Self Reports

Self Reports

Ask people about their own offending behaviour
If figures are accurate it can provide useful information about the number of crimes commited but also how many people are responsible
Takes into account how there are fewer offenders than crimes as some offenders commit multiple crimes
Focus on groups likely to commit crimes e.g young people and previous offenders
Rely on offenders being honest but they may lie/exagerate any crimes commited - can lead tp inaccuarte results
Sample can be said to be biased - only certain ages an social groups targeted
Biased selection of offesnes - only trivial offences rather than serious ones
Offender might not remember all the crimes they have commited or may be too embarssed to tell them - Box said only 80% of respondents tell the truth
Most common - OCJS (Offending Crime and Justice Survey)
1. Young people in England and Wales are interviewed about their attitude towards and experiences of offending
2. Due to sensitie nature of questions, the responses are given on a computer
  1. Makes results more valid - people more likely to tell the truth than when face to face
3. Random selection, national longitudinal survey which aims to asses the extent of offending
  1. Covers offences such as burguary, assault and fraud

Resource summary

	Created by issiscott12 over 9 years ago