4 ms·

While your cynicism about official crime statistics may be well placed, there are ways of measuring crime that are practically impossible to manipulate, such as

by halo 17y ago

While your cynicism about official crime statistics may be well placed, there are ways of measuring crime that are practically impossible to manipulate, such as crime surveys which ask a random sample of the population if they have been the victims of crime in the last year. Both the US-based National Crime Victimization Survey (http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/ http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/) and the British Crime Survey (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/soti.html http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/soti.html) are of this type, and they have both shown a consistent downward trend in most types of crime. In addition, the figures for some classes of crime, such as homicides, can't be manipulated either, and these have also been decreasing in recent years.

masterponomo 17y ago
Public perception of crime is not based on the murder statistics (though of course the occasional senseless killing during a robbery raises more outrage than the garden-variety domestic violence murder). Perception of crime in my neighborhood (Centennial Park/Marietta Artery) is based on the ability to walk down the street without being accosted by a beggar, or to park your car without having it broken into, or to walk the sidewalk after dark without fear of being robbed. I'm in a fairly secure condo building so fear of a break-in is not that great, but in surrounding neighborhoods of free-standing houses, break-ins are rampant. Just as you met my statement of reality with more references to statistics, the police and the city government here continue to give each other pats on the back as the populace grows ever more wary based on what we see on the streets out our windows with our own eyes, not based on the media or the official stats. We don't have a math problem--we have a police manpower, quality of life, and law enforcement problem.

by halo 17y ago

masterponomo 17y ago

Public perception of crime is not based on the murder statistics (though of course the occasional senseless killing during a robbery raises more outrage than the garden-variety domestic violence murder). Perception of crime in my neighborhood (Centennial Park/Marietta Artery) is based on the ability to walk down the street without being accosted by a beggar, or to park your car without having it broken into, or to walk the sidewalk after dark without fear of being robbed. I'm in a fairly secure condo building so fear of a break-in is not that great, but in surrounding neighborhoods of free-standing houses, break-ins are rampant. Just as you met my statement of reality with more references to statistics, the police and the city government here continue to give each other pats on the back as the populace grows ever more wary based on what we see on the streets out our windows with our own eyes, not based on the media or the official stats. We don't have a math problem--we have a police manpower, quality of life, and law enforcement problem.