Crime Statistics

The purpose of crime statistics is to provide the general population with an indication of the levels of crime and victimisation that transpires within the community. Criminologists determine the quantity of crime within Australia through sources including administrative data (police reports), crime victimisation surveys and self-report surveys. Each source provides information of the category, frequency and capacity of crime that occurs. However, criminologists are confronted by a variety of contributing factors that, in turn, undermine their ability to accurately measure the quantity of crime that manifests within Australia. Included is the high percentage of underreported crimes, public confidence and the factual accuracy and honesty of …show more content…
In Australia, the most common source of this data used to determine crime statistics is that composed by police. This includes criminal offences that have been reported to the police by a victim or member of the community, or a crime that has been detected by the police themselves, and, have subsequently been recorded. This data poses numerous limitations for criminologists when analysing the information. The most prevalent is that not all crimes that are committed are reported to the police by the victim or those involved. Factors that contribute to an individual’s unwillingness to report crime include the person/people who are involved, the implications or consequences for the victim and the public’s confidence within the police to resolving disputes. Consequently, not all crime that occurs within the community is recorded by the police and therefore suggests that a greater quantity of crime is committed than is reported. Furthermore, police data is limited to the particulars of information collected by police and the level of accuracy of detail recorded in respective systems and comply with the standard of the administrative systems used. This proposes that the information which is collected and recorded may not be sufficient with the external research needs of that of criminologists and research purposes. However, the data supplied by the …show more content…
The accuracy and reliability of these surveys to be used by researchers heavily depends on the willingness of the participant/s and the degree to which they report their information truthfully. It is possible that the individual may not report, or play-down or exaggerate the extent of criminal activity that they have been involved with, affecting the validity of the study. Similarly, to the crime victimisation surveys, the information and data that is collected is limited to a specific sample of the population and, therefore, is unrepresentative of the population. However, self-report surveys provide a detailed representation of crime rates in conjunction with administrative data and crime victimisation surveys. Criminologists are able to use the information collected by each individual to establish social characteristics of offenders including their age, gender, social class as well as their