Crime Problem in the Uk

Crime Problem in the Uk

  • Submitted By: niv187
  • Date Submitted: 03/06/2009 10:26 AM
  • Category: Social Issues
  • Words: 873
  • Page: 4
  • Views: 522

Crime is either legally defined, as an act which breaks the law, or normatively defined, an act which breaks expected norms and morals such as religion. The definition of crime is also dependent on the time, culture, society and legal system within a country. For example, in Amsterdam the use of cannabis in a cafe is legal, whereas, in the UK it is not. Likewise, cannabis was readily available from Victorian pharmacies as a painkiller. Crime can therefore be described as a social construction because of these defining factors. Crimes are recorded by the police and produced by the government in official statistics. However, recorded crime rates do not accurately show a true reflection of crime levels. What are these limitations of recorded crime and what is an accurate reflection of how much crime occurs? Moreover, how do these reflect how much crime we think we are at risk from?
Common-sense claims about crime tell a story of a secure past progressing to an insecure and uncertain future. In the immediate post-war UK crime rates were recorded at just over 450,000 compared to the peak in 1992 with over 5 million (Maguire, 1997; Social Trends 2002). Therefore, recorded crime rates do show an element of truth in common-sense claims. However, recent crime levels have reduced, for example, in 1999 recorded crime was 5,301,000 compared to 5,171,000 in 2000.
Recorded crime figures have limitations as they do not take into account unrecorded crimes. Moreover, the recent reduction could be attributed to the increased reporting of crime as there have only been rises in particular crimes such as acts of violence and rape (Social Trends 2002). So, certain crime rates are on the rise but others are reducing. This increased reporting could be caused by recent social changes such as the increased use of mobile phone making it easier to report crimes to the police and there has been an increase in the number of insurance plans which increase the requirements of...

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