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Common strengths and weaknesses for crime statistics
Common strengths and weaknesses for crime statistics
Common strengths and weaknesses for crime statistics
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Crime statistics can be inaccurate and not useful due to; the high quantities of unreported crime, imbalances of how crimes are reported over time and crime obscured within authorities. However, despite the inconsistencies crime statistics has, it remains existent to aid the criminal justice system due to its efficiency. Unreported crimes for e.g. sexual assault and domestic abuse cases are underrepresented due to the lack of offenders reported. On the institutional aspect, many criticize that crime statistics cannot be reliable due to discretion and leniency towards violations by police officers and white collar corporations.
Over time, crime statistics has continued to be amended in order to be as accurately represented as possible. Initially,
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Especially crimes which are less commonly reported like sexual assault offences. As demonstrated through crime surveys taken from May 1994 to April 1995, 606800 victims of robbery, assault and sexual assault were discovered. Whereas, only 227000 cases were actually reported to the police. Research suggests the main reasons to the lack of reporting of assault cases is correlated with; the victim’s assumptions of the criminal justice system, perspective on how serious the crime is, the frequency of abuse, the relationship between the offender and victim and the possibility of permanent resolution. In 1994, only 32.1% of assault cases were reported to the police in comparison to 78.5% of home invasion cases recorded. Studies suggest the outstanding reason for 34.6% of non-reported cases of assault, was due to the victim’s presumption their matter would be too insignificant for police to be interested in (Dr. Adam …show more content…
In consideration of its restraints, statistics should be approached rationally and viewed from various relevant sources to check its credibility. Statistics are beneficial in functions such as; police performance administration, establishing crime control, assessing crime prevention programs, crime trend calculation, criminology theory analysis and representing efficiency of criminal justice procedures. Satisfaction with police performance can be evaluated to ensure police will deliver their upmost execution and build confidence in the community. Police will be capable of establishing crime control settings and concentrating on areas of prevalent and repetitive crime. Forecasting trends and stimulation of modelling criminal justice processes, facilitate legal representatives to make more effective policies and fund distribution. Theories are then able to be tested and measured in order for predictions of potential crime and its origins to be made. Law enforcement, can generate crime prevention tactics and strategies to reduce the crime (Morgan, Clare, 2012, p.38,39). A key advantage of statistics is strengthening theory studies so researchers can determine accurate conclusions, make comparisons, acquire new information, extensively understand issues and formulate appropriate methods of implementation for the criminal justice system. (Walker, 1999,
Our government, the United States of America, is knowingly responsible for providing its citizens with factual crime data that can be used to inform them of the effectiveness of current criminological practices. The data provided is collected and analyzed by a number of government agencies, but it is not limited to this, as we often send data to independent contractors to analyze for us.
Despite their methodological differences, GSS data and those of the UCR have shown similar trends over the decade between 2004 and 2014. “For example, the GSS shows a 28 percent decline in the rate of violent victimization and a 42% decline in the rate of household victimization. In comparison, the UCR stated a 26 percent decrease in the rate of violent crimes and a 40% decrease in the rate of crime against property” (Perrault, 2015, p.7). In general, victimization rates in both surveys tend to be lower in the eastern and higher in the western part of Canada. “Less than one in three (31 percent) criminal incidents were reported to the police in 2014. This proportion was slightly lower than that recorded ten years earlier (34 percent)” (Perrault, 2015, p.27). Many incidents are not reported, because people feel that the police cannot help with the situation, or they may feel embarrassed. The crime rates appear to be higher for minor incidents, such as property or household crimes in comparison to serious violent crimes in both surveys over the years of
In the article Victims and Offenders in Two Crime Statistics Programs: A Comparison of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), (herein after NCVS and NIBRS will be called “systems” when referencing the statistics of the nature of the crimes), the comparison of the two reporting systems for crimes are similar. These two reporting systems are a visual representation of the crimes that are reported. They do not account for crimes that are not reporting or crimes that are reported after the date. They report crime only when there is an official report, such as one by the officer that comes to the scene of the crime to take statements from the individuals. NCVS and NIBRS are only report burglary, larceny, aggravated assault, and vehicle theft. They do not report on more serious crimes such as rape or murder.
CompStat is not the quick fix to solving crimes but rather a process of organized problem solving that, when the CompStat meetings are conducted properly, new crime strategies are announced, established and shared. This process unifies all members and unites of the department towards a common goal decrease crime rates. In the Compstat process it is vital for Crime Analysis to ensure all data is input correctly because such particular flaws and weaknesses might contaminate later analyses. Data integrity is very vital when establishing a report because without reliable data, there cannot be any reliable analytical reports.
According to RAINN, (2009) approximately 10 per cent of all victims of sexual assault and abuse are adult and juvenile males. In terms of the nature of assault, real figures include a compendium of reported incidents ranging from unwanted sexual touching to forced penetration. To qualify this statement, it must be understood that the percentage does not reflect a vast number of crimes that go unreported due to issues that will be discussed in the present paper.
