CRIM580 Ass 1-dark figure of crime PDF

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Dark figure of crime essay...

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Lauren Moult Student I.D: 20095498

CRIM580/18

Which is the best measurement of the dark figure of crime: official statistics recorded by the police or victim surveys? Explain why. Crime is a serious social concern that society has still not got a significant answer to. Crime statistics were first collected by French police almost 200 years ago (as cited in Walters & Bradley, 2005). The main origins for crime statistics in New Zealand come from the New Zealand Police, Ministry of Social Development (Child, Youth and Family), the Ministry of Justice (courts), the Department of Corrections, and the Ministry of Health (mental health services) (Statistics New Zealand, 2008), despite being inaccurate measurements in recording crime statistics. Official police statistics and victim surveys both assess types of crime at a national level. These are complementary measures, which together offer a clearer understanding of the severity of the crime that can be generated within each measure. This essay's purpose will discuss why victim surveys are the best crime measurement. This essay will elaborate and address the advantages and disadvantages of official police statistics and victim surveys. Crime is when a person can be punished by law for committing an illegal action or activity. For crimes to be a part of official statistics, the incident must be reported to policing authorities. Victim surveys are reports from private companies that determine crimes that various people have encountered over some time; these may not have been reported to/by the police. The discrepancy in crime statistics between official police statistics and crimes that go undetected or unreported, are known as ‘the dark figure of crime’ (Biderman & Reiss, 1967). Unfortunately, it is impossible to calculate all crimes by these two measures alone. Victim surveys are a vital source of information when evaluating the severity of offences; these provide information on the emotional, physical and financial effects of crime and victimisation. Victim surveys can account for certain victims who, for some reason, may feel uncomfortable reporting an offence to the police. The New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey (NZCASS), is recognized as a private company that conducts face-to-face victim surveys contracted by the Ministry of Justice. When a respondent has been the victim of a crime, then it is appropriate to collect evidence of the event(s). Additional information is gathered regularly, including the effect of victimisation on the victim and his/her family, rates of satisfaction with the police response and wider perceptions of safety and rates of crime fear (Walters & Bradley, 2005). The NZCASS samples approximately 7,000 New Zealand residents about their feelings of safety, and experiences of crime. A greater crime calculation is documented by the NZCASS than the police, as it recognizes all crime occurrences that are technically criminal, covering both unreported and reported crimes. The approximate number of crimes documented by the NZCASS in the equivalent subset in 2005 was 1,245,000, opposed to 147,000 reported by the police. The NZCASS estimated a crime count 8 times higher than the equivalent number recorded by official police statistics (NZCASS, 2014). It can be assumed that results generated by the NZCASS are more accurate in uncovering information about crimes than official police statistics. If sample sizes for the NZCASS were performed at an equal size to police reports, victim surveys would produce meticulous information about the nature of crimes. Nonetheless, victim surveys are not entirely flawless. They have their limitations. There are

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Lauren Moult Student I.D: 20095498

CRIM580/18

several limitations victim surveys present: sampling errors, selective recounting, issues with memory and the exclusion of crimes that are ‘victimless’. When conducting a victim survey, only a small percentage of the population is tested, and in turn findings are subjective to sampling errors. Incomplete coverage in these surveys exclude crimes involving the homeless, victimless crimes (ie. drug or alcohol misuse), and do not cover sexual offences closely. Unlike police statistics, victim surveys are conducted at a much less rate. Victims are asked to recall incidents within a timeframe, but what happens if victims cannot remember details, or chooses not to disclose the crime? It is not unusual for victims to repress traumatic memories, making it difficult for victims to remember until years later (McNally, 2003). Victim surveys rely on the accuracy of the memories of those being surveyed, which can surface inconsistencies that will not be detected to researchers. Alternatively, official police statistics are an unreliable measurement of the dark figure of crime. Police statistics only account for reports that are reported by the police. A significant observation from the two previous New Zealand Crime and Safety Surveys is that several incidents are not brought to the police's attention. Correspondingly, the police reportedly know 32% of offences. Results exhibit that 85% of incidents were addressed in some other way by either the victim, another member of the household. Furthermore, 15% of occurrences the police had found out. Whilst the remaining 68% of offences went unreported or unrecorded by the police. This is due to a variety of factors that are subjective to each victim and vary by offence. Research reveals for victims who did not report incidents were questioned, the most frequent reason for nonreporting personal crimes was because the victim thought the incident was not worth reporting or would be a waste of time for the police (Fisherman, 1979). Official police statistics are records of reports made by the police. That does not take into consideration figures not reported by the police, or crimes that victims have not reported. Police statistics scratch the surface-level of the volume of crimes taking place. In summary, this essay’s purpose is to take an initial step in underlining the dark figure of crime and to start describing the victims represented by the figure. This is done through emphasising the significance of victim surveys, rather than relying exclusively on police statistics. This essay has identified the inaccuracies of official police statistics and how they do not represent all occurrences of crime. Out of these two measures to record crime, victim surveys are the best measurement of the dark figure of crime. Despite their limitations, victim surveys have been a step in the right direction to strengthen data collection, proving to be a valuable source of information when determining the nature of crimes and the effects on victims.

References:

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Lauren Moult Student I.D: 20095498

CRIM580/18

Biderman, A., & Reiss, A. (1967). On Exploring the "Dark Figure" of Crime. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 374, 1-15. Fisherman, G. (1979). PATTERNS OF VICTIMISATION AND NOTIFICATION. The British Journal Of Criminology, 19(2), 146-157. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjc.a046979 Mayhew, P., & Reilly, J. (2007). The New Zealand Crime and Safety Survey : 2006: Key Findings. Ministry of Justice. McNally, R. (2003). Recovering Memories of Trauma. Current Directions In Psychological Science, 12(1), 32-35. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.01217 Reporting crime. justice.govt.nz. (2020). Retrieved from https://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/research-data/nzcass/surveyresults/reporting-crime/. Statistics New Zealand. (2008). Review of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics: Consultation Paper. Walters, R., & Bradley, T. (2005). Introduction to criminological thought. Pearson Education.

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