It is generally accepted that it is impossible to know accurately the ‘real’ level of crime in society. Factors such as the proportion of crimes that occur but are not reported, the way that police forces record (or do not record) crimes that are reported, which crimes result in prosecutions or are ‘shelved’, and what happens when cases of crime do reach the courts — all these have an impact on official crime statistics.
However, it is obviously important for members of a society to have some idea of the level and nature of crime, even if knowledge is partial and flawed. There are two main sources used by the Home Office when they publish crime statistics. We will consider the second source in the next issue of SOCIOLOGY REVIEW.
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