism, encouraging people to commit crime to get what they want
• The University of Portsmouth studied young burglars in 2020 and found that the thrill gained from their crimes was one of their largest motivators when offending
• Adler proposed that as the role of women has improved, patriarchal social control has lessened, providing more opportunities for female criminality
• Muncie & McLaughlin found that the location of crimes is a reflection of labelling and marginalisation
• David Hampson of Swansea was jailed after standing in front of vehicles in silence, causing a traffic jam
• Jonathan Sterry of Blackwood deceptively knocked on doors of the elderly and asked them for sponsorship money
• For functionalists, deviance can be functional as it promotes boundary maintenance, changes in values, and social cohesion. When someone is deviant, this means they were inadequately socialised or their norms and values were weakened
• Marxists believe that the ruling class use their power to define things as deviant to impose their definition of normality on others and sustain their power
• Feminists believe that women are neglected when analysing crime. This is another way in which men assert their dominance over women and sustain patriarchy
• Interactionists believe that a deviant act itself is not deviant, it is the social reaction that defines it this way. Deviance is therefore relative to the current norms and values of a culture, making it a product of society
• Realists claim that other perspectives fail to solve, or provide an accurate picture of, deviance. They aim to take deviance seriously and put forward practical proposals to combat it
• Postmodernists believe that someone’s reasons for committing deviance are individual. Their reasons cannot be based on inequality, as a person’s identity is now self-defined through consumerism