When you read or hear about recorded crime continuing to trend down, as publicised by Statistics New Zealand today, bear the following in mind; (It is tucked away within the report released today).
Victimisations
The data is not designed to establish how many people have been victims of crimes, or the number of crimes committed. This type of information is best obtained through victimisation surveys that include crimes that were not reported to the Police. Research indicates that many crimes are never reported to the Police in the first instance. The 2001 New Zealand National Survey of Crime Victims (NZNSCV) showed that the number of offences recorded in police statistics in 2000 represented 15 percent of the estimated number of victimisations. Crimes most likely to be reported include those that involve insurance claims, those where injuries require medical treatment, and crimes discovered by the Police as a result of police practice (eg policing of liquor bans).
UPDATE; See how the headlines misreport, Crime Falls Overall - Long-term crime statistics show overall criminal offending has fallen in the past 10 years, due largely to a big fall in dishonesty offences.
Where is the word, "recorded"?
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