The purpose of this Unit is for you to plan campaigns for change relating to crime. Just two of the major campaigns for change we study are pictured above (Sarah's Law and Clare's Law).

Not all types of crime are alike.

What different types of crime take place in our society?

What kinds of crime exist about which we know very little, or which are simply not reported to the police and the media?

How do we explain people's reluctance to come forward about crimes of which they have been the victim?

Some crimes which seem inoffensive, such as counterfeiting of designer goods, have actually been linked to the funding of more serious crime such as terrorism and people trafficking; so why do people turn a ‘blind eye’ to these 'mild' crimes?

What methods have governments and other agencies used to raise social awareness of these crimes?

Many people learn about the fear and fascination of crime from the media, but is the media a reliable source of information?

To what extent are we misled by our tastes in programmes and newspapers about crime?

Who decides what behaviours should be against the law?

Who gathers information about crime? Can this information be trusted? Can we trust our own instincts?

Humans tend to judge other's behaviour by a variety of moral principles, not all of which are consistent or based on accurate information. We gain our ideas of morality from a variety of sources and one of the most important is the mass media. Police gather information about crime; but the data can be inaccurate. Criminologists have developed procedures to learn about crime, but these too have their limitations.

Knowing about the wide range of different crimes and the reasons people have for not reporting such crimes will provide an understanding of the complexity of behaviours and the social implications of such crimes and criminality.