Forensic Psychology: Top-down approach

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Problems in defining crime

  • Crime - an act that breaks the law which results is punishment
  • There are cultural issues in defining crime - crime in one culture may not be judged as such in another such as laws on marriage. In the UK having more than one wife is a crime of bigamy however this act is not a crime in cultures where polygamy is practised (having multiple partners) also forced marriage is illegal in the UK however in Eastern cultures its not seen as a crime
  • There are historical issues in defining crime - Definitions of crime change over time due to rapid social change therefore what we use to class as a crime is considered to be one today such as homosexuality

Ways of measuring crime

  • Official statistics - government records of the total number of crimes reported to police and recorded in the official figures. Published by the Home Office anually.
  • Victim surveys - records peoples experience of crime.  The Crime Survey for England and Wales asks people to document the crimes they have been a victim of in the past year. 50,000 households are randomaly selected to take part of the survey which then produces crime figures
  • Offender surveys - people volunteer to share the number or type of crimes they have committed. Target group are usually likely offenders based on risk factors such as previous convictions, age range, social background etc (self-report)

EVALUATION

  • Official Statistics - unreliable because they underestimate the true extent of crime and some crimes are unreported therefore it lacks true representation how much crime has happened. Also police priorities may distort official figures e.g. in Nottinghamshire, police are more likely than other regions to record theft crimes under £10 which reflects the sudden spike of theft crimes in this region
  • Victim surveys - Have greater degree of accuracy because victims are more likely to include the details of the crime than the police reports. Victims may not have accurate recall of what happened so they may put down what…

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