Crime statistics aim to provide us with an accurate representation of the
number and types of crime that are committed. However, these statistics are
not always accurate as not all crimes committed are reported. There are many
reasons that people may not report crimes, for example people fear that they
may not be taken seriously. Another reason people may not report crimes is
because they fear they will get in trouble. If someone was beat up and robbed
while selling drugs, they are unlikely to report the crime committed against
them to police as they will be the one to get in trouble. Not all crimes reported
will be recorded by the police, this is because they have targets, they must
reach when solving crime so are unlikely to record crimes they would be
unable to solve.
The gap between the number of crimes committed and the number of crimes
reported means that we are unable to know the true number of crimes
creating Dark figures. Sutherland came up with the term ‘dark figure’ to
represent the number of crimes we are unaware of. He used a metaphor of an
iceberg ‘there is only a small part that people see but under the surface it is
much larger’ this represents the fact that we only see the small number of
crimes reported but there are many more that we are unaware of.
The unreported crimes will cause a ripple effect and cause many others to
become affected. The under-reporting of crime leads to the real picture of
crime to become distorted and makes statistics unreliable. This makes it so any
policies formulated using this information will be inaccurate making them
ineffective. Having ineffective policies will make it even harder for police to
combat the problem. Although we may never know the true numbers of crime,
we should instead address the reasons behind not reporting crime and try
make it easier for people to report.
number and types of crime that are committed. However, these statistics are
not always accurate as not all crimes committed are reported. There are many
reasons that people may not report crimes, for example people fear that they
may not be taken seriously. Another reason people may not report crimes is
because they fear they will get in trouble. If someone was beat up and robbed
while selling drugs, they are unlikely to report the crime committed against
them to police as they will be the one to get in trouble. Not all crimes reported
will be recorded by the police, this is because they have targets, they must
reach when solving crime so are unlikely to record crimes they would be
unable to solve.
The gap between the number of crimes committed and the number of crimes
reported means that we are unable to know the true number of crimes
creating Dark figures. Sutherland came up with the term ‘dark figure’ to
represent the number of crimes we are unaware of. He used a metaphor of an
iceberg ‘there is only a small part that people see but under the surface it is
much larger’ this represents the fact that we only see the small number of
crimes reported but there are many more that we are unaware of.
The unreported crimes will cause a ripple effect and cause many others to
become affected. The under-reporting of crime leads to the real picture of
crime to become distorted and makes statistics unreliable. This makes it so any
policies formulated using this information will be inaccurate making them
ineffective. Having ineffective policies will make it even harder for police to
combat the problem. Although we may never know the true numbers of crime,
we should instead address the reasons behind not reporting crime and try
make it easier for people to report.
