Crime and Society (LAW6009-B
The statement of, “crime statistics are seen to be an accurate reflection of the amount of
crime in society, will be critically examined by how “this fails to acknowledge important
facts which may distort our understanding of the data”. To do this, we must examine
the misrepresentation in the following two demographics of race and age.
To begin, the main ways we know about crime in England and Wales are from the Home
Office,1 the CSEW2 and Police records of crime.3 As they are the most reliable sources
pertaining to crime statistics. One benefit of the statistics is they may reveal whether or not
criminal activity is increasing in such neighbourhoods. Professionals in the criminal justice
system may use this information to evaluate the efficacy of their efforts.4 Whereas,
underreporting/overreporting crimes might provide the wrong impression of the extent of the
problem in society, which is a drawback.5
Without trustworthy data, it would be impossible to provide appropriate funds for law
enforcement, and the data may be utilised in a variety of ways, including prioritising funding
applications for disadvantaged groups.6 Furthermore, official crime data is the most helpful
1
Wwwgovuk, 'Statistics at Home Office' (Govuk, 2023) <https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-
office/about/statistics> accessed 17 April 2023
2
Onsgovuk, 'Crime in England and Wales QMI' (Office for National Statistics, 2023)
<https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/methodologies/
crimeinenglandandwalesqmi#:~:text=Crime%20in%20England%20and%20Wales%20has%20two%20main
%20data%20sources,Police%20recorded%20crime>accessed 17 April 2023
3
Onsgovuk, 'Crime against households and adults using data from police recorded crime and the Crime Survey
for England and Wales (CSEW)' (Office for National Statistics , 2023)
<https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/
yearendingseptember2022#:~:text=Police%20recorded%20crime%20in%20England,2020%20(6.1%20million
%20offences).>accessed 17 April 2023
4
Walden University , 'Why National Crime Statistics Are Important ' (Walden University , 2023)
<https://www.waldenu.edu/online-bachelors-programs/bs-in-criminal-justice/resource/why-national-crime-
statistics-are-important#:~:text=The%20data%20can%20show%20if,whether%20their%20initiatives%20are
%20successful.>accessed 17 April 2023
5
Tutor2unet, 'Police recorded crime statistics - strengths and limitations' (Tutor2u, 2023)
<https://www.tutor2u.net/criminology/topics/police-recorded-crime-statistics-strengths-and-
limitations#:~:text=Weaknesses%3A,crime%20to%20meet%20government%20targets.>accessed 17 April 2023
6
Walden University , 'Why National Crime Statistics Are Important ' (Walden University , 2023)
<https://www.waldenu.edu/online-bachelors-programs/bs-in-criminal-justice/resource/why-national-crime-
statistics-are-important#:~:text=The%20data%20can%20show%20if,whether%20their%20initiatives%20are
%20successful.>accessed 17 April 2023
, Crime and Society (LAW6009-B
when explaining broad trends. This allows us to examine crime rates and identify patterns
over time. This may help authorities reduce crime rates, reduce the number of victims, give
some sense of security to inhabitants of crime-ridden regions, and help break the
intergenerational transmission of criminal activity.7
Age:
Underreporting (60% of crimes go unreported) is one way crime statistics can be
manipulated/misrepresented when it comes to age.8 Research has shown young individuals
who are crime victims are less inclined to come forward for a number of reasons. Such as,
failing to report them for fear of retaliation or intimidation or going to the police will be too
time-consuming or stressful.9 Furthermore, crimes such as domestic violence affected nearly
half (3.4%)10 of South Asian women aged 16 and 74 and many women may be reluctant to
report assault since it is not acceptable in their culture. 11 This prejudice may have its origins
in cultural and social standards encourage people to struggle through it on their own. As a
result, young people fail to report crimes because they have been taught not to trust the police
7
Sascom, 'Data analytics can be the key that helps stop crime in its tracks' (SAS, 2023)
<https://www.sas.com/en_gb/insights/articles/risk-fraud/how-police-use-data-to-prevent-
crime.html#:~:text=Cutting%20the%20incidence%20of%20crime,that%20can%20run%20in
%20families.>accessed 17 April 2023
8
Victimssupportnicom, 'There are many reasons why a victim of crime may choose not to report the crime to
police Studies have shown that up to 60% of crimes go unreported' (Victims Support, 2023)
<https://www.victimsupportni.com/the-victims-journey/should-you-report-a-crime/dont-report/#:~:text=Studies
%20have%20shown%20that%20up,how%20shaken%20they%20may%20feel.>accessed 19 April 2023
9
Victimssupportnicom, 'There are many reasons why a victim of crime may choose not to report the crime to
police Studies have shown that up to 60% of crimes go unreported' (Victims Support, 2023)
<https://www.victimsupportni.com/the-victims-journey/should-you-report-a-crime/dont-report/#:~:text=Studies
%20have%20shown%20that%20up,how%20shaken%20they%20may%20feel.>accessed 19 April 2023
10
Onsgovuk, 'Domestic violence on South Asian women'(Census2021, 20 August 2018)
<https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/
domesticviolenceonsouthasianwomen>accessed 19 April 2023
11
Tracy McVeigh, 'Abuse going unreported in Britain’s south Asian communities – study' (The Guardian, 19
September 2015) <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/sep/19/abuse-going-unreported-in-britains-south-
asian-communities-study> accessed 19 April 2023
The statement of, “crime statistics are seen to be an accurate reflection of the amount of
crime in society, will be critically examined by how “this fails to acknowledge important
facts which may distort our understanding of the data”. To do this, we must examine
the misrepresentation in the following two demographics of race and age.
