Posted by Jim Henley reflects on the British crime statistics I mentioned a couple of days ago. He is concerned that I am too trusting of the British Crime Survey. As far as I can tell they have used standard practices for victimization surveys and since many people are involved I don’t see how the data could be cooked without someone finding out. I would also expect victim surveys to be more accurate than police reports because the police are directly responsible for controlling crime, while the statisticians and surveyors who run the BCS do not.
May 17, 2003
March 11, 2004