Bureau of Justice Assistance, Police Executive Research Forum. (2012). Compstat: Its Origins, Evolution, and Future in Law Enforcement Agencies. Retrieved from http://policeforum.org/library/compstat/Compstat.pdf
In general, official statistics of crime recorded by the police and surveys of the public such as victim surveys and self-report studies are the three main measures of the extent of crime in Britain. The oldest method is to rely on official data collected by criminal justice agencies, such as data on arrests or convictions. The other two rely on social surveys. In one case, individuals are asked if they have been victims of crime; in the other, they are asked to self-report their own criminal activity. (Terence P. Thornberry and Marvin D. Krohn) Although these are a main secondary source of quantitative data, each of them may contain some drawbacks. Thus, this essay will introduce these three methods and demonstrates their disadvantages, such as the police crime statistics exclude the unreported and unrecorded crime;
Criminology as a genre is defined as the scientific study of crime, as well as its causes, law enforcement interaction, criminal behavior, and means of prevention. In its own way criminology is the history of humanity. As long as people have been on earth there has been criminal activity. Much like most other work atmospheres, it was a male dominated field. A woman seeking to work in criminology was unheard of. Men filled the jobs as police officers, lawyers, judges, and politicians. However, in the 1860s Belva Lockwood became determined to pave the way for women in criminology. As a women’s rights activist, she became one of the most influential women in criminology.
There was a decline in crime during the 1990s. Our country enjoyed seven years of declining crime for the period 1991-98, the most recent data available. During this period crime declined by 22% and violent crime by 25%. These are welcome developments, particularly following the surge of crime and violence of the late 1980s. This decline occurred during a time when the national prison population has increased substantially, rising from 789,60 in 1991 to 1,252,830, a 59% rise in just seven years and a 47% increase in the rate of incarceration, taking into account changes in the national population (Mauer 21-24).
The Uniform Crime Report, which was developed in the 1930s, is commonly used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a record of crimes committed all across the United States. These crimes, which fall under two categories, Part I and Part II offenses, are reported by local police to the Federal Bureau of Investigation each year. Part I offenses are considered to be the more serious of crimes recognized by society. Such examples of this are homicide, forcible rape, robbery, arson, motor vehicle theft, etc. Part II offenses are those that are considered less serious, such as fraud, simple assault, drug abuse, gambling, stolen property, embezzlement, etc. Part I crimes can also be subdivided into what are known as violent crimes and property crimes. (Barkan, 2012). However, there are both some positive and negative aspects of this type of crime measurement. The following paper will explore the small amount of pros and numerous cons associated with the Uniform Crime Report.
Why the decline in crime in the 1990s? Many plausible explanations have been reported (and given short shrift by the authors), including higher conviction rates and longer prison terms which are keeping repeat offenders off the streets, more police and better policing strategies, decline in the crack cocaine trade and higher expenditures in victim precautions like security guards, alarms, car theft devices, etc.
For decades now, including the years 1994 and 1995, the time of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, American law enforcement has used two major data sources to measure crime. First, there is the Uniform Crime Report or UCR. The UCR is compiled data from reported crimes, it is a very accurate system used for murder and those crimes that cannot go unnoticed. Next, we have The National Crime Victim Survey or NCVS which is a unanimous survey, better at accounting for the crimes that may not get reported, crimes such as rape or assault.
The accuracy and reliability of criminal statistics is something that has been of great discussion through criminology for decades. Whilst some believe that crime statistics are a misuse of time and resources, others believe that there is some use for them within the criminological community. The inaccuracies of criminal statistics are highlighted in abundance within academic articles and research, many of which highlight the main source as the dark figure of crime. Many also suggest other inconsistencies within official statistics to be influenced by law enforcement agencies and society. But whilst there is much research to suggest that criminal statistics are unreliable and of no use, there are some that suggest that this may not be entirely
The NCVS was designed with four primary objectives: (1) to develop detailed information about the victims and consequences of crime, (2) to estimate the number and types of crimes not reported to the police, (3) to provide uniform measures of selected types of crimes, and (4) to permit comparisons over time and types of areas. The survey categorizes crimes as "personal" or "property." Personal crimes cover rape and sexual attack, robbery, aggravated and simple assault, and purse-snatching/pocket-picking, while property crimes cover burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, and vandalism. The data from the NCVS survey are particularly useful for calculating crime rates, both aggregated and disaggregated, and for determining changes in crime rates from year to year.
One of the most significant decline in crime is theft.However, the police criminal records show that the overall crime rate in England and Wales rose by 2%, violent attacks also rose by 21%.In the recorded crime statistics, the police received a report of rape increased from the previous 19,100 to 26,700.However, the Office of National Statistics said the data increased the reason why is because the police and the national record higher degree of integration standards to allow more by the National Statistics Office recorded crime can be reported to the police.These data clearly shows the two main sources of information on crime in the UK, are the police and court records(compiled by the Home Office and published by the Office for National Statistics), the victim and the criminal investigation(especially the British