Criminal statistics are based on recorded criminality. This criminality consists of offenses which, having come to the notice of public authorities through complaints lodged by private citizens or directly as a result of police patrol, etc., are registered by such authorities. This recorded criminality is only a sample of the total criminality, the latter being an unknown quantity. [Police agencies are notorious for fudging local crime statistics to make it appear they are preventing crime and the jurisdiction is much safer than it really is.]
Thorsten Sellen, "The Significance of Records of Crime," in The Criminal in Society, Leon Radzinowicz and Marvin Wolfgang, Editors, 1971
There is a reward for reporting crime. People who want insurance money must make a police report first, saying the item was stolen, even if an item was lost or dropped. You can get rid of an annoying lover saying he assaulted you, and you can prank minorities calling the police on them when they are just minding their own business.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt crime is much lower than reported.