1. There are 3 ways of
measuring crime statistically
Will they all record the same
number of crimes?
Which one will indicate the most
crimes, and the least?

2. METHOD A
A) Official Criminal Statistics
• Recorded by the police and published by the
Home Office each year
• Sociologists use these statistics as secondary
forms of data
• Useful in identifying trends in recorded crime
over time
• Useful in identifying trends in particular crimes
over time – has violent crime gone up or down
• Useful in identifying trends in recorded crime
over time between areas in the UK – is Nunny a
crime hot spot?

3. How are Crime Statistics
collected?
• Although the police detect some crime
themselves crime statistics are mainly
based (90%) on crimes reported to them
and recorded by them.

4. Crime Probability of each Crime being included in the Official Crime
Statistics
Probability of
crime being
NOTICED
Probability of crime
being REPORTED
Probability of crime
being RECORDED by
the police
Reporting rates based on
2007/2008 British Crime
Survey (Victim Survey)
1 Car Theft
2 Bank Robbery
3 Vandalism
4 Shoplifting
5 Common Assault
6 Stealing from Work
7 Illegal Drug
Possession
8 Prostitution
9 Rape
10 Domestic Abuse
11 Racial Harassment
12 Tax Evasion
13 Murder

5. Crime Probability of each Crime being included in
the Official Crime Statistics
LOW HIGH
1 Car Theft
2 Bank Robbery
3 Vandalism
4 Shoplifting
5 Common Assault
6 Stealing from Work
7 Illegal Drug Possession
8 Prostitution
9 Rape
10 Domestic Abuse
11 Racial Harassment
12 Tax Evasion
13 Murder

6. Reporting rates based on
2007/8 British Crime Survey
Type of offence Percentages
Theft of vehicle 93
Burglary with loss 76
Burglary no loss (including attempts) 54
Theft from vehicle 44
Robbery 43
Vandalism 35
Common Assault 34
Theft from the person 32

7. The Dark Figure of Crime

8. What have we Learned?
• Criminal Statistics are Socially constructed –
they depend on human decisions, luck,
priorities, circumstances.......
• Official crime statistics gathered by the Home
Office do not measure the true extent of crime.
They are INVALID. This so called ‘dark figure
of crime’ is unknown.
• Next time you see the media, politicians, and
police chiefs presenting these figures uncritically
as ‘hard facts’ you know they are bending the
truth.

9. Question: Write down 3 reasons why we might doubt the
validity of official crime statistics which seem to suggest
that Black people commit more crime
• 1 crimes black people commit may be
more noticeable types of crime
• 2 crimes black people commit may be
more HIGHLY reported
• 3 police practices might record more black
peoples crime than white peoples
• 4 Police are racist/label black people and
use discriminatory tactics like stop and
search, so might find a higher proportion
of black crime

10. METHOD B
B) VICTIM SURVEYS
• The survey hopes to record crimes that have not
been recorded by the police, by asking people
what crimes they have been a victim of. The
survey aims to count crimes that have not been
recorded by the police for whatever reason.
These unrecorded crimes are called the ‘DARK
or GREY FIGURE’ OF CRIME – they are like
the part of an iceberg below the water, invisible
but very important.

11. METHOD B
B) VICTIM SURVEYS
• According to the BCS in 2006/7 around
11.3 million crimes were committed
against adults living in private households
in England and Wales. In comparison
around 5.4 millions crimes were recorded
by the police in England and Wales in
2006/7

12. METHOD C
C) SELF-REPORT STUDIES
Are another way of trying to get a more accurate picture
of crime, by asking people which crimes they themselves
have committed .