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th 26 March Victims of crime: You will need to know: 1. Victims of crime – what evidence is there in relation to victims in terms of age, class, gender, ethnicity 2. What are the problems with statistics/ victim surveys Critical Victimology • Based on conflict theories (Marxism and Feminism) • It focuses on two aspects of society 1. Structural – patriarchy and poverty 2.The power of the state to label/ not label a victim Where do the different strands of victimology get their ideas from? The various victim surveys that are carried out! Victim surveys involve asking individuals about their experiences of crime, their fears of crime and their views on the criminal justice system. Two main types of victim surveys have been carried out At a national level! the British Crime Survey is the most common (BCS) Done on a local level Previous examples include Islington Crime Survey (ICS) So who is more likely to become a victim of crime according to the BCS? Class? Gender? Age? Ethnicity? Repeat victim? Using your hand out mind map out how the above factors contribute to someone becoming a victim of a crime! According to the BCS and other home office statistics, minority groups are more likely to be victims of most crimes than whites. All minority groups of likely to be victims of burglary and vehicle theft than whites. Black and Indian minorities are more likely to be robbed. Blacks are more likely than whites to be assaulted or robbed. Reasons for these differences could include the areas where ethnic minorities live, higher rates of unemployment, the number of younger ethnic minorities compared to whites, and the effect of gang activity to black homicide rates Gender and victimisation Men are far more likely than women to be victims of violent street crimes, but women are far more likely to be victims of rape and domestic violence. According to the Home office figures domestic violence accounts for 16% of all violent crimes. It affects 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men. 72% of all domestic violence victims are women; there is one incident of domestic violence reported to the police every minute and two women are killed each week by a current or former partner Age and victimisation An inescapable fact is under-16s are not interviewed in the annual government surveys that are combined with police statistics to provide a picture of crime and victimisation in the UK. This is due to methodological reasons. They have been included in the Crime and Justice Survey since 2005 It found 35% of 10- to 15-year-olds had been victims of at least one "personal" crime - assault, robbery or theft. 16-25 year olds are 6x more likely to be victims of crime than those aged 75 and over Young people find themselves in situations where they are more likely to become victims 43% of over British 60s feel very or a bit unsafe walking alone after dark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8T9LiPqw5w Effects of been a victim But what about other VCs? Realists and feminists have developed an alternative approach to the BCS Although BCS addresses some of the limitations posed by OCS as they provide vital information about the social patterns of victimisation and the fear of crime. Intrepretivist sociologists argue that unstructured interviews can produce more validity in terms of the quality of data because the interviewee at the centre of the research. Unstructured interviews are not restricted by a set format of questions and a tick list of boxes. Two alternatives to the BCS Realist victim surveys Feminist victim surveys Use the information in your handout to fill out the back sheet of your booklet British Crime Survey A victim study which asks people if they have been a victim of a crime and the circumstances of that crime. It was conducted every two years from 1982 -2000 then every year since. The study is based on a representative sample of adults living in private households in England and Wales. In 2002 over 36,000 surveys were conducted. Certain crimes are excluded due to low reporting such as murder, drug possession or dealing, fraud, offences against businesses. Trends and patterns BCS says 10.7 million crimes committed, OS (4.7 million. The majority of crime is property related. Violent crime accounts for 1/5 of all crime Overall crime peaked in 1995 and has declined ever since. Men aged 16-24 most likely to be a victim of violence. BCS and Selfreport studies BCS: includes unreported and unrecorded crime but only 75% is comparable with police statistics. Self-report: Mainly street crime (working class) excludes hidden crimes like domestic violence. Only gives a small picture of criminal activity. Self-report studies Anonymous questionnaires which ask respondents if they have committed a crime over the past year. They are usually based on self-completed questionnaires or interviews which contain a list of offences. Respondents are asked to highlight which they have committed. Self report studies show us that most people commit crime at some point in their lives so crime is normal. Self-Report Studies Ask people whether they have committed a series of offences. Based upon a self-completed questionnaire or interview. Respondents are presented with a list of offences and asked which they have committed over a period of 12 months. Results suggest that most of us have committed at least one crime at some stage in our lives. This questions the view that a clear distinction can be made between law-abiding people and offenders. One may suggest that crime is normal. However most people commit petty crime and frequent law-breaking is relatively rare. Self-Report studies give an indication of the social characteristics of an offender... So can we rely on statistics for a true picture of criminal activity in society? Why? What implications does this have on how we view and understand crime? That’s right think about other areas of the topic as you’ll need to bring in your notes on White Collar and Corporate Crime as these topics are closely linked to the usefulness of Crime Statistics and ‘The Dark Figure of Crime’. Also remember that the study of Official Crime Statistics makes up part of your Methods in Context work! What do we know? Youth Crime Statistics Facts • 70% of youth crime committed by 7- 8% youths • Huge cost of incarceration • 76% re-offend within two years • £2,300 savings from preventing a single youth crime (Cooper & Lybrand 1994) • £1.5m annually to deal with crime related damage in one street in Braunstone, Leics. Youth Inclusion Programme (YIP) UN Committee on the Rights of the Child Supervision Orders Green Paper: Youth Matters 2005 Crime & Disorder Act 1998 14-19 Curriculum 2004 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child No More Excuses: A New Approach to Tackling Youth Crime Detention and Training Orders Misspent Youth: Young People and Crime 1996 ISSP Policy Related to Young People Children’s Act 2004 Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003 Parenting Order Every Child Matters and Youth Justice: The Next Steps 2003 Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 Criminal Justice Act 2003 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Secure training Orders Education Reform Act 1988