Question 1

What are the prospects for new surveys of crime and justice in the future?

Accepted Answer

From 2003, a new survey - the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS) - was established in the UK. A national longitudinal, self-report offending survey for England and Wales, it covered people living in private households and has been repeated each year since. It has a number of advantages over other surveys, including the YLS, as it includes interviews with children as young as ten and also includes a longitudinal element enabling researchers to follow-up a proportion of respondents in subsequent years (Budd et al., 2005)

Question 2

What are the benefits of longitudinal studies?

Accepted Answer

They can provide interesting results on the offending 'careers' of a cohorts of young people, such as those just starting secondary school. Internationally, and especially in the United States, longitudinal studies using self-report instruments have grown markedly in the past decade or more.

Question 3

What percentage of all recorded crime falls into the category of violence against the person?

Accepted Answer

A) 0.5 
B) 0.75 
C) 0.03 
D) 0.2 
A) 0.5 
B) 0.75 
C) 0.03 
D) 0.2 D

Question 4

How can legislation affect levels of crime?

Accepted Answer

A) Some political parties 'govern through crime' 
B) New legislation creates new offences 
C) Poverty causes crime 
D) Legislation may be repealed 
A) Some political parties 'govern through crime' 
B) New legislation creates new offences 
C) Poverty causes crime 
D) Legislation may be repealed

Question 5

Under what circumstances can a crime be defined as having been 'cleared up'?

Accepted Answer

A) Someone has been charged or summonsed (though not necessarily convicted) 
B) the judge dies during the trial 
C) Victim is unwilling to give evidence 
D) There is sufficient evidence to prosecute someone, but no prosecution is proceeding (incapacity of the offender, victim, witness and so on) 
A) Someone has been charged or summonsed (though not necessarily convicted) 
B) the judge dies during the trial 
C) Victim is unwilling to give evidence 
D) There is sufficient evidence to prosecute someone, but no prosecution is proceeding (incapacity of the offender, victim, witness and so on)

Question 6

What might be the advantage of publishing police recorded crime statistics and national victim surveys such as the BCS together?

Accepted Answer

A) It will be cheaper to produce 
B) Comparisons are made more easily 
C) The 'dark figure' of crime will be eradicated 
D) It will be easier for the police 
A) It will be cheaper to produce 
B) Comparisons are made more easily 
C) The 'dark figure' of crime will be eradicated 
D) It will be easier for the police

Question 7

What are the two main methods used for measuring and tracking trends in crime?

Accepted Answer

A) data collected routinely by law enforcement agencies 
B) BBC's 'Crimewatch' 
C) Newspapers 
D) survey methods that elicit information from a representative sample of the population about their experiences of crime 
A) data collected routinely by law enforcement agencies 
B) BBC's 'Crimewatch' 
C) Newspapers 
D) survey methods that elicit information from a representative sample of the population about their experiences of crime

Question 8

According to official statistics it was in the mid-1950s that crime began to increase markedly, with recorded crime rising by almost three-quarters between 1955 and 1960. Why might this be so?

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to official statistics it was in...

Question 9

What sort of information can be obtained via 'official statistics' on crime?

Accepted Answer

A) Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 
B) Sentencing Statistics 
C) Prison and Probation Statistics 
D) Historical statistics 
A) Criminal Statistics, England and Wales 
B) Sentencing Statistics 
C) Prison and Probation Statistics 
D) Historical statistics

Question 10

What is the so-called 'dark figure' of crime?

Accepted Answer

A) Recorded offences that occur at night 
B) Offences that are usually associated with female offenders 
C) Crime that never makes it into official records 
D) Offences that are never cleared up or solved 
A) Recorded offences that occur at night 
B) Offences that are usually associated with female offenders 
C) Crime that never makes it into official records 
D) Offences that are never cleared up or solved

Question 11

How many different notifiable offences are recorded in official statistics?

