However there are many factors which distort crime statistics and make them unreliable and not useful to a sociological understanding crime.
The public distorts crime statistics, as only 90% of crimes are reported. The BCS also found that the public don’t report petty crime. Public also tend to report for personal advantage such as insurance. The public don’t report what they see as private matters (domestics). They also don’t report friends/family. They also don’t report crime that could shame/frighten them and they don’t report crimes that are unknown and they don't realise. Therefore many crimes are committed but are not recorded; this therefore means that crime statistics are not accurate. Lea and Young 'Losing the fight' study showed that some communities won't report crime because of a Lack of confidence in police.
Visibility of crime also distorts the official crime statistics. There are many Crimes without victims such as drug dealing and prostitution and therefore are not reported. There are also White- collar crime - 'fiddles', 'perks' - for example, Ditton these crime are not reported. Many people are people are unaware they are victims in some crimes such as scams. In some communities, 'informal' policing might be used and therefore crimes are not reported. Some crimes are more likely to be reported then others such as rape and assault they are over-represented in official figures. More deviant crimes are reported then less deviant crimes for example littering id not reported as much as assault.
The Police also distort crime statistics. PSI survey of the met found that police are more likely to respond to some groups then others. It found out that police are more likely to respond to ethnic minorities. Police also decide what category a crime fits. Police also decide which areas to police, therefore not all arrears are policed equally therefore not all crimes are recorded. Police also chose who to stop and therefore stereotypes effects there judgment and young black men are stopped.
Courts also distort crime statistics, as 80% of offenders plead guilty this is due to the possibility of plea bargaining and negotiating therefore we do not know if there committed the crime or not.
In conclusion I believe that official crime statistics are not useful to a sociologist understanding of crime. The statistics are so inaccurate that we don't know if a recorded rise in crime is actually a rise, or just an increase in convictions. Similarly, with a fall in the crime rate, is it an actual fall or just the result of fewer convictions? Although official crime statistics intend to be "value free" and objective, they result from interactions between various social groups and their motives and meanings. I personally believe that official crime statistics reveal more about the process of reporting and recording than about the extent of criminal activity. I also believe that crime statistics are seriously flawed and that there is a dark figure of hidden crime.
