AC1.6 EXAMPLE ANSWER - Evaluate methods of collecting statistics about crime.
One type of method that is used to collect statistics about crime is police crime statistics which are
gathered by the Home Office. The Home Office provides police recorded crime in tables that are
broken down into offence type, geography and time period.
Reliability:
This data isn’t known as the most reliable because methods of recording crime by the police has
changed over the years. In 2016, newer and improved crime recording processes and by victims
having confidence to report their incidents to the police meant that there was a 7% increase in police
recorded crime. This means this will affect the reliability since data hasn’t been recorded in the same
way so comparing yearly statistics will have its limitations.
Validity:
The validity of this data may be lower because this only mentions recorded crime. All crimes that are
reported doesn’t mean that they are recorded hence this will contribute to the dark figure of crime.
According to the CSEW, only 40% of crimes are reported and the police only recorded around 60% of
the reports. This can also mean that certain crimes may be misrepresented e.g hate crimes which
doesn’t lead to an accurate figure of crime hence why the validity is lower.
Ethics:
There is also an ethical issue concerning police recorded data because stereotypes may be enforced
towards people of particular ethnicities e.g BAME. However no names are mentioned which means it
is confidential so people do not have to worry about their data being spread around.
Strengths and Limitations:
The police recorded statistics have various strengths. One strength of this data is that it is subjective
to criminal acts (isn’t reliant on victim’s interpretation of whether it was a crime). This means that
the crimes recorded are not biased in severity which means it can be fairly reliable. Another strength
of police recorded statistics is that the police records are strictly monitored, ensuring that they are
right. The public is also allowed to see what is going on and they are usually valid because the police
are clear about what they’re measuring. A further strength is that police recorded statistics can help
to decide policing budgets because it can predict the severity of crime in the forthcoming year.
Even though the police recorded statistics has many strengths, they also have a number of
limitations. A limitation of this data is that it excludes all unreported data which will make it decrease
in validity. There is also a potential risk of police errors may record crimes under the wrong category.
An example of this can be theft offences being recorded as violent crime because there was an
element of violence in it. A further limitation is that police recorded statistics are subject to changing
priorities of the government agencies hence why there may be concentrated areas where crime rates
have increased or decreased.
Purpose of research:
The purpose of this data is to inform the public about where the resource management has been put
in place by the government and police which provides trends in offending. This can also be used to
allow evaluation and development of crime reduction policies which can also be used to reflect
police workload. This data also provides information on an area basis rather than a national sample.
One type of method that is used to collect statistics about crime is police crime statistics which are
gathered by the Home Office. The Home Office provides police recorded crime in tables that are
broken down into offence type, geography and time period.
Reliability:
This data isn’t known as the most reliable because methods of recording crime by the police has
changed over the years. In 2016, newer and improved crime recording processes and by victims
having confidence to report their incidents to the police meant that there was a 7% increase in police
recorded crime. This means this will affect the reliability since data hasn’t been recorded in the same
way so comparing yearly statistics will have its limitations.
Validity:
The validity of this data may be lower because this only mentions recorded crime. All crimes that are
reported doesn’t mean that they are recorded hence this will contribute to the dark figure of crime.
According to the CSEW, only 40% of crimes are reported and the police only recorded around 60% of
the reports. This can also mean that certain crimes may be misrepresented e.g hate crimes which
doesn’t lead to an accurate figure of crime hence why the validity is lower.
Ethics:
There is also an ethical issue concerning police recorded data because stereotypes may be enforced
towards people of particular ethnicities e.g BAME. However no names are mentioned which means it
is confidential so people do not have to worry about their data being spread around.
Strengths and Limitations:
The police recorded statistics have various strengths. One strength of this data is that it is subjective
to criminal acts (isn’t reliant on victim’s interpretation of whether it was a crime). This means that
the crimes recorded are not biased in severity which means it can be fairly reliable. Another strength
of police recorded statistics is that the police records are strictly monitored, ensuring that they are
right. The public is also allowed to see what is going on and they are usually valid because the police
are clear about what they’re measuring. A further strength is that police recorded statistics can help
to decide policing budgets because it can predict the severity of crime in the forthcoming year.
Even though the police recorded statistics has many strengths, they also have a number of
limitations. A limitation of this data is that it excludes all unreported data which will make it decrease
in validity. There is also a potential risk of police errors may record crimes under the wrong category.
An example of this can be theft offences being recorded as violent crime because there was an
element of violence in it. A further limitation is that police recorded statistics are subject to changing
priorities of the government agencies hence why there may be concentrated areas where crime rates
have increased or decreased.
Purpose of research:
The purpose of this data is to inform the public about where the resource management has been put
in place by the government and police which provides trends in offending. This can also be used to
allow evaluation and development of crime reduction policies which can also be used to reflect
police workload. This data also provides information on an area basis rather than a national sample.
