NCJ Number
182029
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2000 Pages: 77-89
Date Published
March 2000
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article attempts to empirically describe the way in which different factors affect official crime statistics produced at the national level.
Abstract
Using Swedish rape statistics as a focus, the article claims that cross-national comparisons of crime levels are extremely hazardous when based on official crime statistics, since the construction rules vary widely. International comparisons of crime levels should as a rule be confined to findings of international victim surveys. The example of rape statistics in Sweden--about three times higher when compared to other countries in the European Sourcebook--is used to explain what factors can influence statistics. The article shows that changes in statistical routines, the legal definition of rape and changes over time all influence the statistics in a substantive way. The article also indicates the great extent to which crime statistics are a construct whose appearance is very sensitive to the rules applied in the process of construction. Using statistics appropriately requires a thorough knowledge of the principles guiding that process. Tables, notes, figures, references