Accepted Answer

A) 100 
B) 500 
C) 5000 
D) Over 1 million 
A) 100 
B) 500 
C) 5000 
D) Over 1 million

Question 12

Why are victim surveys becoming increasingly common?

Accepted Answer

A) because they are cheaper than other types of survey 
B) because they ask more useful questions 
C) because the main criminal justice agencies have faith in their findings 
D) because they are thought to be a more accurate measure of crime 
A) because they are cheaper than other types of survey 
B) because they ask more useful questions 
C) because the main criminal justice agencies have faith in their findings 
D) because they are thought to be a more accurate measure of crime

Question 13

The first BCS discovered that the average citizen could anticipate having their car stolen once every 60 years.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 14

The British Crime Survey (BCS) was first published in 1983

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Crime can be measured with complete accuracy.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 16

Why is there very little data on offenders in criminal statistics?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why is there very little data on...

Question 17

What is 'attrition'?

Accepted Answer

A) the number of crime falsely recorded as official statistics 
B) changes in the law that make some crimes more serious 
C) a term referring to variations in the way acts may be defined as 'crimes' 
D) cases falsely reported to the police 
A) the number of crime falsely recorded as official statistics 
B) changes in the law that make some crimes more serious 
C) a term referring to variations in the way acts may be defined as 'crimes' 
D) cases falsely reported to the police

Question 18

One of the shortcomings of victim surveys is that which relies on people to report what they have experienced, by definition it cannot include murder or 'victimless crimes' such as the buying and selling of drugs.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

What are the benefits of self report studies?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What are the benefits of self report...

Exam 3: Crime Data and Crime Trends

What are the prospects for new surveys of crime and justice in the future?

What are the benefits of longitudinal studies?

What percentage of all recorded crime falls into the category of violence against the person?

How can legislation affect levels of crime?

Under what circumstances can a crime be defined as having been 'cleared up'?

What might be the advantage of publishing police recorded crime statistics and national victim surveys such as the BCS together?

What are the two main methods used for measuring and tracking trends in crime?

According to official statistics it was in the mid-1950s that crime began to increase markedly, with recorded crime rising by almost three-quarters between 1955 and 1960. Why might this be so?

What sort of information can be obtained via 'official statistics' on crime?

What is the so-called 'dark figure' of crime?

How many different notifiable offences are recorded in official statistics?

Why are victim surveys becoming increasingly common?

The first BCS discovered that the average citizen could anticipate having their car stolen once every 60 years.

The British Crime Survey (BCS) was first published in 1983

Crime can be measured with complete accuracy.

Why is there very little data on offenders in criminal statistics?

What is 'attrition'?

One of the shortcomings of victim surveys is that which relies on people to report what they have experienced, by definition it cannot include murder or 'victimless crimes' such as the buying and selling of drugs.

What are the benefits of self report studies?

Understanding Crime and Criminology

Crime and Punishment in History

Crime and the Media

Classicism and Positivism

Biological Positivism

Psychological Positivism

Durkheim, Anomie and Strain

The Chicago School, Subcultures and Cultural Criminology

Interactionism and Labelling Theory

Control Theories

Radical and Critical Criminology

Realist Criminology

Contemporary Classicism

Feminist Criminology

Late Modernity, Governmentality and Risk

Victims, Victimisation and Victimology

White Collar and Corporate Crime

Organised Crime

Violent and Property Crime

Drugs and Alcohol

Penology and Punishment

Understanding Criminal Justice

Crime Prevention and Community Safety

Policing

Criminal Courts and the Court Process

Sentencing and Non-Custodial Penalties

Prisons and Imprisonment

Youth Crime and Youth Justice

Restorative Justice

Race, Crime and Criminal Justice

Gender, Crime and Justice

Criminal and Forensic Psychology

Green Criminology

Globalisation, Terrorism and Human Rights

Understanding Criminological Research

Doing Criminological Research

Filters