WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:04.040 Hello and welcome to episode two of Crime and Deviants 2 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:07.480 for the Sociology Show podcast. In this episode, we are 3 00:00:07.480 --> 00:00:09.880 going to look at how crime is measured in the UK. 4 00:00:10.759 --> 00:00:12.839 The first thing for you to remember is that there 5 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:15.679 are three different ways in which crime is measured in 6 00:00:15.720 --> 00:00:20.760 the UK. We have official crime statistics, victim surveys, and 7 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:25.559 self report studies. So official crime statistics or the OCS 8 00:00:25.559 --> 00:00:28.760 includes police records and the Crime Survey of England and 9 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:32.920 Wales or the CSEW. We then have victim surveys and 10 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:35.719 this includes the Crime Survey for England and Wales and 11 00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:40.520 localized victim surveys. And victim surveys are where a person 12 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:43.479 indicates all the crimes that may have been committed against 13 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:47.240 themselves during the last year. We then also have self 14 00:00:47.240 --> 00:00:51.240 report studies, which again are a survey conducted in which 15 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:54.520 the person indicates or admits any crimes that they have 16 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:57.679 committed over the course of the last year. These, of 17 00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:02.159 course are anonymous. So firstly, let's just think about official 18 00:01:02.200 --> 00:01:07.280 crime statistics in general. Remember, for some sociologists positivists in particular, 19 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:11.159 they see a real benefit of official crime statistics because 20 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:16.079 they tend to be large scale macro often largely generalizable 21 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:20.079 and representative, as they cover a large number of people. However, 22 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:24.560 for many sociologists, in particular interpretivist sociologists, they see a 23 00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:29.000 real weakness to official crime statistics. They say that statistics 24 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:32.280 can lack depth, they can lack detail, they do not 25 00:01:32.400 --> 00:01:35.519 give validity or insight or the shtayan, and so there 26 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:40.439 are many criticisms or problems of overall crime statistics. It's 27 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:44.040 also worth mentioning, of course, that crime statistics only really 28 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:46.959 show us a small fraction of the actual crime that's 29 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:50.560 going on. It's estimated that crime stats actually only show 30 00:01:50.599 --> 00:01:53.560 about ten percent of all crime. The rest of crime 31 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:55.959 is what is known as the dark figure of crime. 32 00:01:56.280 --> 00:01:59.920 Or perhaps a better analogy is the iceberg theory. You 33 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:03.519 imagine an iceberg. Only the tip of the iceberg tips 34 00:02:03.560 --> 00:02:06.319 out of the water. The rest is hidden underneath. So 35 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:09.479 just try and remember that statistic that actually we probably 36 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:12.800 only see a small percentage around ten percent of real crime. 37 00:02:13.039 --> 00:02:16.759 It could even be lower than that. So let's start 38 00:02:16.759 --> 00:02:20.960 with official crime statistics. Official crime statistics refer to any 39 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:24.319 data produced or collated by the government. They are collated 40 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:27.080 by the Home Office and published by the Office for 41 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:32.400 national statistics. They include both or either police statistics and 42 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:35.439 court and prison records and the Crime Survey for England 43 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:39.439 and Wales. These crime statistics are published every six months. 44 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:43.400 So what are the advantages of the official crime statistics. Well, 45 00:02:43.439 --> 00:02:47.080 your two groups, functionists and right realists really really do 46 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:50.840 like the use of crime statistics. They uncritically accept the 47 00:02:50.840 --> 00:02:54.360 official crime statistics as a fair reflection of the problem 48 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:58.319 of crime. They argue that police statistics are useful because 49 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:02.520 they are widely geographically representative. Since they are supplied by 50 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:07.560 forty five territorial police forces plus the British Transport Police. 