Crime remains a big worry across societies worldwide, affecting how people see things,
rules, and individual actions. However, how people think about crime often differs from
what is happening, and it is influenced by many things, like how the media talks about it,
personal experiences, and society’s opinions.
Table of Contents
Crime statistics
The detailed story from recorded crime stats in Scotland shows a complex picture. Despite a
small 1% increase in total recorded crimes in 2022-23 compared to the previous year, the
long-term trend shows a notable 13% decrease over the past decade, continuing to decline
since 1991. This difference between short-term changes and long-term patterns shows that
we need to look at more than just yearly numbers when we talk about offences.
Also, many adults think that it has increased nationally, even though the country’s rates have
stayed the same. This difference shows how much the media and people’s personal
experiences affect how they see offences. Similarly, there are big differences between what
people think and what is real in the United States. The fact that hate offences and property
crimes are not reported as much as they happen, as shown by the Department of Justice,
means there is a big gap between the official stats and what is going on.
Sexual crime statistics!
Sexual offences are a big part of how people see and report crime. Even though there is more
talk and action about sexual crimes, they are still not reported enough all around the world.
In the UK, even though there are more reports of sexual crimes than before, many survivors
do not come forward because they do not think they will be believed.
Similarly, in the US, even though there are lots of sexual assaults happening, very few people who do it get in trouble. Women are more affected by sexual violence and are more worried about their
safety because of it.
Also, women who are poorer or from marginalised groups are even more scared of crime; this shows that we need to look at more than just crime numbers but also at the problems like poverty and unfairness that make people feel unsafe. A 2023 journal article by Johansson and Haandrikman from Stockholm University aimed to consider
the gendered nature of fear in an urban context.
They used a study in the Dutch city of Eindhoven to try and explain this fear. They concluded that women are more fearful of crime (including sexual) than men, and this is worse if they are from a lower socioeconomic background, or a neighbourhood associated with social issues.
Another reason to suggest that crime is exaggerated in society today is due to the role of
the media in giving the impression that the United Kingdom is unsafe.
Media’s effect on statistics!
Research suggests there is a disproportionate amount of offences presented in the news, with more violent, such as murders, appearing more frequently in newspapers and the mass media. The mass media is known to distort extreme and sensational cases, making people feel as
though there is more violent offences in society than there is.
Many criminologists who study the media, such as Tim Newburn, suggest that the way stories are framed and constructed contributes to anxiety and fear, especially among pensioners. The language and punctuation used are designed to capture potential readers’ attention at the newsstand; this proves that the media makes the population think that more is happening than official statistics indicate.
An article from the Guardian proves this, as official statistics reveal that offences are dropping, yet nearly two-thirds of people believe that offence levels in the UK is rising. Despite levels falling to their lowest in thirty years, many people think otherwise, and this is because of the influence of the mass media, especially tabloid newspapers. The extent to which crime is exaggerated in British society can also be compared to other European countries that have low crime rates but are perceived to be unsafe.
Some media outlets have reported, for example, that there is now more theft and robbery in Norway’s capital, Oslo, than in London. Norway’s capital has also gained a reputation for being unsafe for female tourists, and some guidebooks have called Oslo ‘The Crime capital of
Scandinavia’.
Real statistics!
Despite these statistics, comparisons indicate that the UK has twenty times more total crime than Norway and 97% more violent crime, Thus showing that the media do not always portray the full story and can often focus on one alarming statistic. Scandinavian countries such as Norway have always had a more restorative approach with offenders than in England and Wales, resulting in less reoffending and, thus, less offences.
Norwegian prisons prioritise inmate integration and are far less punitive than English
prisons, so it is not surprising that many English prisoners continue to reoffend, and this
adds to the perception that Britain is unsafe.
These repeat offenders sometimes appear in tabloid newspapers, contributing to the perception that Britain is unsafe. The mass media in Scandinavian countries generally refrain from presenting crime in this manner. As a result, offences is not exaggerated in society to the extent that it is in Britain.
There is a clear disparity between actual offences and the perception of offences in various
countries. Most of the time, perception is exaggerated, but this is not the case everywhere.
For example, it is difficult in Brazil to argue that offence perceptions is exaggerated.
With growing levels of inequality and a president who has pledged to reduce gun restrictions, crime has become endemic throughout the nation. Even the Brazilian Forum of Public Security (BFPS), an
independent organisation that tracks national crime statistics, points to a 3% crime increase
from last year.
Rapes were also up 8% and over 4,500 women were murdered in 2017, a rise of 6.1%; this evidences that crime levels are not always exaggerated like we have seen in other places such as the UK and Norway.
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