MEASURES OF CRIME

Measures of Crime and the Underlying Reality

Measures of Crime and the Underlying Reality

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to expand the boundaries of our knowledge by exploring some relevant material relating to the analysis of various measures of crime. Crime is a complex socio-legal phenomenon, whereby it is studied by different scientists exploring some of its side. Study of crime helps to understand the nature of the crime; the results of the research help community leaders and law enforcement officials in their efforts to prevent crime. Scientists also contribute to the crime in finding the best ways to treat offenders. Crime has been considered as the core behavior due to which individual involve in killings i.e. murders and manslaughters, inflicting significant injuries i.e. various kinds of assaults, forcible or abusive sexual relations i.e. rape, stealing, theft or larceny, serious cheating i.e. fraud, entering the property with nefarious motive i.e. burglary. The crime is not a spontaneous phenomenon. There are always factors that cause or trigger. Criminal exacerbation can be considered as the expression of a serious and complicated social unrest that has an impact on criminal law. Continuous efforts are being made to have an academic and practical understanding of crime. It is more important however, to have a consensus on the definition of crime. Agreeing on different perspectives, definitions and opinions is not a one day conference decision. Crime prevention actions are not restricted to the efforts of the criminal justice system. They include activities by individuals and groups, both public and private. Just as there are many causes of crime, there are many potentially valuable approaches to crime prevention (Wilson, 1995, pp. 103-105).

In this paper, the author will conduct a critical analysis of the relationship between the various measures of crime and the underlying reality.

Discussion

Measuring crime

Crime is measured in many ways. A review of the literature on the topic of crime has been made. The review aimed to summarize and explain, the various methods used to measure crime. There are two main ways to report crime. There is first of all what is often referred to as official reports, which are based on crimes reported to police. These statistics are released by the UK Centre for Justice Statistics, which are usually reported in the media. A review of officially reported crimes shows that the crime rate (the number of crimes per 100 000 population) has declined steadily over the last six years. However, as the statistics are based on crimes reported to police, there is concern that this measure underestimates the extent of crime. For example, some crimes go unreported because victims feel they have nothing to gain by doing it (petty theft) or they choose to hide the act (sexual assault by a spouse) (Celina, 2007, pp. 43-56).

The second measure is to end the problem of under-reporting inherent in the first method based on official crime statistics. These are surveys in which people are asked whether they have been victims of various ...