Crime statistics for England and Wales can be accessed via the Office of National Statistics and is easily accessible on the Internet. This essay will look at actual crime statistics and it’s usefulness in determining whether crime in United Kingdom is increasing or decreasing. We will also consider the whether media is accurately portraying those crime statistics by analysing the factors that make a crime newsworthy.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) collects data from various departments of the government, such as the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau and Anti – Social Behaviour, in order to compile national statistics for Crime and Justice . However the main sources are from the Home Office (HO), which provides police recorded crimes
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They can be distorted. For instance, the CSEW only focuses on crime against households — assault, burglary, car crime, theft, and vandalism , does not cover crimes such as fraud and does represent population living in-group residences such as care homes . A 1984 HO report also found the following; 60% of victims did not report the offence because they considered it too trivial and 16% because it was unlikely to be solved by the police . Clearly, the results do not fully represent the UK and thus, to a certain extent, makes it inaccurate in terms of usefulness. Nevertheless, it is still a better indicator of crime rather than police recorded figures, as it includes crimes that have not been reported to the police and consequently remains unaffected by the levels of …show more content…
Even though official figures are accurate, they are subject to misrepresentation. Therefore, this will lead to a type of crime or victim in a certain type of crime, to be over –represented or under-represented. Sometimes, different media sources will comment on certain crime figures based on their agenda . Referring to official statistics, although there might be a downward trend for crimes, certain types of crime may have risen . For example in 2015 there were a rise in violence against the person offences by 27% . Sexual offences recorded also increased by 36% from the figures of 2014 . Undoubtedly, the media is very powerful and has the ability to shift the focus of the public and on how events and issues are presented