51 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:10.319 Most members of the public know the number nine ninety 52 00:03:10.360 --> 00:03:13.479 nine and can therefore report crimes either in person or 53 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:17.199 over the phone. This means that the sample reported to 54 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:22.120 the police should theoretically include all ages, classes, genders, ethnicities 55 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:25.439 and so on, so that the statistics produce reflect a 56 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:28.800 huge data set and therefore can be used to generalize 57 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:33.159 across the UK. Functions and right realists also say that 58 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:37.039 the reliability should be high, and reliability may be high 59 00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:40.400 for the police statistics because they are standardized thanks to 60 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:43.240 high levels of training for police officers to make sure 61 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:46.599 that crimes are recorded in the same way by all officers, 62 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:53.240 ensuring consistency. They also operationalize carefully. Each police force should 63 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:56.599 have the same understanding of key concepts around enforcing the law, 64 00:03:57.039 --> 00:04:02.240 ensuring reliability e g. What constitute and assault, aggravated assault 65 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:06.840 or manslaughter, etc. The statistics are also gathered every year 66 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:09.840 and in the same way and again. This increases the 67 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:13.280 reliability as they are collected again and again to see 68 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:17.879 emerging trends and patterns over time. Functions, of course, believe 69 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:20.920 in the idea of consensus, so they see the polics 70 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:24.279 representing all of us and do not question their motives. 71 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:28.240 They therefore assume that what is reported and recorded is 72 00:04:28.279 --> 00:04:31.199 what they call a social fact, and so the figures 73 00:04:31.240 --> 00:04:35.480 reflect reality, meaning, according to functionists, there is high validity 74 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:39.959 in these statistics. Functionists trust the police figures. They reject 75 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:43.480 the suggestion that they are socially constructed. We know that 76 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:46.959 some crimes are highly likely to be reported. For example, 77 00:04:47.079 --> 00:04:50.279 if victims see some benefit to themselves, such as an 78 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:53.199 insurance claim or a stolen car, they are going to 79 00:04:53.240 --> 00:04:56.759 report it. So the statistics for some crimes are likely 80 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:01.560 to be higher in validity than others. Practically, police statistics 81 00:05:01.560 --> 00:05:04.839 are also easy to access and they've already been compiled. 82 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:08.319 Remember they are secondary data for a sociologist. The data 83 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:10.639 is published and up to date, and so can be 84 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:14.160 accessed by any member of the public via the Internet. 85 00:05:14.600 --> 00:05:17.680 According to these groups functioning some right realists, there are 86 00:05:17.720 --> 00:05:21.240 also few ethical worries as offenders and victims are not 87 00:05:21.360 --> 00:05:26.720 named and they remain anonymous. However, there are many disadvantages 88 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:31.399 to police statistics. Interactions are highly critical of police statistics 89 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:34.480 because they believe that they reflect only a narrow version 90 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:38.439 of reality, not the whole truth. They are incomplete because 91 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:41.639 not all crimes are reported or recorded, and only certain 92 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:46.199 people seem to get labeled as criminal. Therefore, interactionists suggest 93 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:49.920 that police statistics lack validity because they do not reveal 94 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:54.000 the dark figure of crime, or, as mentioned earlier, it 95 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:58.000 does not account for the Iceberg theory. Siicarell found that 96 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.800 police officers in his study were more likely to arrest 97 00:06:00.839 --> 00:06:04.600 and charge working class youth the middle class youths, even 98 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:07.480 though they carried out the same amount of crime. Thus, 99 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:11.000 police statistics may have low validity because they reflect the 100 00:06:11.079 --> 00:06:14.199 labeling process rather than the actual crimes that are being 101 00:06:14.240 --> 00:06:17.839 carried out There are lots of instances where crimes go 102 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:22.759 undetected and unreported, and this challenges the police statistics because 103 00:06:22.800 --> 00:06:25.360 many more crimes may exist, but they do not actually 104 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:28.199 appear in the statistics in terms of what we're seeing 105 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:31.199 as the general public. The main reasons for this is 106 00:06:31.240 --> 00:06:34.480 because they've not been reported, they've not been recorded, or 107 00:06:34.480 --> 00:06:38.480 they've gone unpunished. So why might this happen? Where There 108 00:06:38.519 --> 00:06:42.759 are a variety of reasons as to why this may occur. Firstly, 109 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:45.480 the victim may be unaware that a crime is being committed, 110 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:48.680 such as if they were a victim of a financial fraud. 111 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:53.120 People may not report crimes because they were some way involved. 