NCJ Number
84367
Date Published
1981
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study shows great disparities in homicide rates in Latin American countries across the data sources of the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Police Organization (INTERPOL), and government crime statistics, and recommendations are offered for dealing with these disparities in cross-cultural studies.
Abstract
WHO has been reporting data on casues of death within United Nations member countries since 1948, with homicide included as one of the causes of death. The information comes from local health officials who certify causes of death on death certificates. INTERPOL crime data are derived from police statistics from member countries. Of the 32 Latin American countries, 14 have reported their homicide figures at some point. The INTERPOL data are acknowledged to be broad and are intended primarily for use in tracing crime trends rather than to provide a precise measure of crime. A third source of national homicide statistics is government reports that include police crime statistics (but not the figures reported to INTERPOL). The disparities in homicide rates in many Latin American countries across these data sources have not been recognized or explained in the published literature. Any studies using such data should (1) indicate the crime definitions used in the data source, alternative data sources, and any literature that discusses problems in such figures; (2) identify reasons for data disparities, perhaps by cross-checking data sources to see if the same cases are included; (3) use different measures of homicide to test the conclusions of a particular study; (4) use an average of rates over a period of time rather than the figure for a single year; and (5) conduct field work in the country studied, including contact with indigenous researchers and government statisticians. Tabular data compare homicide data from the three sources for the 32 Latin American countries. Thirty references are listed.