2.4 Misusing Crime Statistics
The FBI reports that a violent crime occurred in the United States every 24.6 seconds in 2017. There was one murder every 30.5 minutes; one rape every 3.9 minutes; one robbery every 1.7 minutes; and one aggravated assault every 39 seconds. During the same year, a property crime occurred every 4.1 seconds. There was one burglary every 4.1 seconds; one larceny-theft every 5.7 seconds; and one motor vehicle theft every 40.9 seconds (FBI, 2017).
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) reports more than 10 million adults experience intimate partner violence each year, which equates to an incident of abuse at least every 3 seconds. Further, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men experience intimate partner violence during their lifetime. Also, 1 in 2 female murder victims are killed by intimate partners and 96% of all murder-suicide victims are female.
These examples of crime statistics from the FBI and the NCADV are models of how data from the collections discussed in this chapter may be used. These statistics help paint a picture of what is happening in the United States in terms of specific types of crime. There are several ways crime statistics are used, and also several ways they can be misused.
Let’s look at some reasons crime statistics may be used:
- Real estate values in a neighborhood are affected by crime rates.
- Tourism is greater where people feel safer.
- Politicians make claims about public safety in favor of themselves and against their opponents.
- Staffing of law enforcement agencies depends on need.
- Sales of security systems and guns are linked to crime rates.
- Self-defense classes are more popular when people do not feel safe.
- Seeking grant funding motivates how statistics are shared based on the goals involved.
In each of these examples, someone is likely to have bias or even ulterior motives (hidden, often selfish reasons). Let’s look at these examples again, this time with an eye toward the potential for misuse of data, as shown in the table in figure 2.3.
|
Reason Crime Stats Used |
Example of Misuse of Data |
Ulterior Motive/Bias |
|---|---|---|
|
Real estate values in a neighborhood are affected by crime rates. |
A real estate agent may claim a house is in a “safe” neighborhood by sharing stats on murder (“There hasn’t been a murder here in three years!”) but leaving out stats on home burglaries, especially when those are high. |
Selling a property quickly and at the highest price possible leads to a nice commission for the real estate agent. |
|
Tourism is greater where people feel safer. |
A city’s tourism office may advertise, “No crime here!” but not reveal they are only talking about a small area of town that is actually crime-free. |
It is their job to increase tourism in their city, so their goal is to get people to visit and spend money in local businesses. |
|
Politicians make claims about public safety in favor of themselves and against their opponents. |
Someone running for office who is trying to oust the incumbent can cite scary crime rates in the area (picking only the ones that sound really bad) and claim their policies will make the community safe if they are elected. |
They want to get elected to public office. |
|
Staffing of law enforcement agencies depends on need. |
A law enforcement agency can argue they need more officers because of rising crime rates in the area (sharing only those stats that show increases over a carefully chosen period of time). |
They want more money to hire more officers, so they are trying to demonstrate a need. |
|
Sales of security systems and guns are linked to crime rates. |
Advertisements may focus on the scariest sounding crime stats to make people feel afraid and as though they must protect their families and property. |
More sales equals more money for the retailers of security systems and guns. |
|
Self-defense classes are more popular when people do not feel safe. |
Advertisements warn of impending attacks and how we must be prepared to defend ourselves. |
More class registrations mean more money and job security for the instructors. |
|
Seeking grant funding motivates how statistics are shared based on the goals involved. |
A researcher may share certain crime stats from a specific time period to show there is a need for their intervention. |
They want to get their research funded, so they are trying to show its importance. |
|
Bonus Example: Racist groups claim people should be segregated by race/ethnicity for security. |
A group may claim crime rates are linked to race, arguing (incorrectly) some races are more dangerous than others. |
White nationalists try to form areas where only white people can live. |
Figure 2.3 Reason crime stats are used, example of misuse of data, and potential ulterior motive/bias.
As you can see from these examples, some misuses of crime statistics are relatively innocent, and others are downright deceitful and disgusting. They include providing only limited information (not giving the full picture for an accurate account), presenting incorrect (made up or fudged) statistics, and presenting data in a way that is deceiving (smoke and mirrors). It is important to be aware and to consider the possible motives behind the source sharing crime statistics. This helps you determine the accuracy and trustworthiness of the data. While someone’s motive may be pure, others may be using these statistics to manipulate voting, spending, or some other selfish or racist reaction.