1.6 Evaluate methods of collecting statistics about crime
There are two types of ways in which the UK collects statistics about crime. These are the
Home office and the Crime Survey England and Wales. Crime Survey England and Wales
(CSEW) is a self-reporting survey that is completed by the general public, whereby the
general public is asked to complete questions about crime in their local area and on a
national scale. The home office is done by police recordings of crime. This is done by 43
police forces across the UK and each month, it produces statistics on crime in their area of
duty.
Reliability
On one hand, CSEW could be considered reliable as they have interviews with trained
interviewers to ensure that all information is confidential and that all questions are the same.
Due to the fact that all the questions are the same, there is also a likely chance that there will
be consistent answers throughout the interview. However, it could be argued that CSEW is
not reliable as there may be answers which could be different, depending on the interviewer,
this being the differences in gender, race, religion, etc. Whereas on one hand, the Home
Office could be considered as reliable as it is procedural, and will happen once a month, as it
is a duty of a police officer to report on the crime and process them, with this being generally
the same process every time for each police officer. However, it could be argued that the
Home Office is not reliable as there could be different perceptions and biases from different
police officers, as some police officers may report and process information differently from
other police officers. Another reason is that there may be a lack of resources to process all
the information about a crime. As well as this, there may be differences in the way a police
officer takes notes, thus leading to a bias.
Validity
On one hand, CSEW could be classed as valid as they cover crimes that don't get reported
to police, leading to unsolved and unreported crimes being recorded, staying out of the dark
figure of crime. This can be proven by the fact that around 40% of crime remains hidden,
and so this being brought to light means that the dark figure of crime is decreased. However,
CSEW could be considered as not valid as victimless crimes may stay unaccounted for such
as white-collar and tech crimes. This may lead to not all victims being included in the survey,
as it relies on victims to speak forward, which may be difficult due to unforeseen reasons.
Whereas on the other hand, the Home Office could be considered valid as these are
statistics from police officers, and they have been able to inspect and monitor how a crime
gets reported. However, the Home Office may not be considered as valid to some extent as
around 60% of crime that is reported can go unrecorded by police, leading to police only
prioritizing crime that is deemed as important or major. This may affect crime stats as if
police are only recording the most important and major crimes, this may lead to statistics
being manipulated in order for police targets to be made
Ethics
Both CSEW and the Home office are accepting of the subject's rights to privacy,
confidentiality, and consent. They both cannot publicize information about a subject without
their permission, and cannot publish any personal information. There are moral and
professional codes put in place which the CSEW and the Home office must follow when
reporting a case
There are two types of ways in which the UK collects statistics about crime. These are the
Home office and the Crime Survey England and Wales. Crime Survey England and Wales
(CSEW) is a self-reporting survey that is completed by the general public, whereby the
general public is asked to complete questions about crime in their local area and on a
national scale. The home office is done by police recordings of crime. This is done by 43
police forces across the UK and each month, it produces statistics on crime in their area of
duty.
Reliability
On one hand, CSEW could be considered reliable as they have interviews with trained
interviewers to ensure that all information is confidential and that all questions are the same.
Due to the fact that all the questions are the same, there is also a likely chance that there will
be consistent answers throughout the interview. However, it could be argued that CSEW is
not reliable as there may be answers which could be different, depending on the interviewer,
this being the differences in gender, race, religion, etc. Whereas on one hand, the Home
Office could be considered as reliable as it is procedural, and will happen once a month, as it
is a duty of a police officer to report on the crime and process them, with this being generally
the same process every time for each police officer. However, it could be argued that the
Home Office is not reliable as there could be different perceptions and biases from different
police officers, as some police officers may report and process information differently from
other police officers. Another reason is that there may be a lack of resources to process all
the information about a crime. As well as this, there may be differences in the way a police
officer takes notes, thus leading to a bias.
Validity
On one hand, CSEW could be classed as valid as they cover crimes that don't get reported
to police, leading to unsolved and unreported crimes being recorded, staying out of the dark
figure of crime. This can be proven by the fact that around 40% of crime remains hidden,
and so this being brought to light means that the dark figure of crime is decreased. However,
CSEW could be considered as not valid as victimless crimes may stay unaccounted for such
as white-collar and tech crimes. This may lead to not all victims being included in the survey,
as it relies on victims to speak forward, which may be difficult due to unforeseen reasons.
Whereas on the other hand, the Home Office could be considered valid as these are
statistics from police officers, and they have been able to inspect and monitor how a crime
gets reported. However, the Home Office may not be considered as valid to some extent as
around 60% of crime that is reported can go unrecorded by police, leading to police only
prioritizing crime that is deemed as important or major. This may affect crime stats as if
police are only recording the most important and major crimes, this may lead to statistics
being manipulated in order for police targets to be made
Ethics
Both CSEW and the Home office are accepting of the subject's rights to privacy,
confidentiality, and consent. They both cannot publicize information about a subject without
their permission, and cannot publish any personal information. There are moral and
professional codes put in place which the CSEW and the Home office must follow when
reporting a case
