ACR101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Burglary, Official Statistics, Influence Of Mass Media
WEEK 3: How can crime be measured?
Last week
How we define crime influences who is considered an offender and what we count as crime
Crime can be defined by references to:
Law
Human rights
Social and political context
These definitions also shape what we know about offending and the assumptions we make about
offenders
Why measure crime?
- To measure performance of criminal justice agencies
- To evaluate crime prevention programs
- To resource police and prisons adequately
- To inform community about crime related risk
- To identify the likelihood of becoming a victim or an offender
- To help develop theories of crime, and evaluate their accuracy
How do we measure crime?
- Official statistics
- Crime victim surveys
- Self-report surveys
- Other data
Is it easy?
- It is relatively new
- Media influence (including social medial)
- Data comparisons limitations
- Differences in recording according to type of crime
- The ‘dark figure of crime’
Reasons for under-reporting
- 13% afraid of revenge from the offender/ fear of further violence
- 11.5% embarrassment/shame
- 11% other
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Document Summary
How we define crime influences who is considered an offender and what we count as crime. These definitions also shape what we know about offending and the assumptions we make about offenders. To identify the likelihood of becoming a victim or an offender. To help develop theories of crime, and evaluate their accuracy. Differences in recording according to type of crime. 13% afraid of revenge from the offender/ fear of further violence. The victim perceived the incident as not serious. Lack of encouragement and support from family and friends. Lack of education on what domestic violence is and what help services are available. Reflect crimes detected by and reported by the police. Presented as: rates to allow some opportunity for comparison, raw numbers. Accurate interpretation often requires: context, comparison with other relevant statistic, significant expertise. For examples: willingness to report, police discretion, targeted operations by police (in response to set quotas or public sentiment.
