Crime Surveys | Sociology for GCSE/IGCSE - Year 11 PDF Download

Victim Surveys

The primary methods for assessing the scope of crime are:

• Official statistics of crimes documented by the police.
• Public surveys, including victim surveys and self-report studies.

Victim surveys gather information by asking individuals about their experiences with crime. A key example is the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), an annual large-scale survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW)

For the 2024/25 period, approximately 75,000 households in England and Wales will be randomly chosen from the Royal Mail’s address list and invited to participate. One adult (aged 16 or older) per household will be asked:

• Whether they have been a victim of specific crimes in the past 12 months.
• If crimes affecting the household were reported to the police.
• For their opinions on the police and court system.

Additionally, a household member aged 10–15 will complete a shorter survey, as data indicates they are more likely to experience violent crime compared to adults. Trained interviewers visit households and use laptops to administer the questionnaire.

Evaluation of the CSEW

Advantages of the CSEW

• It captures crimes not reported to the police, which are excluded from police-recorded statistics.
• It helps identify trends in specific crimes, such as burglary.
• The data supports government decision-making on policies aimed at reducing crime.

Disadvantages of the CSEW

• It does not include all police-recorded crimes, such as murder (as victims cannot respond), victimless crimes (e.g., drug possession), or crimes against businesses (e.g., shoplifting).
• Respondents may forget minor crimes or provide inaccurate information about reporting crimes to the police, reducing the validity of the data.
• It excludes homeless individuals and those living in care homes or prisons, making the data less representative of the entire population.

Self-Report Studies

Self-report studies ask individuals about crimes they have committed in the past 12 months. An example is the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey (OCJS), the first national longitudinal self-report offending survey in England and Wales, commissioned by the Home Office and conducted annually from 2003 to 2006. It focused on self-reported offending, drug use, and anti-social behavior, particularly among those aged 10–15. Analysis of the data revealed:

• The most common ages for beginning to offend and use illegal drugs.
• Groups of young people most at risk of offending and drug use.

Evaluation of the OCJS

Advantages of the OCJS:

• It provides data on offenders and offenses not addressed by the police or courts, which are absent from police-recorded crime statistics.
• The findings help the government develop policy interventions to reduce youth crime.

Disadvantages of the OCJS:

• Respondents may forget crimes they committed or lie due to fear of consequences, undermining the validity of the data.
• It excludes homeless individuals and those in care homes, prisons, or student halls, resulting in data that is not fully representative of the target population.