Ashley Fenton

Kathryn Birnie

Jessica MacDonald

STATS Webpage

 

Abstract

            Crime statistics measure the amount of “crime” that exists in society. However, due to policy changes, police discretion, and the “dark figure of crime”, statistics that we are given through media and Statistics Canada tend not to accurately depict actual crime trends.

 

Introduction

            Through the media certain youth crime trends are misrepresented. The media constantly bombards the public with information such that we should fear youth and their malicious criminal intent. In comparison, “actual” youth crime statistics provided by Statistics Canada show that this may not necessarily be the case. Even though Statistics Canada is supposed to be a reliable statistical source, a large portion of youth crime is still misrepresented due to the “dark figure of crime”.

 

Non-technical Summary

            Throughout this site, information will be given as to how and why data on youth crime is collected, and how it is used effectively and ineffectively in society. Information such as Uniform Crime Reports, Victimization Surveys, and Self Report Surveys are used in the criminal justice system to help determine what types of crimes are committed, by whom, and against whom.

 

            Before divulging into the world of youth crime statistics, certain terms will be defined for ease of understanding.

 

dark figure of crime- the amount of crime that goes unreported to the police for various reasons

 

Juvenile Delinquents Act (JDA)- the first act that held Canadian youth accountable for crimes that they committed. Enacted between 1908-1984

 

Self Report Survey- in criminology these are questionnaire surveys where individuals are asked to report on their actual involvement in criminal or

delinquent activities (Bell, 2003, p. 359)

 

statistic- a numerical summary that can be computed from data (McNeney, 2004)

 

trend- to follow a general course (Example: Between 1986-1992 sexual assault charges for youth increased severely. This rise in charges is considered a trend.) (Merriam Webster, 2004)

 

Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)- a data series of information that is collected through police when a crime has been committed. The information is gathered by most Canadian police precincts, and then complied to represent overall crime rates for Canada

 

Victimization Survey- a survey questionnaire where individuals are asked to report if they have ever been victimized over a particular time period and in what ways (Bell, 2003, p. 360)

 

Young Offenders Act (YOA)- similar to the JDA, however with modifications. Enacted between 1984-2003

 

youth crime- a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada by a person under the age of 18

 

Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA)- similar to the YOA, however with further modifications. Enacted 2003.

 

Examples

            “News is neither fictional or fabricated; not is it an accurate reflection of reality, but rather stories that rework reality into a narrative structure about the world out there,” (Lorimer & Gasher, as cited in Fleras, 2003, p.105).  On any given day one can turn on the 6 o’clock news and hear of the latest rash of youth attacks. The public is forced into believing that youth crime is on the rise in Canada, and that even YOU are likely to be the next victim. According to the Macleans/CTV polls taken once per year, Canadians are developing an increasing fear of youth crime in their neighborhoods because they claim youth activities and behavior have been getting worse: from 47% in 1990 to 79% in 1994 ("Macleans/CTV poll," 1993). Even though the media may use correct statistics, they may not represent a true picture because of their lack of understanding of the limitations in data collection (insert link) and historical context (insert link) of juvenile justice.

 

            Statistics Canada paints a very different picture of youth crime. For example, where media portrays an increase in violent crime, Statistics Canada claims that it has actually remained quite static (insert link to StatsCan), experiencing little change.

 

            Many problems exist with the way crime data is collected in Canada. First of all, in order for a crime to even be recorded, the victim must actually report the crime to police. This causes a problem, because many victims do not feel that they have suffered a great loss, or are afraid to press charges against someone that they know. This lack of reporting to police skews the statistical information that the UCR aims to portray. The hierarchy rule states that if multiple offences have occurred in the case of one criminal event, only the most serious of the offences is counted in the UCR (Maxfield & Babbie, 2001, p. 132-133). This presents a problem, because the perpetrator can be charged with all offences they have committed during the course of that one criminal event causing a discrepancy between court statistics and UCR statistics.

 

            Problems with victimization surveys have been found to show that there is a vast majority of crime that goes unreported to police agencies.  When people are filling out these surveys they have a tendency to “telescope”, which is the reporting of crimes that have been committed against them in a period of time that is outside the specified timeframe.  Telescoping causes inaccuracies in statistics because of the overrepresentation of certain crimes in the allotted time restraints.

 

            Self-report surveys also show an inaccurate portrayal of crimes committed by youth.  These surveys ask the youth to report crime that they have committed. These surveys have shown that youth crime is actually four to ten times higher than the amount reported by official statistics (Bell, 2004, p.79)

 

We are intending to add: All 3 forms of juvenile justice models and how they have changed the amount of crime reported to police.  More info to the 3 ways of reporting crime.  Maybe some more statsCan stuff. 

 

Conclusion

            Crime statistics, however good they may claim to be, need to be examined closely in regards to how they are collected and the historical context in which they are collected.

 

References

 

Bell, S. (2003). Young Offenders and Juvenile Justice. Thomson Nelson: Canada.

Fleras, A. (2003).  Mass Media Communication in Canada.  Thomson Nelson: Canada.

MacLeans/CTV Poll: The fear index. (1993, January 4). Macleans, 87.

Maxfield, M. & Babbie, E. (2001). Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology. 3rd Ed. Wadsworth Thomson Leaning: Canada.

McNeney, B. (2004). Statistics 100 Lecture Notes: February 2.

 

Trend. Merriam Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved March 6, 2004, from http://www.merriamwebster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=trend&x =10&y=13