AC 1.6 Write Up – Evaluate Method of
Collecting Statistics about Crime
Always Relate to the brief.
Office of National Statistics
There are two ways that the government collects the data to create the crime statistics for
Britian. One of these ways is called the Office of National Statistic (ONS). ONS is police recorded
crimes and collects data from all the police forces. There are 43 regional police forces and the
British transport police that take part. Each month, the forces report the amount of crime
recorded within the area they care for. However, it is important to factor that only notable
offences- cases that have been reported and taken to court- are reported. This can be one of
the leading reasons that a dark figure occurs in crime. ONS data is generally reliable because of
the method used to collect the data. It is a structured format carried out across all forces.
However, it is possible that some forces classify the levels of crime as different. For example, if
someone was assaulted and received a minor scratch, one officer may put it down as just
assault but another may put it down as assault with injury. These small discrepancies can have a
significant impact on the overall data. ONS does not have particularly good validity because the
police records only show crimes which have been recorded in their records, it does not show
dark figure crimes. Additionally, only 40% of victims report their crimes to the police and of that
40% only 60% are recorded. There are many reasons that people choose not to report. One of
the biggest factors is that the victim or witness must believe that a crime has occurred to report
it. Some people do not have faith that the police will sort their issue out and they may also feel
embarrassed or ashamed of the fact it has occurred in the first place. Additionally, many people
feel like it is best if they deal with the issue themselves, especially if they feel that they will get
into trouble for reporting. The police also under-record for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes
the police know that there would not be enough evidence to secure a conviction, so they
choose not to record the crime. Also, they choose not to record when the victim refuses to
press charges. If the crime is too trivial the police choose not to record it either. ONS is seen as
ethical because in the reports there are never any mentions of the victims’ or offenders' names
keeping their information confidential. The purpose of their research is to act as an indicator of
crime rates and trends. There are a few limitations of ONS. One of these limitations is a lack of
understanding what should be included in the report. Additionally, changes in the law may
mean that some crimes have been over recorded which then turn into non-criminal offences
therefore making the report useless. According to the ONS report released in July 2023 there
has been a 16% decrease in the number of homicides compared to the year ending March
2020. Police recorded sexual offenses rose 20% compared to pre-pandemic in March 2020.
Police records show that there is an increase in overall crimes compared to the pre-pandemic
levels.
Collecting Statistics about Crime
Always Relate to the brief.
Office of National Statistics
There are two ways that the government collects the data to create the crime statistics for
Britian. One of these ways is called the Office of National Statistic (ONS). ONS is police recorded
crimes and collects data from all the police forces. There are 43 regional police forces and the
British transport police that take part. Each month, the forces report the amount of crime
recorded within the area they care for. However, it is important to factor that only notable
offences- cases that have been reported and taken to court- are reported. This can be one of
the leading reasons that a dark figure occurs in crime. ONS data is generally reliable because of
the method used to collect the data. It is a structured format carried out across all forces.
However, it is possible that some forces classify the levels of crime as different. For example, if
someone was assaulted and received a minor scratch, one officer may put it down as just
assault but another may put it down as assault with injury. These small discrepancies can have a
significant impact on the overall data. ONS does not have particularly good validity because the
police records only show crimes which have been recorded in their records, it does not show
dark figure crimes. Additionally, only 40% of victims report their crimes to the police and of that
40% only 60% are recorded. There are many reasons that people choose not to report. One of
the biggest factors is that the victim or witness must believe that a crime has occurred to report
it. Some people do not have faith that the police will sort their issue out and they may also feel
embarrassed or ashamed of the fact it has occurred in the first place. Additionally, many people
feel like it is best if they deal with the issue themselves, especially if they feel that they will get
into trouble for reporting. The police also under-record for a multitude of reasons. Sometimes
the police know that there would not be enough evidence to secure a conviction, so they
choose not to record the crime. Also, they choose not to record when the victim refuses to
press charges. If the crime is too trivial the police choose not to record it either. ONS is seen as
ethical because in the reports there are never any mentions of the victims’ or offenders' names
keeping their information confidential. The purpose of their research is to act as an indicator of
crime rates and trends. There are a few limitations of ONS. One of these limitations is a lack of
understanding what should be included in the report. Additionally, changes in the law may
mean that some crimes have been over recorded which then turn into non-criminal offences
therefore making the report useless. According to the ONS report released in July 2023 there
has been a 16% decrease in the number of homicides compared to the year ending March
2020. Police recorded sexual offenses rose 20% compared to pre-pandemic in March 2020.
Police records show that there is an increase in overall crimes compared to the pre-pandemic
levels.
