‘Outline and explain ways in which data about crime is collected’ Crime can be defined as deviant activities that break the law in any particular society. Finding out how much crime takes place isn’t easy, and attempts to measure crime can prove misleading. This doesn’t mean that crime statistics aren’t affective, but it does mean that no single measure can be fully relied upon. Many sociologists see crime statistics as a social construction, as collecting crime data is a result of the cultural expectations of society, and by understanding who commits crime and what sorts of crimes are committed, we can get a clearer picture of why people commit crime in the first place. Different sociologists have presented different theories and concepts to explain what drives a person to commit a crime, and research and statistics give us an idea of the type of crimes committed and the places that they’re most likely to occur.
DD121 An Introduction to the Social Sciences Richard Curtis TMA01: What forms of evidence have been used by social scientists in studies of crime? Essay Plan: Introduction: • What is crime? Act punishable by law/Evil or injurious act • Difference between – Social Scientific understanding & Individual understanding • Social scientific approach is just one way of looking at crime – most are based on an individual approach • What essay is about Main body: • Increase in recorded crime 1930 – 2000 • Were all crimes reported? Domestic violence/easier to report technology? • Quantitative evidence – recorded crime levels over time • Qualitative evidence – Interviews, observations & surveys • Increased reporting of crime (Maguire 1997) • Offenders as % population by gender & age • Area where we live – (Social Trends, 2002, pp.154-5).
Another example of how statistics from the police and statistics from victim surveys are different is because not all victims report crime to the police for many reasons and therefore create what’s called “the dark figure” (The number of crimes that go un-reported, we have no idea how big or small this number is). One last example of how they differ is that the victims are left to classify the crimes that they have been fallen victim to, which means that the classification may be wrong changing the statistics, whereas the recorded crimes get classified by the police. The advantages for using victim surveys to studying patterns of crime are: able to triangulate the accuracy of official statistics; may be more valid, as official procedures don’t have to be followed and victims have their own say; victims more likely to respond due to no fear of reprisal; can estimate the overall levels of crime, as unreported crimes are included; they have a high rate of comparability. These reasons allow us to see all of the advantages for helping to decide how useful victim surveys are in understanding patterns of crime. The disadvantages for using victim surveys to studying patterns of crime are: Not all
As explained in item a, the labelling theory explains how actions become labelled as criminal or deviant. The labelling theory explains how crime and deviance is a social construct as the laws and norms are constructed by society. The theory can be seen as useful in explaining crime and deviance yet this can be disputed. First of all, the labelling theory aims to answer the question, why and how people get labelled. One researcher found that police made decisions on whether to arrest youth based on their physical cues.
This assignment will explore the social constructivist approach to defining and measuring of crime and deviance from a functionalist and interactionist perspective with a brief overview of the Marxist perception. It will also consider the statistical approach to measuring crime. In terms of Crime and deviance they are extremely diverse. Crime is defined as any act which breaks the law and is therefore punishable. Most, if not all, acts of crime are categorized as deviant behaviour, for example, murder.
Explain how honesty and dishonesty impact self-report studies. Being completely honest in these self-reports may help different groups of people understand criminal behaviors and crimes. These reports are gathered information that is put into data. National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is an incident-based reporting system for crimes known to the police. For each crime incident coming to the attention of law enforcement, a variety of data are collected about the incident.
Contrast the functionalist and conflict theories of crime. The functionalist would argue that those who transgress are usually dealt with by the law and that order is restored. The conflict theorist would argue that the law enforcement system perpetuates the inequalities and would give the example of how many white-collar crimes go unpunished. Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_8586125_compare-contrast-functionalist-conflict-theories.html#ixzz2iJlpn5zx Contrast the functionalist and conflict theories of crime. The functionalist would argue that those who transgress are usually dealt with by the law and that order is restored.
The only way to combat organized crime is by legalizing that illegal substance and the people or public will help to stop organized crime from growing. Every citizen can make or do not make the organized crime as an official business. The problem is in this country small majority of people think that they know what best for the American people and they make policies. Who make these policies do not give the Americans to make their own choice these policies designed to tell the American what we can or cannot
First I would like to start by giving a brief definition of what or better said – how, criminology differs from victimology. Criminology is more concerned with the origin of crime along the extent and nature of crime. Criminology places an emphasis on studying the offender, the crimes, and the motives behind the crime. It is also the study of how the public and criminal justice system responds to the offender. Victimology plays a very important role in criminology and is used to determine what the victim’s behavior has to do with their risk of being victimized.
Law Enforcement Danna Robbins CRJ 201: Introduction to Criminal Justice Dawn Aldrich 05/06/2013 Law Enforcement Law enforcement broadly refers to any system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to promote adherence to the law by discovering and punishing persons who violate the rules governing that society. It is most frequently referred to those who directly engage in patrols and surveillance to dissuade and discover criminal activity and those who investigate crimes and apprehend offenders. The public view of policing is police officers patrolling streets and responding to emergency crime calls; police detectives interviewing witnesses, examining forensic clues, checking records and interrogating suspects;