Method of Collecting Statistics Strengths Weaknesses
- Home Office Statistics – Yearly, all - Reliable as the police follow the same procedure for - Officers can work the same crime differently from
43 regional police forces report all crimes (through the law and regulations) Officers past experiences. EG: Police in Durham do not
their number if crimes to the must record the crime, collect statements, and prioritise cannabis growing but police in Cumbria
Home Office which are then sent consult CPS on prosecution don’t
to the national Statistics - Very low rate of false accusations/imprisonment. - Cases are not convicted/recorded - lack of evidence
Department to publish Police must compile evidence before conviction etc. People only report 40% of crimes and police
- Crime must be detected, - Home office doesn’t publish any private information only record 60%
reported, recorded and the of the victims. EG: Rape victims remain anonymous - They do not show why people commit crimes. EG:
offender must be convicted so no fear of retaliation Prostitution is against the law in many countries as
- Purpose – indicates crime trends and a measure of 40% of prostitutes were once child prostitutes
police activity EG: From these statistics between - Actions that used to be crimes are no longer crimes
2017/18 we could see crime had decreased by 7% when old laws were repealed. EG: (until the law was
changed in 1967) sex between people of the same
gender was illegal
- The Crime Survey for England and - The CSEW uses the same questions for everyone as - Some people may give different answers depending
Wales – A victim survey asks a it’s conducted by professional interviewers. on who is interviewing them (female may not want
sample of people what crimes - Uncovers crimes that have not been reported to talk about sexual abuse with a male)
they’ve been victims of in the (people may be afraid to report or charges may have - Relies on victims’ account (may have forgotten some
past year been dropped) details or changed what happened – no evidence)
- Survey around 50,000 people - Individuals have the right to withdraw and - Being a victim of a traumatic crime – can trigger
randomly every year confidentiality PTSD – Affects mental health (around 50% of rape
- Can give statistics on the true trend of crime. EG: victims experience long-term symptoms of PTSD)
CSEW found as of 2021 - 36% increase in fraud and - Can’t record all crimes (where there is no victim) –
computer misuse offences crimes like fraud against businesses aren’t recorded
of research - Has a high response rate – ¾ of victims agree to take
part (more accurate statistics)
AC1.6 – Collecting Statistics About Crime
- Home Office Statistics – Yearly, all - Reliable as the police follow the same procedure for - Officers can work the same crime differently from
43 regional police forces report all crimes (through the law and regulations) Officers past experiences. EG: Police in Durham do not
their number if crimes to the must record the crime, collect statements, and prioritise cannabis growing but police in Cumbria
Home Office which are then sent consult CPS on prosecution don’t
to the national Statistics - Very low rate of false accusations/imprisonment. - Cases are not convicted/recorded - lack of evidence
Department to publish Police must compile evidence before conviction etc. People only report 40% of crimes and police
- Crime must be detected, - Home office doesn’t publish any private information only record 60%
reported, recorded and the of the victims. EG: Rape victims remain anonymous - They do not show why people commit crimes. EG:
offender must be convicted so no fear of retaliation Prostitution is against the law in many countries as
- Purpose – indicates crime trends and a measure of 40% of prostitutes were once child prostitutes
police activity EG: From these statistics between - Actions that used to be crimes are no longer crimes
2017/18 we could see crime had decreased by 7% when old laws were repealed. EG: (until the law was
changed in 1967) sex between people of the same
gender was illegal
- The Crime Survey for England and - The CSEW uses the same questions for everyone as - Some people may give different answers depending
Wales – A victim survey asks a it’s conducted by professional interviewers. on who is interviewing them (female may not want
sample of people what crimes - Uncovers crimes that have not been reported to talk about sexual abuse with a male)
they’ve been victims of in the (people may be afraid to report or charges may have - Relies on victims’ account (may have forgotten some
past year been dropped) details or changed what happened – no evidence)
- Survey around 50,000 people - Individuals have the right to withdraw and - Being a victim of a traumatic crime – can trigger
randomly every year confidentiality PTSD – Affects mental health (around 50% of rape
- Can give statistics on the true trend of crime. EG: victims experience long-term symptoms of PTSD)
CSEW found as of 2021 - 36% increase in fraud and - Can’t record all crimes (where there is no victim) –
computer misuse offences crimes like fraud against businesses aren’t recorded
of research - Has a high response rate – ¾ of victims agree to take
part (more accurate statistics)
AC1.6 – Collecting Statistics About Crime
