NCJ Number
99715
Date Published
1985
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This study examined several methods by which an individual's race is coded in official statistics and considered the information gathered on adults arrested on 8 days in 1984 in Honolulu, Hawaii, to determine how the coding methods affected the reported data.
Abstract
The U.S. Bureau of the Census, the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program of the Hawaii State Department of Health, the State's Health Surveillance Program, and police agencies use slightly different methods of recording race, although the information is based mainly on self-reports from the citizens involved. Data from the 522 persons arrested on the 8 randomly selected days showed that slightly different numbers and percentages appeared in each racial category, depending on the coding method used. Data that are to be used in comparisons should be collected in a uniform manner. The public often concludes that the racial groups that predominate in the crime statistics are those most likely to commit crime, although these statistics show only the groups that are arrested most frequently. Criminal justice researchers need to clarify this distinction to the public. An appendix presents figures and tables.