Comparing Crime Rates: When Are They Meaningful?

• NCJ Number: 131422
• Author(s): J Hackler; D Cossins; K Don
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 24 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Canada Solicitor General; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
• Corporate Author: University of Alberta
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: Canada
• Note: Discussion paper no. 24

Annotation

By focusing on 28 police forces in various Canadian metropolitan areas (populations over 100,000) and their official statistics on property crimes, this paper reviews the utility of current methods of compiling crime statistics.

Abstract

The authors note that screening and reporting practices followed by police departments in different parts of the country make comparisons of provincial crime statistics inadvisable. Official statistics should be used for comparative purposes only and only within limited geographic areas. Furthermore, there are several ways in which statisticians can correct the differences between officially recorded crime rates and true crime rates. Suggested methods include creating recording indices to reflect screening tendencies, finding non-screenable crimes, and using victimization rates as a measure of crime. Finally, using charge rates could rectify some of the biases inherent in recorded crime rates and might provide a more appropriate way to draw intercity comparisons. 5 tables and 18 references