Deck 3: Crime Data and Crime Trends

Question 1

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

Answer 1

True

Question 2

What are the benefits of longitudinal studies?

Answer 2

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 are the benefits of self report studies?

Answer 3

Self-report studies may have a number of objectives. One of the aims, at least early aims, of self-report studies was to develop measures of the extent of crime using very similar definitions of crime to those in official statistics, but in a way that would overcome many of the shortcomings of such measures. The aim was to develop a more accurate measure of the extent of crime. Such studies may also be used to explore and possibly test theories that seek to explain crime and offending behaviour. Much recent research on 'risk factors' for example has been based around longitudinal self-report studies. A third aim may be to explore the social distribution of crime and offending.

Question 4

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

Question 5

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?

Question 6

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

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 7

How can legislation affect levels of crime?

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D)Legislation may be repealed

Question 8

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

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

Question 9

What are the two main methods used for measuring and tracking trends in 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 10

What is 'attrition'?

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 11

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

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

Question 12

How many different notifiable offences are recorded in official statistics?

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

Question 13

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

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 14

Why are victim surveys becoming increasingly common?

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 15

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

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 16

Crime can be measured with complete accuracy.

Question 17

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.

Question 18

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

Question 19

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