CJA 204 Week 2 Crime Rate versus Arrest Rate

CJA/204

The most common error involving the relationship between crime rates and arrest rates occurs when the statistics claimed have been contradicted by the factual information readily available. Another common error, whether intentional or accidental, is to compare the raw number of reported crimes without adjusting for the expected baseline of the crimes that were committed. Not adjusting for this happens consistently. Also the crime data does not contain any information on repeat offenders. One would have to focus and observe the offenders criminal behavior over time to truly get a good status on these rates.

Crime agencies report the number of offenses and crime data in the following categories: murder and non-negligent manslaughter,...