How may the police socially construct crime?
It is the job of the police to enforce the law. However, there are so many laws which could be applied in so many different circumstances that any police officerneeds to use their discretion in deciding exactly what laws to apply and inwhat circumstances. This discretion then has different implications fordifferent groups in society. Discretion can also provide evidence to supportthe consensual or the conflict style of policing.
Official statistics are also a police recorded measure of crime and the police choose what to record.