OFFICIAL RATES OF CRIME AND DELINQUENCY - PROBLEMS OF ANALYSIS (FROM CRIME AND DELINQUENCY IN CANADA, 1979, BY EDWARD W VAZ AND ABDUL Q LODHI - SEE NCJ-66046)

• NCJ Number: 66047
• Author(s): P J GIFFEN
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 30 pages
• Corporate Author: Prentice-Hall Canada, Inc
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

THE NATURE, USE, AND LIMITATIONS OF OFFICIAL CRIME

Abstract

CRIMINAL STATISTICS' USEFULNESS ARE AFFECTED BY THE TYPES OF INFORMATION GATHERED AND PUBLISHED. CANADIAN POLICE STATISTICS AIM TO MEASURE CHANGES IN AMOUNTS AND TYPE OF CRIME ON BOTH A NATIONAL AND LOCAL BASIS. BUT INFORMATION ON VICTIMS AND RELATED CRIME DETAILS IS LACKING. DUE TO IMPROVED CRIME REPORTING OVER TIME, COURTS STATISTICS MAY ACTUALLY INDICATE THE VOLUME OF CRIME MORE ACCURATELY THAN POLICE STATISTICS. THE STATISTICS SUFFER FROM A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS. CHANGES IN DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION RECORDED HAS PRODUCED DISCONTINUITIES IN THE AVAILABLE INFORMATION ON CRIME. MOREOVER, ALL JUVENILES INVOLVED WITH THE COURTS ARE LABELED JUVENILE DELINQUENT, REGARDLESS OF THE VERDICT. DEVELOPMENT OF SEPARATE PROVINCIAL REPORTING SYSTEMS FOR JUVENILE COURTS AND TIME LAGS IN PUBLISHING DATA ALSO AFFECT STATISTICS' USEFULNESS. PER CAPITA RATES, WHICH ARE CONVENTIONALLY USED IN STUDYING CRIMINAL STATISTICS, ARE NOT ALWAYS THE MOST INFORMATIVE MEANS OF CALCULATING OPPORTUNITY RATES AND DEPEND ON OTHER DATA SOURCES. IN CONTRAST TO POPULAR BELIEF, WHEN TRAFFIC OFFENSES ARE EXCLUDED, THE INCREASE IN CONVICTIONS FOR INDICTABLE OFFENSES BETWEEN 1901 AND 1975 HAS BEEN NEGLIGIBLE. RATES HAVE FLUCTUATED MARKEDLY. STATISTICS CONFIRM THE PREDOMINANCE OF BOTH MALES AND YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE OFFENDER POPULATION. ADULT URBAN DWELLERS HAVE HAD HIGHER OVERALL CRIME RATES THAN ADULT RURAL DWELLERS, BUT JUVENILES IN THE RURAL AREAS HAVE A HIGHER RATE THAN JUVENILES IN SOME PROVINCES. THE PROBABILITY OF BEING CONVICTED FOR AN INDICTABLE OFFENSE DECLINED AS EDUCATIONAL LEVEL INCREASED, BUT THE GROUP WITH NO SCHOOLING HAD A LOW RATE IN 1961. CANADIAN-BORN PEOPLE HAD A HIGHER PROBABILITY OF APPEARING IN COURT FOR A SERIOUS OFFENSE THAN DID THE FOREIGN-BORN. DIFFERENCES AMONG PROVINCES SHOWED NO CLEAR RELATIONSHIP TO URBANIZATION OR POPULATION GROWTH. CANADIAN RATES OF VIOLENT CRIMES WERE LOWER AND THEFT RATES HIGHER THAN IN THE U.S. A SYSTEMS PLANNING MODEL IS TO BE DEVELOPED TO IMPROVE DATA ON CRIME IN CANADA. VICTIMIZATION SURVEYS WOULD BE USEFUL. CREATION OF A RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS SECTION IN THE JUDICIAL DIVISION OF STATISTICS MAY ALSO IMPROVE THE PRODUCTION OF OFFICIAL STATISTICS. TABLES, NOTES, AND A REFERENCE LIST ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)