Worksheet
On the basis of what you have read in this module, what do you think are the main strengths and weaknesses of
- crime statistics, and
- media (especially press reports) of crime.
Specimen answer/discussion
There are a series of problems with crime statistics: they only give the figures for reported crime and consequently they cannot be taken in any way as evidence of actual levels of crime; and it is possible for the statistics to be distorted (wittingly or unwittingly) by various forms of police discretion, most notably how they choose to label and offence. But, in spite of all the drawbacks and imperfections, the statistics remain probably the best evidence that there is for assessing patterns and kinds of criminal offences – there is, sadly, not much else.
There are, perhaps, even greater problems with media reporting. The media are as much concerned with attracting (and keeping) readers and viewers as they are with reporting facts. Obviously, they have never been able to report every offence known to the police or even every offence that goes to court – there has never been the time or the space. The desire to attract an audience has meant that the media has tended to concentrate on the bigger and more shocking offences. This, arguably, has given and continues to give the reading (and viewing) public a distorted image, suggesting that crime is, in general, major and violent. Newspapers (and other media outlets) can therefore be said to offer important detail regarding certain major cases, but they have never provided a guide to what most crime was, and is like.
Souvenir of the Tottenham outrage