Measuring Crime

• Author: Adriana Iuliana Stancu
• Profession: Faculty of Judicial, Social and Political Sciences, 'Dunarea de Jos' University of Galati, Romania
• Pages: 173-179

Measuring Crime

Lecturer Adriana Iuliana STANCU

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Abstract

Questions about how crime is measured and what those measurements reveal

about the nature and extent of crime are among the most imp ortant issues in contempo-

rary criminology. Researchers, theorists, a nd practitioners need information in order to

explain and prevent crime and to operate agencies that deal with the crime problem. It is

extremely difficult, however, to gather accurate information. Because of these difficulties,

it is necessary for students of criminology to understand how data are co llected, what

they mean, a nd whether they are useful. After we look at the objectives and methods of

collecting information, we will consider the limitations of the three information sources

criminologists most frequently use to estimate the nature and extent of crime. We then

explore measurement of the characteristics of crimes, criminals, and victims.

Keywords: crime, criminal law, contemporary criminology, victim.

JEL Classification: K14

1. Introductory considerations

There are three major reasons for measuring characteristics of crimes,

criminals, and victims. First of all, researchers need to collect and analyze infor-

mation in order to test theories about why people commit crime. One criminolo-

gist might record the kinds of offenses committed by people of different ages;

another might count the number of crimes committed at different times of the

year. But without ordering these observations in some purposeful way, without a

theory, a systematic set of principles that explain how two or more phenomena

are related, scientists would be limited in their ability to make predictions from

the data they collect.

The types of data that are collected and the way they are collected are

crucial to the research process. Criminologists analyze these data and use their

findings to support or refute theories.

We examine several theories (including the one outlined briefly here) that

explain why people commit crime, and we will see how these theories have been

tested. One theory of crime causation, for example, is that high crime rates result

from wide disparity between people's goals and the means available to them for

reaching those goals. Those who lack legitimate opportunities to achieve their

goals try to reach them through criminal means. To test this theory, researchers

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Adriana Iuliana Stancu - Faculty of Jud icial, Social and Political Sciences, “Dunarea de Jos”

University of Galati, Romania, adriana.tudorache@ugal.ro.