To begin, the main ways we know about crime in England and Wales are from the Home
Office,1 the CSEW2 and Police records of crime.3 As they are the most reliable sources
pertaining to crime statistics. One benefit of the statistics is they may reveal whether or not
criminal activity is increasing in such neighbourhoods. Professionals in the criminal justice
system may use this information to evaluate the efficacy of their efforts.4 Whereas,
underreporting/overreporting crimes might provide the wrong impression of the extent of the
problem in society, which is a drawback.5
Without trustworthy data, it would be impossible to provide appropriate funds for law
enforcement, and the data may be utilised in a variety of ways, including prioritising funding
applications for disadvantaged groups.6 Furthermore, official crime data is the most helpful
1
Wwwgovuk, 'Statistics at Home Office' (Govuk, 2023) <https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-
office/about/statistics> accessed 17 April 2023
2
Onsgovuk, 'Crime in England and Wales QMI' (Office for National Statistics, 2023)
<https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/methodologies/
crimeinenglandandwalesqmi#:~:text=Crime%20in%20England%20and%20Wales%20has%20two%20main
%20data%20sources,Police%20recorded%20crime>accessed 17 April 2023
3
Onsgovuk, 'Crime against households and adults using data from police recorded crime and the Crime Survey
for England and Wales (CSEW)' (Office for National Statistics , 2023)
<https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/crimeinenglandandwales/
yearendingseptember2022#:~:text=Police%20recorded%20crime%20in%20England,2020%20(6.1%20million
%20offences).>accessed 17 April 2023
4
Walden University , 'Why National Crime Statistics Are Important ' (Walden University , 2023)
<https://www.waldenu.edu/online-bachelors-programs/bs-in-criminal-justice/resource/why-national-crime-
statistics-are-important#:~:text=The%20data%20can%20show%20if,whether%20their%20initiatives%20are
%20successful.>accessed 17 April 2023
5
Tutor2unet, 'Police recorded crime statistics - strengths and limitations' (Tutor2u, 2023)
<https://www.tutor2u.net/criminology/topics/police-recorded-crime-statistics-strengths-and-
limitations#:~:text=Weaknesses%3A,crime%20to%20meet%20government%20targets.>accessed 17 April 2023
6
Walden University , 'Why National Crime Statistics Are Important ' (Walden University , 2023)
<https://www.waldenu.edu/online-bachelors-programs/bs-in-criminal-justice/resource/why-national-crime-
statistics-are-important#:~:text=The%20data%20can%20show%20if,whether%20their%20initiatives%20are
%20successful.>accessed 17 April 2023
, Crime and Society (LAW6009-B
when explaining broad trends. This allows us to examine crime rates and identify patterns
over time. This may help authorities reduce crime rates, reduce the number of victims, give
some sense of security to inhabitants of crime-ridden regions, and help break the
intergenerational transmission of criminal activity.7
Age:
Underreporting (60% of crimes go unreported) is one way crime statistics can be
manipulated/misrepresented when it comes to age.8 Research has shown young individuals
who are crime victims are less inclined to come forward for a number of reasons. Such as,
failing to report them for fear of retaliation or intimidation or going to the police will be too
time-consuming or stressful.9 Furthermore, crimes such as domestic violence affected nearly
half (3.4%)10 of South Asian women aged 16 and 74 and many women may be reluctant to
report assault since it is not acceptable in their culture. 11 This prejudice may have its origins
in cultural and social standards encourage people to struggle through it on their own. As a
result, young people fail to report crimes because they have been taught not to trust the police
7
Sascom, 'Data analytics can be the key that helps stop crime in its tracks' (SAS, 2023)
<https://www.sas.com/en_gb/insights/articles/risk-fraud/how-police-use-data-to-prevent-
crime.html#:~:text=Cutting%20the%20incidence%20of%20crime,that%20can%20run%20in
%20families.>accessed 17 April 2023
8
Victimssupportnicom, 'There are many reasons why a victim of crime may choose not to report the crime to
police Studies have shown that up to 60% of crimes go unreported' (Victims Support, 2023)
<https://www.victimsupportni.com/the-victims-journey/should-you-report-a-crime/dont-report/#:~:text=Studies
%20have%20shown%20that%20up,how%20shaken%20they%20may%20feel.>accessed 19 April 2023
9
Victimssupportnicom, 'There are many reasons why a victim of crime may choose not to report the crime to
police Studies have shown that up to 60% of crimes go unreported' (Victims Support, 2023)
<https://www.victimsupportni.com/the-victims-journey/should-you-report-a-crime/dont-report/#:~:text=Studies
%20have%20shown%20that%20up,how%20shaken%20they%20may%20feel.>accessed 19 April 2023
10
Onsgovuk, 'Domestic violence on South Asian women'(Census2021, 20 August 2018)
<https://www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/
domesticviolenceonsouthasianwomen>accessed 19 April 2023
11
Tracy McVeigh, 'Abuse going unreported in Britain’s south Asian communities – study' (The Guardian, 19
September 2015) <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/sep/19/abuse-going-unreported-in-britains-south-
asian-communities-study> accessed 19 April 2023
