Wert

Alcohol related crime, particularly sexual assaults against young females, is a growing concern within the Australian community and attitudes towards these crimes and their victims are largely driven by the mainstream media (Anon., 2007). “More women are getting drunk on Sydney streets than ever before” posted in the Daily Telegraph on 12th March 2013 specifically targets the apparent correlation between excessive drinking among young females and incidences of violence on Sydney streets. When analysing the use of police report statistics, crime victimisation surveys and research conducted by the Daily Telegraph we can see that the apparent trend is not an accurate reflection of society. It has instead been reported in such a way that makes it look like women are engaging in more violent behaviour due to excessive drinking and as a result of “tougher police measures” there has been an effective crack down. This has all been achieved by distorting official statistics to show information in a desirable light.

The article quotes “More women in the city are coming to police attention as being well affected or seriously affected by alcohol”. This statement suggests that there is a significant growth in the percentage of women drinking excessively and as a result are involved in alcohol induced violence. However, this statement is not supported by any evidence so it is easy to assume that the author is abusing crime statistics by simply making up information. This technique is an effective approach used by journalists when the statistics they need are not available (Brown, 2013). A report by the King’s Tribune actually showed that in fact the number of females assaults victims affected by alcohol and not affected remained stable since 2005 (Gilmore, 2013).

Crimes that have been reported to and recorded by the police form the basis of official police statistics. To an extent, they provide a sound evaluation of the nature, circumstances and location of...