Facts Do Not Speak for Themselves the Problem with Our Crime Statistics Is That No Significant Political Decisions Rely on Them
Slapper, Gary, The Independent (London, England)
THE REAL problem with our annual criminal statistics is that no significant political decisions are ever made because of them.
No self-respecting law and order speech can be seen in public these days without being heavily punctuated with bullet points and ornamental digits from the latest crime figures. Yet rhetoric bejewelled with statistics brings no real policy changes. This is quite ironic, as statistics were originated precisely to permit governments to make sound social policy in accordance with hard evidence.
The formal use of statistics originated in the 17th century as (etymologically) "a science dealing with facts of the state". It was the writer William …
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Publication information:
Article title: Facts Do Not Speak for Themselves the Problem with Our Crime Statistics Is That No Significant Political Decisions Rely on Them.
Contributors: Slapper, Gary - Author.
Newspaper title: The Independent (London, England).
Publication date: October 14, 1998.
Page number: 4.
© 2009 The Independent - London.
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