25 May , “The Dark Figure of British Crime”,
In her article, “The Dark Figure of British Crime”, Claire Berlinski (2009) writes the following:
The problem [with the accuracy of crime statistics] was first described in the 1830s by Adolphe Quetelet, a Belgian mathematician and sociologist and the founder of modern scientific statistics. The real crime rate, which he called the “dark figure of crime,” could not be revealed by official statistics, he argued: “Our observations can only refer to a certain number of known and tried offenders out of the unknown sum total of crimes committed. Since this sum total of crimes committed will probably ever continue unknown, all the reasoning of which it is the basis will be more or less defective.”
Berlinski further outlined what she finds to be the reasons for why some crime is left unaccounted for. The following are a few of her key points:
- People may be unaware that a crime has been committed because they view it as normal or trivial behavior.
- Victims are unaware that they have been victimized – either because of the nature of the crime, such as fraud, or because the victims are drunk, mentally ill, or otherwise incapable of understanding what has happened.
- Victims recognize that a crime has been committed and do not report it.
- Victims might not speak the language well enough to explain what happened to them.
- Victims might fear reprisals.
- Victims might feel no confidence in the police and see reporting a crime as pointless.
- The police conclude that there is insufficient evidence to believe the crime report.
- Poorly performing police departments have an incentive to stop recording crimes: It makes them look more successful than they are.
- Which of the arguments above do you consider largest contributing factor to the dark figure of crime? In other words, which one do you believe to be of most concern for crime analysts and the degree of accuracy to which their statistical crime analyses concludes?
Our website has a team of professional writers who can help you write any of your homework. They will write your papers from scratch. We also have a team of editors just to make sure all papers are of HIGH QUALITY & PLAGIARISM FREE. To make an Order you only need to click Ask A Question and we will direct you to our Order Page at WriteDemy. Then fill Our Order Form with all your assignment instructions. Select your deadline and pay for your paper. You will get it few hours before your set deadline.
Fill in all the assignment paper details that are required in the order form with the standard information being the page count, deadline, academic level and type of paper. It is advisable to have this information at hand so that you can quickly fill in the necessary information needed in the form for the essay writer to be immediately assigned to your writing project. Make payment for the custom essay order to enable us to assign a suitable writer to your order. Payments are made through Paypal on a secured billing page. Finally, sit back and relax.
About Writedemy
We are a professional paper writing website. If you have searched a question and bumped into our website just know you are in the right place to get help in your coursework. We offer HIGH QUALITY & PLAGIARISM FREE Papers.
How It Works
To make an Order you only need to click on “Order Now” and we will direct you to our Order Page. Fill Our Order Form with all your assignment instructions. Select your deadline and pay for your paper. You will get it few hours before your set deadline.
Are there Discounts?
All new clients are eligible for 20% off in their first Order. Our payment method is safe and secure.