112 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:55.839 Imagine if a person were a drug dealer themselves and 113 00:06:55.879 --> 00:06:58.680 their stash was stolen from them, are they really going 114 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:02.279 to go to the police. Likewise, they may fear retaliation, 115 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:05.360 particularly if they were a victim against a very dangerous 116 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:09.040 individual or gang. It may be that the crimes perceived 117 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:12.519 as too trivial or too small. Let's imagine that you 118 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:15.279 had an old, rusty bike tied up outside your house 119 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:17.720 and someone stole it. Perhaps you couldn't be bothered to 120 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:20.000 let the police know because it's seen as far too 121 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:25.160 insignificant disadvantage. Communities are also less likely to have faith 122 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:27.920 in the police and therefore are much less likely to 123 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:32.439 report crimes, which arguably compacts the problem. Some groups just 124 00:07:32.480 --> 00:07:35.000 simply don't want to have any connection or relation with 125 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:38.519 the police at all. Some people may also not report 126 00:07:38.600 --> 00:07:41.759 certain crimes, such as sexual offenses and domestic violence, because 127 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:44.759 they're too embarrassed or they just simply don't want to 128 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:47.959 report it. We know that those two offenses in particular 129 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:52.000 are massively underreported. And finally, maybe the person who's a 130 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:56.079 victim may lack power. For example, a young child may 131 00:07:56.120 --> 00:07:58.839 be neglected or abused, but doesn't understand that they've had 132 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:01.560 a crime committed against them, or may not have the 133 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:03.600 ability to be able to report it to the police 134 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:06.160 in the first place. One might assume that if a 135 00:08:06.199 --> 00:08:09.160 crime is reported to the police that they would obviously 136 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:12.920 record every instance of this, but this isn't always the case. 137 00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:16.160 The police are trained to be professional and use a 138 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:20.279 discretion when appropriate. This means that officers may decide that 139 00:08:20.279 --> 00:08:23.120 a crime is too trivial and thus not record it 140 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:26.600 as a crime. In twenty twenty, the hm Inspectra of 141 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:30.279 Constabulary reported that in the Greater Manchester Police Force alone, 142 00:08:30.439 --> 00:08:33.480 around two hundred and twenty crimes a day when unrecorded. 143 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:36.399 In the twelve month period reviewed by inspectors, it was 144 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:40.000 estimated the force of recorded only seventy seven point seven 145 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:44.039 percent of reported crimes. This shows that police recorded practices 146 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:47.840 can impact on the validity of crime statistics. In other words, 147 00:08:47.960 --> 00:08:51.360 they don't show a true picture, but also the reliability 148 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:54.080 of the statistics because they're not being recorded in the 149 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:57.559 same way each time. Simply, the recording of crime may 150 00:08:57.639 --> 00:09:00.919 also be different in different localities, for exact example, between 151 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:06.480 the inner city areas and urban areas. Marxists reject police statistics. 152 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:11.000 The sociologist Gordon, for example, suggests that the bourgeoisie selectively 153 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:14.679 enforce the law against the less powerful groups. Gordon argues 154 00:09:14.919 --> 00:09:18.159 that police officers are the strong arm of the bourgeoisie 155 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:21.039 and so operate in ways which reflect the interests of 156 00:09:21.080 --> 00:09:24.320 the ruling class. As such, the police may choose to 157 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:27.159 pursue people and groups they perceive to be a threat 158 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:31.120 to society and not others. Gordon suggests that the police 159 00:09:31.159 --> 00:09:33.679 are selective in the way in which they apply the law, 160 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:36.840 choosing challenging members of the working class to prosecute and 161 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:41.600 imprison to uphold the illusion of a perfect capitalist system. 162 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:45.279 The research of Waddington also conductive research on what he 163 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:49.039 calls canteen culture. His research on canteen culture of the 164 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:52.039 police also suggests that the police statistics are not to 165 00:09:52.039 --> 00:09:55.480 be trusted because they reflect the police stereotypes of who 166 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:59.080 they believe to be typical criminals, which influence them to 167 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:04.000 stop and search groups. This includes ethnic minorities, youths, men 168 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:07.080 rather than women in the working class. This may also 169 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:10.440 lead to a self fulfilling prophecy where the only people 170 00:10:10.480 --> 00:10:12.639 found to be committing these crimes are the groups who 171 00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:16.120 are stopped and searched in the first place. Many criticize 172 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:19.559 statistics therefore for lacking in validity because they fail to 173 00:10:19.639 --> 00:10:23.120 understand in any depth why something is happening or why 174 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:27.200 a crime is being committed. Statistics are quantitative, and as 175 00:10:27.200 --> 00:10:30.000 a result, they may indicate that something is the case, 176 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:34.000 but not the reasons why. Remember that feminists also prefer 177 00:10:34.080 --> 00:10:36.879 to use methods which focus much more on the victim, 178 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:42.440 offering a much more empathetic and qualitative approach. Although official 179 00:10:42.480 --> 00:10:45.240 crime statistics are formed mostly by figures from the police 180 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:49.200 and courts. The government does supplement this with extra information 181 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:52.960 an annual survey called the Crime Survey of England and Wales. 