CRIM10001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Self-Ownership, Juvenile Delinquency, Neanderthal
29 May 2018
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Week 2, Lecture 1
Measuring Crime
Official Methods:
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Police statistics around criminal acts that are kept and recorded by police. This can be done two
ways: 1. Crimes can be reported to police (80%), and 2. Police themselves can detect crime
(20%). Some of these statistics are very accurate (e.g. those regarding homicide, arrests, crimes
against properties such as burglary and vehicle theft), however, there are some that aren’t
(including crimes against the person, such as sexual assault). Measuring crime in reference to
police statistics can be difficult, as it is hard to determine whether particular offences are
becoming more prevalent, or if instances are simply being reported more.
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Court and Correctional statistics
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Other institutional data, such as drug tests results of arrestees and hospital admissions.
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Victimisation surveys are large-scale household surveys that are sent out in order to establish
the prevalence of crime through the accounts of victims, without requiring the involvement of the
police.
Unofficial Methods:
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Self-report data is somewhat similar to victimisation surveys, but instead of asking people if they
have been victims, self-reports ask about whether people have been perpetrators of crime.
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Focus on persons who admit to committing offences
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Observational work/ethnographic research
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Participant observation
The Prevalence of Crime
The actual prevalence of crime depends on many factors:
• The definition of crime (which can change over time)
• The accuracy of data gathering techniques (significant flaws can often be noted)
• Community cooperation (relies on a civil relationship between police and the public)
• What exactly is measured (reporting rates; conviction rates; sentencing options)
Always adopt a critical stance to statements of crime ‘fact’, particularly within mainstream media
and popular discourse, as there are many complexities which can impact upon the accuracy of
these ways of measuring crime prevalence.
Theories of Crime Causation
Perspectives and Criminological Theories
There are many diverse, contradictory theories of crime causation, and as such, they cannot all be
correct. One of the dimensions that criminology concerns itself with is assumptions about human
nature, upon which each of these theories is based upon. Implicit to these theories are particular
assumptions about individuals, regarding the way in which we behave and interact with the world.
A crucial question is whether behaviour is determined, or if we are free-willed beings. A
subsequent question is whether the factors that determine behaviour are internal or external
forces; and if they are external, it is necessary that we understand the circumstances in which
people find themselves to fully understand the impact that social order has upon conduct and
decision making.
Human and Social Nature
Are the forces that determine behaviour internal or external?
Social Order
Conservative:
According to the conservative view, there is a consensus of values within society, which is evident
in criminal law. Crime, therefore, is seen as a lack of personal restraint/responsibility.
Liberal:
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Official methods: police statistics around criminal acts that are kept and recorded by police. Crimes can be reported to police (80%), and 2. Some of these statistics are very accurate (e. g. those regarding homicide, arrests, crimes against properties such as burglary and vehicle theft), however, there are some that aren"t (including crimes against the person, such as sexual assault). Always adopt a critical stance to statements of crime fact", particularly within mainstream media and popular discourse, as there are many complexities which can impact upon the accuracy of these ways of measuring crime prevalence. There are many diverse, contradictory theories of crime causation, and as such, they cannot all be correct. One of the dimensions that criminology concerns itself with is assumptions about human nature, upon which each of these theories is based upon. Implicit to these theories are particular assumptions about individuals, regarding the way in which we behave and interact with the world.
