1. SC 104 Week 5: Crimes of the record:constructing criminal statistics
Official ways of recording crime
Key sources of knowledge
Reliability and limitations
Alternative ways of measuring crime

2. What do we want to know? How much crime is being committed?
What crimes are being committed?
Is crime on the increase?
How many criminals?
How many victims?

3. . . . it is not just a question of how close official statistics are to ‘real’ amounts of crime; it is also a question of what processes are involved in the construction of such figures and ultimately, what is meant by crime anyway (Tierney, 1996:25)

4. Crime statistics Official figures British Crime Survey
Local crime surveys

5. Why are crime statistics useful?
Act as a ‘barometer’
Basis for planning and spending
Historical record
Research and comparative studies

6. What do they exclude? Some less serious offences
Data from: British Transport Police; Ministry of Defence Police; UK Atomic Energy Police
Tax and benefit fraud know to Inland Revenue, Customs & Excise.

7. How does an event become a statistic?
Recognition by victim or witness
Reported to police
Recognised by police (interpretation, interaction, discretion)
How police record crime

8. . . . statistical products of this kind may reveal more about the changing attitudes and decision making of those involved in the process than about changes in offending behaviour itself.
(Bottomley & Pease, 1986)

9. Difficulties & problems with criminal statistics
Police as gatekeepers
The cop culture
Other factors that shape police practice
Changes in reporting practice
Changes in the law

10. The dark figure of crime
Undiscovered crime
Unreported crime
Unrecorded crime

11. British Crime Survey 1 National household survey Established in 1982
Conducted by the Home Office
General population over 16 years of age

12. British Crime Survey 2 More victim orientated Identifies those at risk
Highlights attitudes to crime
Highlights attitudes to the CJS including the police and court systems

13. British Crime Survey 3 Doesn’t cover: Crimes against businesses
Crimes without victims
Crimes against children
Crimes that have led to death

14. British Crime Survey 4
These surveys have shown the extent to which crimes such as sexual crime, hate crime, domestic crimes have gone unreported.

15. Local Victim Surveys Islington Crime Survey
Snapshot of local crime and victimisation
Voices the experiences of local people
Some interesting and contrasting results when compared to BCS

16. Problems with crime statistics 1
In the broadest sense official statistics are produced by the administrative and controlling elements of society within exploitative class relations (Miles & Irving 1981)

17. Class conflict theorists
Class based nature of the CJS
Numbers manipulated to suit the powerful
Working class over represented
Black and poor over represented

18. Problems with crime statistics 2
Victims too frightened and too embarrassed about crime
Victims too ashamed to admit being a victim
Unaware of being a victim

19. Some positive aspects of crime statistics
An antidote to stereotypes
Identifies crime mix
Raises awareness of crimes
Highlights different roles of police
Rates of cautioning within & between forces
Links crime, clear up rate and prevention
May show disparities in sentencing