182 00:10:53.720 --> 00:10:57.200 Victim surveys are studies about the victims of crime, rather 183 00:10:57.240 --> 00:11:00.600 than offenders. Interviewers ask people if they have been a 184 00:11:00.679 --> 00:11:03.279 victim of crime in the last year and whether they 185 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:07.080 reported it to the police. Respondents are asked questions in 186 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:11.120 their own homes by trained interviewers using a structured interview, 187 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:15.879 with some questions administered on a laptop. Victim surveys reveal 188 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:18.519 the dark figure of crime and the reasons why people 189 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:21.360 may not have reported the crime committed against them to 190 00:11:21.399 --> 00:11:24.919 the police in the first place. Positivists argue that the 191 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:29.159 Crime Survey for England and Wales is high in representativeness 192 00:11:29.440 --> 00:11:33.919 because it uses a nationally representative sample a stratified random 193 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:38.200 sampling technique of thirty five thousand adults and three thousand 194 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:42.240 children aged between ten and fifteen with parental consent per year. 195 00:11:42.919 --> 00:11:46.279 The response rate, though, has fallen from around seventy percent 196 00:11:46.519 --> 00:11:50.840 pre pandemic to around forty two percent in twenty twenty three. 197 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:54.799 The information is collected by professional, trained interviewers and the 198 00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:58.960 interview is structured so that there is high reliability because 199 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:03.320 the key terms are off operationalized clearly. Each interview we'll 200 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:06.279 use the same questions phrased in the same way, and 201 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.919 answers are coded. It can also be argued that this 202 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.080 survey does produce some high validity because respondents are asked 203 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:17.120 questions in their own home where they feel more comfortable. 204 00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:20.720 The Crime Survey for England and Wales has been successful 205 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:25.240 at developing special measures to estimate the extent of domestic violence, stalking, 206 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:29.039 and sexual victimization, which are least likely to be reported 207 00:12:29.080 --> 00:12:32.399 crimes to the police. For these questions, the laptop is 208 00:12:32.440 --> 00:12:34.919 given to the respondent and they are asked to complete 209 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:39.440 in privacy to avoid embarrassment and thus raise validity. There 210 00:12:39.440 --> 00:12:42.639 are many disadvantages, however, of the Crime Survey of England 211 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:46.120 and Wales, such as it very very rarely reflects white 212 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:49.320 collar crimes, that's crimes committed by the middle and upper classes. 213 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:52.519 Those with power. Marks Is such as Snyder, argue that 214 00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:56.600 by continually asking about issues such as street crime rather 215 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:59.720 than white collar crimes, we reinforce the narrative that crime 216 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:03.559 is a working class issue. People may not be aware 217 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:06.399 they are victims of crimes, and the crime Survey for 218 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:09.879 England and Wales relies on victims to have objective knowledge 219 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:13.480 of the crimes committed against them. People's memories of traumatic 220 00:13:13.559 --> 00:13:16.840 events are often not that accurate, or they may fail 221 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:19.399 to remember all of the crimes they've actually experienced over 222 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:23.320 the previous twelve months. As with police statistics, people may 223 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:26.039 be embarrassed or fear reprisals, and so that data is 224 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:32.080 not entirely valid. In addition, victim surveys don't reveal victimless 225 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:36.799 crimes such as underage drinking. The response rate, as already noted, 226 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:39.639 is forty two percent, not one hundred percent, so some 227 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:43.840 data has not been captured. Where's all that missing data gone? 228 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:47.279 This means that representativeness may be lowered if not every 229 00:13:47.320 --> 00:13:50.919 person completes the survey. If those that don't respond are 230 00:13:50.960 --> 00:13:54.120 the people who have suffered any crimes, this distorts our 231 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:57.360 view since we may not be able to generalize what's 232 00:13:57.399 --> 00:14:01.480 actually occurring with data in relation to crime. Therefore, we 233 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:07.159 do have real problems with potential validity, representativeness, and generalizability 234 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:10.200 when it comes to the Crime Survey of England and Wales. 