Patterns of Crime
Topic 5…read more

Intro
· In order to understand why people commit crime we need to
first find out what crimes are committed and by who
· This is done through police-recorded statistics, victim
surveys and self report studies…read more

Reporting Crime
· Crimes can't be recorded by the criminal justice agencies unless they're not
reported!
British Crime Survey
people are less likely to report a crime if:
· Its private or embarrassing
· It's only a trivial matter
· They fear the consequences
· They aren't in a position where they can report it
People are more likely to report a crime if:
· They believe the police will achieve a positive result
· They see they'll benefit from it…read more

1. Police recorded statistics
· These are drawn from records of official agencies e.g. the
police
Strengths Weaknesses
· Produced every 6 months · Only show reported crimes
· Give an accurate view of the · Only show recorded crimes
criminal justice system
· Been collected since 1857
so you can make
comparisons…read more

Every year approximately
57% of reported crimes fail
to appear in official
The role of police statistics!!!
Police filter the information according to:
· The crimes severity
· The social status of the victim
· The classification of the crime
Another two actors the police consider are:
DISCRETION PROMOTION
- Anderson et al (1994) - Collison (1995)
You're more likely to be arrested if You're more likely to be arrested if
your appearance, attitude and your arrest will further the individuals
manner is regarded as disrespectful career.
However police also want to get on
with their colleagues so arrests reflect
this balance…read more

The role of the courts and the
government
The role of the courts The role of the government
· Crime statistics show court · The rising/drop of crime levels could
sentences reflect changes in laws as well as
changes in crimes
· Court sentences reflect social
processes E.G.
· 75% of those charged plea guilty · Peoples attitudes to cannabis have
changed
· The norm = the defence tries to get
the lightest charges with the lightest · police respond to public opinion
punishment
· arrest less people for its possession
· So... People plea guilty for a less
serious crime than they may have · statistics look like cannabis use is
committed declining…read more