Evaluate the methods of collecting statistics about crime 1.6
Police recorded data
Police recorded data are statistics which reflect the crimes that are both reported to and
recorded by the police. Each month, the 43 police forces produce reports outlining the
crimes they have dealt with. These reports are sent to the office, national statistics which
are then published on behalf of the home office- the government department responsible
for running the police. The home office uses these national statistics to measure the extent
of recorded crime across the whole country. From the office of national statistics website,
the latest statistics show that theft has decreased by 19% compared to march 2020, fraud
had increased during the corona virus period but has now gone back to what it was before,
burglary has been down 28%, robbery has been down 23% and other crimes such as
homicide and vehicle off3ence has gone down as well. These are strengths and limitations of
police recorded crime statistics. The strengths are- the reports are produced on a month by
month basis so can be easily compared, the data is accessible and freely by the public on the
ONS website, regular reports helps the police force to use their resources and the police are
highly trained in collecting crime data. The limitations are- not all crimes are reported to the
police, when crimes are reported to the police, the police do not always record them, some
police officers have been accused of cuffing where they don’t record a crime as they want
the number of crimes in the area to look lower than it actually is and police may make errors
recording information.
Crime survey for England and Wales (CSEW)
The main focus of this crime survey is to find out about those crimes that are either not
reported or recorded to the police. This survey has previously shown that only 4 in 10
crimes are actually reported to the police. It is an example of a victimisation survey, asking
members of the public about their own experie4nces of crime. 50,000 people age 16 and
over are chosen randomly to take this survey and it happens every year. This survey is
funded by the government but carried out by an independent research company. There is
also a separate survey from for 10 to 15 year olds that record the experiences of young
people, parental permission is needed for anyone 10 to 15 years old. The researcher visits
the sample in their home and the results are inputted electronically. The results are then
published annually by the office of national statistics, the key purpose of the crime survey is
to ask about experiences of crime in the last year. They will ask questions such as whether
they were
Police recorded data
Police recorded data are statistics which reflect the crimes that are both reported to and
recorded by the police. Each month, the 43 police forces produce reports outlining the
crimes they have dealt with. These reports are sent to the office, national statistics which
are then published on behalf of the home office- the government department responsible
for running the police. The home office uses these national statistics to measure the extent
of recorded crime across the whole country. From the office of national statistics website,
the latest statistics show that theft has decreased by 19% compared to march 2020, fraud
had increased during the corona virus period but has now gone back to what it was before,
burglary has been down 28%, robbery has been down 23% and other crimes such as
homicide and vehicle off3ence has gone down as well. These are strengths and limitations of
police recorded crime statistics. The strengths are- the reports are produced on a month by
month basis so can be easily compared, the data is accessible and freely by the public on the
ONS website, regular reports helps the police force to use their resources and the police are
highly trained in collecting crime data. The limitations are- not all crimes are reported to the
police, when crimes are reported to the police, the police do not always record them, some
police officers have been accused of cuffing where they don’t record a crime as they want
the number of crimes in the area to look lower than it actually is and police may make errors
recording information.
Crime survey for England and Wales (CSEW)
The main focus of this crime survey is to find out about those crimes that are either not
reported or recorded to the police. This survey has previously shown that only 4 in 10
crimes are actually reported to the police. It is an example of a victimisation survey, asking
members of the public about their own experie4nces of crime. 50,000 people age 16 and
over are chosen randomly to take this survey and it happens every year. This survey is
funded by the government but carried out by an independent research company. There is
also a separate survey from for 10 to 15 year olds that record the experiences of young
people, parental permission is needed for anyone 10 to 15 years old. The researcher visits
the sample in their home and the results are inputted electronically. The results are then
published annually by the office of national statistics, the key purpose of the crime survey is
to ask about experiences of crime in the last year. They will ask questions such as whether
they were