235 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:14.360 Now let's be a little bit more specific to victim surveys. 236 00:14:15.080 --> 00:14:18.799 Some victim surveys can help uncover the wider impact of 237 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:22.440 crime on a community. Left realists are particularly keen to 238 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:25.759 focus on working class victims and to provide solutions to 239 00:14:25.759 --> 00:14:30.120 cope with the crime. Jones carried out the Islington Crime Survey. 240 00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:34.240 This survey not only focuses on a specific geographical area 241 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:37.200 that in his city, but also on the impact of 242 00:14:37.240 --> 00:14:41.759 crime on individuals, lives, and particularly vulnerable groups. The studies 243 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:44.559 showed that a third of all households have been touched 244 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:47.519 by serious crime in the last twelve months. Crime has 245 00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:52.240 rated a major problem behind unemployment. The qualitative element of 246 00:14:52.279 --> 00:14:56.000 the survey unveiled that crime really altered people's lives. Twenty 247 00:14:56.039 --> 00:14:59.039 five percent of all people avoided going out after dark 248 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:02.440 because of a fear of crime. Twenty eight percent said 249 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:06.080 that they felt unsafe in their own homes. More than 250 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:08.480 half of women stated that the fear of crime is 251 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:11.960 real and rational, and that it is not an exaggeration 252 00:15:12.120 --> 00:15:15.360 to conclude that many women in inner city urban areas 253 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:19.279 live in a state of virtual curfew. These findings and 254 00:15:19.399 --> 00:15:24.080 victimization were influential in developing the theory of left realism. 255 00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:27.159 They led left realists to believe that crime and fear 256 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.559 of crime, especially in inner city areas, is very important 257 00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:34.480 in shaping people's lives, and the official crime statistics alone 258 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:37.639 doesn't truly reflect this fact and so needs to be 259 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:42.879 supplemented by victim surveys. The Islington Crime Survey also found 260 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:46.279 that not everyone has the same likelihood of becoming a victim, 261 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:49.919 since young household's, lone parents, and the unemployed were more 262 00:15:49.960 --> 00:15:52.720 than twice as likely to be a victim of crime 263 00:15:52.759 --> 00:15:55.960 as the average person. The poor were also more likely 264 00:15:56.000 --> 00:16:01.399 to be subject to multiple Victimization surveys can also be 265 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:05.720 useful in testing the success of social policy initiatives. For example, 266 00:16:05.799 --> 00:16:09.120 Farrington and Painter use a victim survey to test where 267 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:14.039 their improved street lighting reduce crime rates. They sent victimization 268 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:18.440 surveys to household a thousand in total before and after 269 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:22.440 the new street lighting was installed. Respondents reported that they 270 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:26.519 felt safer and this led to safer spaces because potential 271 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:31.639 criminals feared being spotted. Victimization fell by forty three percent. 272 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:35.399 Farrington and Painter point out that the importance of using 273 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:39.600 a victimization survey helps reveal crimes such as receiving drugs, 274 00:16:39.720 --> 00:16:42.759 which the police may not be aware of. This study 275 00:16:42.840 --> 00:16:46.159 shows the importance of using victim surveys rather than police 276 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:49.200 statistics to reveal crime and fear of crime from a 277 00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:54.759 personal perspective. Feminists also favor victim surveys because they believe 278 00:16:54.799 --> 00:16:59.320 criminology should start with the victim, not the perpetrator. Feminists 279 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:03.600 seek empathetic, in depth, qualitative data which reveals what it 280 00:17:03.639 --> 00:17:06.920 feels like to be a victim. For example, do Bash 281 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:09.960 and Dobash used two female researchers to carry out one 282 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:13.920 hundred and nine structured interviews with women who had experienced 283 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:17.920 domestic violence. Forty two of the women were living or 284 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:21.920 had been living in a women's refuge. Dobash and Dobash 285 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:25.160 found that twenty three percent of their sample actually experienced 286 00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:29.039 violence before their marriage, but believed it would cease once 287 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:32.559 they were married. The other seventy seven percent had not 288 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:36.240 experienced before marriage, but did experience it once they were married. 