NCJ Number
188937
Journal
Justice Research and Policy Volume: 2 Issue: 2 Dated: Fall 2000 Pages: 73-89
Date Published
2000
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This case study of the production of official crime statistics in New York in the early 1990’s focused on the impact on crime statistics of the more mundane actions and decisions of individuals who worked in the production of crime statistics but without any vested interest in the meaning or measure of crime.
Abstract
The problems associated with trying to conceptualize and measure crime with crime statistics are widely recognized and well documented. Most studies have focused on the technical issues of reliability and validity. Recent analyses have also considered how crime statistics are socially constructed or produced. However, these studies have focused on how the decisions and actions of people who participate in the system of criminal justice and have vested interests in how crime is defined or measured have influenced such statistics. The author worked as Chief of the Bureau of Statistical Services and other positions in the Office of Justice Systems Analysis of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. Some decisions and actions of individuals working to produce crime statistics in New York related to the local political context. Other decisions related to resource or data availability and were independent of the organizational culture, local political concerns, or the system of criminal justice. The analysis concluded that the actions and decisions of individuals without vested interests have an impact on the definition and measurement of crime. The analysis also concludes that more detailed descriptions and analyses of the social processes by which official crime statistics are produced can aid understanding of what crime statistics actually represent, what they mean, and how best to use them. 43 references (Author abstract modified)