Practise paragraphs - criminology
AC 1.6- Police recorded crime
What is it?
Police recorded crime is the number of notifiable crimes reported to and by the police forces
in England and Wales, not including the dark figure of crimes. This isn’t always a real
indication of a rise in these types of crime as often there is ongoing changes in police
recording practises. The police act 1996 section 44 states that the home secretary requires
constables of forces to provide statistical data. They can request it in qualitative or
quantitative data. These are supplied by all police forces, British transport police etc,
covering a wide range of offences. Low level crimes may not feature as heavily as they may
be part of the unreported crime.
Reliability
Police recorded data has high reliability as all police forces follow a standardised procedure
of how to control and deal with crimes. However, reliability is low because people may
define, and view incidents differently and therefore will deal with punishment differently.
Also, each individual police force decides on how much money needs to be taken for it to
become a crime. Low reliability is shown when officers may recall details incorrectly and
rules change on what a crime is regularly and therefore officers may become confused.
Validity
Police recorded data doesn’t include the dark figure of crime which means not all crimes are
recorded by the police therefore validity is low. Only 40% of crimes are reported to the
police, therefore the validity of data is reduced.
Reasons for underreporting
The public may choose not to report to the police because they may fear that retaliation
may occur. They could be ashamed they fell for it and embarrassed they’re a victim. It may
also be down to having a lack of understanding, or a lack of concern for this type of crime as
it doesn’t concern them. Some people have a lack of trust within the police and lack of
knowledge as they’re unaware it’s a crime.
Reasons for under recording
Police may not record all data as it may affect statistics so they don’t include it. This could
also be because they don’t class it as a priority and don’t view it as a concern. Police may not
believe you or they could have a lack of evidence and therefore it isn’t worth recording.
Ethics of research
Police recorded data has high ethical values because it allows victims to report crimes
anonymously where no personal data is shared. When victims share their data, only
statistics are shared with the public and therefore there overall is no invasion of privacy.
AC 1.6- Police recorded crime
What is it?
Police recorded crime is the number of notifiable crimes reported to and by the police forces
in England and Wales, not including the dark figure of crimes. This isn’t always a real
indication of a rise in these types of crime as often there is ongoing changes in police
recording practises. The police act 1996 section 44 states that the home secretary requires
constables of forces to provide statistical data. They can request it in qualitative or
quantitative data. These are supplied by all police forces, British transport police etc,
covering a wide range of offences. Low level crimes may not feature as heavily as they may
be part of the unreported crime.
Reliability
Police recorded data has high reliability as all police forces follow a standardised procedure
of how to control and deal with crimes. However, reliability is low because people may
define, and view incidents differently and therefore will deal with punishment differently.
Also, each individual police force decides on how much money needs to be taken for it to
become a crime. Low reliability is shown when officers may recall details incorrectly and
rules change on what a crime is regularly and therefore officers may become confused.
Validity
Police recorded data doesn’t include the dark figure of crime which means not all crimes are
recorded by the police therefore validity is low. Only 40% of crimes are reported to the
police, therefore the validity of data is reduced.
Reasons for underreporting
The public may choose not to report to the police because they may fear that retaliation
may occur. They could be ashamed they fell for it and embarrassed they’re a victim. It may
also be down to having a lack of understanding, or a lack of concern for this type of crime as
it doesn’t concern them. Some people have a lack of trust within the police and lack of
knowledge as they’re unaware it’s a crime.
Reasons for under recording
Police may not record all data as it may affect statistics so they don’t include it. This could
also be because they don’t class it as a priority and don’t view it as a concern. Police may not
believe you or they could have a lack of evidence and therefore it isn’t worth recording.
Ethics of research
Police recorded data has high ethical values because it allows victims to report crimes
anonymously where no personal data is shared. When victims share their data, only
statistics are shared with the public and therefore there overall is no invasion of privacy.