289 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:40.599 The first violent episode usually consisted of a single blow 290 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:44.920 with little physical injury. It was often preceded by an argument, 291 00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:49.279 usually about the husband's possessiveness and his ideas about his 292 00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:54.519 wise responsibility to him. This episode was normally followed by shock, shame, 293 00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:59.079 and guilt from both parties. The husband begged for forgiveness 294 00:17:59.319 --> 00:18:02.640 and promised it would not happen again, whilst wives often 295 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:05.920 attempted to understand the action in terms of her own behavior, 296 00:18:06.440 --> 00:18:10.200 the idea that perhaps she brought it upon herself. Few 297 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:14.079 females responded to the attack with physical force themselfs do 298 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:17.680 Bash and Dobash found that such violence became routine and normal. 299 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:20.680 They found that men felt they had the right to 300 00:18:20.680 --> 00:18:24.240 punish or discipline their wives for being bad wives or mothers. 301 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:27.559 Women too, expected domestic violence to be a normal part 302 00:18:27.599 --> 00:18:31.000 of their marriage and consequently rarely complained about it or 303 00:18:31.039 --> 00:18:34.759 sought medical attention. They left the relationship when children were 304 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:39.039 threatened with violence, too feministy in depth data is much 305 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:42.079 more valuable than statistics because it allows us to see 306 00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:45.880 how crime impacts on individuals and crime, and therefore gives 307 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:49.720 us better validity. There are, of course, many problems with 308 00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:54.000 smaller scale victim surveys and studies. Many victim surveys often 309 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:59.039 use small samples, which of course reduces the generalizability. For example, 310 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:01.759 in that dobashan day Obash study. They used a sample 311 00:19:01.759 --> 00:19:04.759 of women who were living in domestic violence hostels, and 312 00:19:04.839 --> 00:19:08.039 therefore they were not probably representative of women who may 313 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:12.200 experience low levels of domestic violence, may not experience any 314 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:17.200 domestic violence, or to the men who experienced domestic violence. Finally, 315 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:20.400 let's move on to self report studies. Remember this is 316 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:24.960 an anonymous questionnaire, self completed, and it is where the 317 00:19:25.200 --> 00:19:28.519 person completing it admits to crimes that they've committed over 318 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:31.200 a twelve year period. As well as being asked how 319 00:19:31.240 --> 00:19:34.640 often they commit illegal acts. Respondents are generally asked details 320 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:38.519 of their background, such as age, gender, or ethnicity. One 321 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:41.599 of the advantages of self report studies is that they 322 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:44.640 provide evidence against the typical delinquent, as shown in the 323 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:48.759 crime rate Graham and Bowling conducting the self report study 324 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:52.039 of twenty four hundred people aged fourteen to twenty five. 325 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:55.000 They were interviewed in their own homes face to face, 326 00:19:55.319 --> 00:19:59.519 then completed as self completion questionnaire which used twenty three offenses, 327 00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:02.359 and are asked them to admit which, if any, they 328 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:05.799 had committed. Crime rates for blacks and whites were almost 329 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:08.799 equal forty four percent for whites and forty three percent 330 00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:12.960 for blacks, only thirty for British Asians, and so this 331 00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:15.680 self report study was helpful in providing a more valid 332 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:19.599 account of patterns of offending regarding ethnicity and perhaps reinforces 333 00:20:19.640 --> 00:20:22.960 the need for sociologists to be suspicious of the possibility 334 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:26.400 of police racism. Self report studies are useful as they 335 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:29.160 can reveal hidden aspects of crime not picked up in 336 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:33.119 the statistics, and this raises the validity in terms of gender. 