Discuss the accuracy of Crime Statistics in The Uk
Officially recorded crime statistics by the Home Office suggest that there were approximately 5.4 million crimes in Britain in 2006/07. This decreased by 10% in 2007/08. However, the British Crime Survey (BCS) suggests that there were in fact 11.3 million crimes in 2006/07, decreasing by 10% as well. This therefore poses the question: why is one survey telling us that the amount of crime recorded is in reality under half of what is actually happening? A main reason behind the difference in these statistics is the way that they are both recorded. Police record statistics only when, according to official guidelines, 'the circumstances as reported amount to a crime defined by law' and there is no credible evidence to the contrary of the reported circumstances. There are problems with this method of recording crimes. For example, it also states in the official guidelines that 'Apparent or possible criminal activity, such as damage to bus shelters, telephone kiosks, forensic items (blood) etc, which does not in itself amount to evidence of a crime, coming to the attention of the police after the incident either personally or via third parties, would not initially be recorded as a crime but as a crime related incident'. This therefore distorts statistics as in most people's eyes, this would be evidence enough that a crime has been committed, and these are the types of incidents
Crime and its effects on society. Police Reform Act 2002 The police reform act impacted mainly onto the police obviously due to giving PCSOs (Police Community Support Officer) more power to control anti social behaviour
TASK 1A: REPORT P1-Crime and disorder legislation The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 placed a new responsibility on local authorities, police and other agencies to work mutually in the development and performance of strategies to reduce crime and disorder. This advance was supported by the publication of the Morgan Report (1991), which argued for a statutory duty to be placed on crime lessening agencies, such as the police and local authorities, to work together for common targets. This report was acted upon with the creation of the 1998 act. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 created 376 local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships in England and Wales. These strategies must reflect local needs and priorities which mean that different crime and disorder partnerships around the country will be aiming to tackle different areas of crime depending on what is a problem locally. The priorities addresses by a multi-agency partnership could be any of a number of issues depending on local needs. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 This was brought in by parliament as a way of modernizing parts of the criminal justice system. The act looked at amending the law relating to police powers, bail and disclosure of evidence. It permits offences to be tried by a judge sitting alone without a jury in cases where there is a danger of jury-tampering. It also expands the circumstances in which
Assess the extent to which the mass media cause the amplification of deviance.
Assess the extent to which the mass media cause the amplification of deviance. Deviance amplification can be approached from a number of sociological perspectives, although it is particularly associated with the interactionalist perspective. I can mean one or more of the following: > More deviant acts are being committed > More serious acts are being committed > People think there is more crime > People have an increased fear of crime The First two explanations refer more to deviance and the second two refer more to the social reaction to deviance, which can cause more deviance and/or more social reaction which is almost like a chain reaction. A combination of these can produce a real or perceived crime wave. Crime waves are real or imagined increases in the rate of a particular crime. They also may cause a moral panic. S. Cohen first described how 'Folk Devils and Moral panics' could be created and amplified by the mass media when he did his study of the situation between the 'mods' and 'rockers'. According to Goode & Ben-Yehuda (1994) "A moral panic is characterised by a feeling held by a substantial number of a members of a given society, that evil-doers pose a threat to society and to the moral order as a consequence of their behaviour. Press reports described a minor disorder involving the two groups and unattached youths at the seaside as a riot. Worse
Are women underrepresented in crime statistics because of sexism within the criminal justice system?
Are women underrepresented in crime statistics because of sexism within the criminal justice system? Official statistics regarding crime indicate that male crimes are much more common than female crimes, with only one of five convicted offenders in England and Wales being female. This pattern has led sociologists in the past to see female crimes as near to non-existent, or unimportant. Carol Smart comments that women commit fewer crimes which are much more trivial than male crimes in addition. She also pointed out that sociological and criminological fields have always been male dominated and so studies about crime are generally about men, by men. She concludes that female crime is trivial and insignificant as criminology aims to change the problems of crime, and female crime has not been viewed as problematic. Despite this, many sociologists have more recently claimed that female crime is not trivial and non-existent, instead it is merely underestimated. They argue that womens' crime often goes unreported, for example in the case of shoplifting, and even when women's crime is reported, there is much less chance that the female will be prosecuted due to leniency of the criminal justice system on women. The concept of the criminal justice system's leniency towards female criminals is referred to as the 'chivalry thesis' and is based on the assumption that men are socialized
Are Crime "Facts" Really "Myths"?
Are Crime "Facts" Really "Myths"? Crime myths and facts are often confused. Crime myths are created when the media, government and other influential figures sensationalise particular incidents that occur within the community. Although there are many similarities between the "myths" and "facts" the distortion of the two are prominent when studied through surveys and police reports. "crime facts" could be considered somewhat inconclusive, when the only way to gather information comes from survey statistics and police reports. Through comparing and contrasting "crime facts" and "crime myths", this essay will explore whether there are any actual "crime facts". "Crime myths" evolve from the hysteria created by people who study crimes. People study crimes for many reasons with the foremost reason being "to find a solutions to Society's concerns" (Kappeler & Blumberg & Potter 1993, p2) about crime and to also find out why certain issues stand out more than others. (Kappeler & Blumberg & Potter 1993, p2) These societal concerns are brought to people's attention in one of two ways. Firstly by people who have an interest in a certain occurrence; in there mind it is of great importance. Secondly, by people who construct their definition of societal concerns from other sources e.g. Urban legends. The truth is somewhat distorted to fit their own opinion or view similar to
Title: Youth Crime in Hong Kong ---- What is responsible?
