How to Compare Crime in Different Places

The first in a series on crime statistics

Comparing the amount of crime in two places is trickier than most people realize.

Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Criminals have a vested interest in not being found out. Victims don’t universally report crimes committed against them, for reasons ranging from not thinking minor crimes are serious enough to report to not believing the police will help them. Governmental agencies have their own agendas and can make information easier or harder to find in ways that align with those agendas.

So, how do we figure it out?

The place to start is with official statistics, as flawed as they may be.

Official statistics will give you a picture of crimes known to police

That’s for a specific area, in a given period.

When someone does report a crime to the police or police otherwise become aware of a crime, part of their job is to record information about that crime. Ideally, that happens for every crime the police investigate. Then, all the different crimes known to a police organization will get counted up, making it possible to know how many crimes of each type have been documented.