337 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:36.440 For example, Anne Campbell found that levels of crime and 338 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:40.000 deviants admitted to by females and males were much closer 339 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:43.920 than police recorded figures tended to suggest. The official crime 340 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:47.839 statistics show that for every one crime committed by women, 341 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:51.160 men commit five, so the ratio is one to five. 342 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:55.039 This shows that men are much more criminal than women. However, 343 00:20:55.119 --> 00:20:57.960 Campbell carried out small scale self report studies with their 344 00:20:58.039 --> 00:21:00.480 A level classes and found that for ever every one 345 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:04.640 crime that women committed, men committed one point five, So 346 00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:07.000 the difference between crime rate of men and women is 347 00:21:07.160 --> 00:21:11.559 much closer than the official crime statistics suggests one to 348 00:21:11.640 --> 00:21:14.920 one point five. This backs up the idea of Pollock's 349 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.720 chivalry theory. Perhaps females are committing crime, but they are 350 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:22.799 much less likely to be targeted, punished and reported. Self 351 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:26.200 report studies may also be useful to see trends over 352 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:30.240 time and track changes that Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions 353 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:33.480 and Crime is one of the largest prospective longitudinal studies 354 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:36.480 of youth offending ever carried out in the UK. It 355 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:39.240 was first established in nineteen ninety eight and it began 356 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:42.559 with a cohort of around four thousand, three hundred children 357 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:45.640 aged twelve on average, who are all in their first 358 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:48.920 year of secondary school in the city of Edinburgh. The 359 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:52.079 main aim of the study was to further increase our 360 00:21:52.200 --> 00:21:56.079 understanding of criminal behavior amongst young people by studying them 361 00:21:56.119 --> 00:21:59.319 over a long period of development from early adolescents through 362 00:21:59.359 --> 00:22:02.799 to adulthood. This is an example of a self report 363 00:22:02.839 --> 00:22:06.039 study and victim survey together so could be used to 364 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:09.880 answer both exam questions. The study found that children from 365 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:12.759 single parent families and those in care to have the 366 00:22:12.839 --> 00:22:16.759 highest levels of criminality, showing that crime rates rise as 367 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:20.160 you go down through the social class scale. Boys were 368 00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:23.200 twice as criminal as girls, and crime rates were higher 369 00:22:23.240 --> 00:22:28.039 when parents were unemployed. They found correlations between impulsivity in 370 00:22:28.160 --> 00:22:31.319 children who had high levels of criminality were also more 371 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:34.839 likely to be victims. They found lower offending rates for 372 00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:39.039 those youths who were closely supervised by parents. The strongest 373 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:42.200 correlation was between offending rates and the use of alcohol 374 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:46.559 or drugs and friends who were also offenders. There are, however, 375 00:22:46.680 --> 00:22:50.519 many problems with self report studies. Feminists would criticize them 376 00:22:50.680 --> 00:22:52.960 for failing to highlight the way in which women are 377 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:57.079 treated differently by the criminal justice system. Self report studies 378 00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:00.759 failed to highlight the victimization that women suffer, and therefore 379 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:04.279 they would suggest that victimization studies are much more effective. 380 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:08.640 According to feminists, these will reveal the level of victimization 381 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:11.640 that women suffer in relation to sexual and domestic violence, 382 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:16.000 which can often be lost in self report studies. Self 383 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:18.480 report studies are often carried out on young adults and 384 00:23:18.599 --> 00:23:22.160 often include quite minor crimes, meaning they do not represent 385 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:26.079 the older population and cannot be generalized across other groups. 386 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:29.680 They also tend to be unrepresentative because they focus on 387 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:33.920 relatively small groups of people, as we found in Campbell's research, 388 00:23:34.079 --> 00:23:37.319 and or particular types of crimes. They do not include 389 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:40.920 sexual crimes, domestic violence, and white collar crimes or murder. 390 00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:45.519 Participants may also conceal offending or make false claims about 391 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:48.160 what they have done even though they are anonymous, because 392 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:51.279 they may have a mistrust of the police. So, therefore, 393 00:23:51.319 --> 00:23:53.680 do we know that we're still getting accurate and high 394 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:57.880 levels of validity from self report studies? In conclusion, it 395 00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:01.000 may be best to use what we call method pluralism 396 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:03.319 when we're trying to understand crime, and this means the 397 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:07.240 truly measure crime. We should use official crime statistics, self 398 00:24:07.240 --> 00:24:11.599 report surveys, and victim surveys altogether to offer a much 399 00:24:11.640 --> 00:24:15.440 broader picture rather than just relying on one method alone. So, 400 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:19.920 from listening to this episode, could you answer the following questions. Firsty, 401 00:24:20.119 --> 00:24:22.839