Corrections Title: Youth Crime in Hong Kong ---- What is responsible? Is Hong Kong really a safe place to live in? According to a recent crime statistics conducted by the Hong Kong Police Force, the public order in Hong Kong has slightly deteriorated as the overall crime rate in the first half of 2003 has increased by nearly 13% in comparison with that of 2002. The most alarming finding was that there were 2832 youngsters arrested for crime in that period. The most common offences committed by the youngsters were shop theft, pickpocketing, selling drugs and pirated goods. So many cases if youth crime happened in Hong Kong, what is responsible? The family, society or school? In my opinion, the family should have the greatest responsibility for youth crime in Hong Kong. Nowadays, people no longer live in extended families, in which several generations share the same house. Instead, nuclear families are the norm, with only the parents and children sharing the same house. However, most parents go out to work early in the morning, return home late at night. There is no one looking after the children, the parents just leave them alone at home. As a result, the parents do not understand their children well enough and may even have difficulty in communicating with them. Due to little communication between parents and children and insufficient parental guidance, the
Environmental factors that affect offenders and victims.
Environmental factors that affect offenders and victims include the physical, social, family, community, economic, cultural and political environments in which individuals live. Impoverished physical, social and family environments have long been considered to be primary determinants of the development of criminal behaviour. Living in poverty, isolation from social support and being raised in a violent family are examples of these types of environmental risk factors. A lack of community cohesion in one's neighbourhood, poor economic conditions in society and conflict-ridden cultural and political environments are also potential risk factors for crime - both for offending and victimisation. The rate of unemployment, extent of use of the welfare system and the varying levels of education in society can all influence the prevalence and nature of crime. For example, higher rates of unemployment can have an impact on levels of crime. An important environmental element relates to geographical location. The profile of crime varies across geographical areas at both the macro and micro level. These differences in crime can be linked with regional differences in social, demographic and economic conditions. Understanding the nature of these links is important because it can shed light on how to manage and prevent crime. Robert Park and Ernest Burgess introduced an ecological
Inequalities within the 'Criminal JUSTICE System/Process'
Issues: Inequality in the underlying ideology Inequality in the definition of 'the crime problem' Inequality in practice in the CJS Policy...Addressing inequality? Ideological underpinnings: Talk about JUSTICE. In any society, actions taken in the name of the nation state need to be seen as 'just' in order to preserve legitimacy. When they are not seen as just then we get discontent and then often challenges to the authority of the state. We could argue that in simple terms, society is held together in part, by a type of social contract whereby individuals agree to abide by state law in return for the protection of the state. In order for this to work however, the majority of people would need to believe both that the law is generally beneficial to them, and that the administration of the law is fair and just. The presence of inequality in this process would suggest that some have a more fair and just experience than others, which is potentially problematic in as much that it causes dissatisfaction amongst some groups. However, what do we mean by fair and just? This might depend upon our perspective on what should shape criminal justice...How ideology penetrates the CJS. Stepping back from the CJS Gelsthorpe (2001 p105-6)1 suggests that there are six key competing perspectives, which influence how the system is, or should be run. These are: Due process
Assess the view that crime is functional, invetiable and normal
Sociology (b) Using material from Item A and elsewhere, examine some of the ways in which sociologists have linked their explanations of crime to one or more of the following areas: families and households; health; mass media (12 marks) Item A suggests that the family is the key insitituion in generating law-abiding behaviour. One way in which sociologists have linked their explanations of crime to the study of families and households, is by suggesting that the family was key to understanding the causes of crime. Some argue that the correleation between crime and certain family chracteristics is a reflection of a much wider change in society. They see that the three-generation family structure had provided stability and place in which moral values and sense of community belonging had been passed on. They also suggest that the changing roles of women in the family; the increasingly dominant role of the mother in the househols had led to the margunalication of the father, this led to fathers leaving their families, resulting in young males not having role models on which to base thier behaviour, and do not face the discipline at home that a father might provide. Another way in which they have linked their explanations of crime to families and households, si by suggesting that the growth of cohabitiation has undermined the belief that patnership is for life, as is supposed to
Do people choose to commit crime or are they propelled in to criminal activity?'
Ben Jones Monday 12th January 2004 Theory, Crime and Criminal Justice 'Do people choose to commit crime or are they propelled in to criminal activity?' Until the 1970's, historians discussing the developments in the area of crime control institutions in Britain tended to take a perspective formulated in the Whigs notion of progress and drawing on the positivist approach to crime and criminals. Crime tended to be seen as an absolute: it was largely understood in terms of theft and, to a lesser extent, violence; it was something perpetrated by 'criminals' on the law-abiding majority of the population. Improvements in the control mechanisms had been brought about by progressive humanitarianism and the sensible, rational responses of reformers to abuses and inefficiencies. Since the 1970's these perspective and interpretations have been subjected to critical examination by a new generation of social historians. These historians began to work on court records in the hopes of penetrating the lives of the poor and socially disadvantaged; they have tended to concentrate on periods of social and economic upheaval such as the late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century, or the years of industrialization and urbanization in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The initial focus was on property of crime, seen by some as a kind of 'protest' offence by the
