[Scan-DC] Statistics

[Steve Rigby]

On Jul 18, 2006, at 9:49 PM, Frank Carson wrote:

> BINGO!!  The "Official Crime Statistics" that most agencies report are 
> based
> upon the "Uniform Crime Reporting" standards.  It's a federal 
> thing<g>.  The
> agency collects and assembles crime stats and forwards it to the 
> State, who
> then compile the data and send it on up to the Feds to be included in 
> the
> nationwide reports.  The Agency is only required to report offenses 
> that
> were handled by that Agency under their ORI number (all departments
> nationwide have unique ORI numbers).  If the County has municipalities 
> which
> have their own police department THAT municipality is required to 
> report
> their own UCR Stats seperately.  For example, the Prince George's 
> County
> Police DO NOT report Hyattsville City's robberies, etc.  Since 
> Hyattsville
> City has their own police department Hyattsville City reports THEIR OWN
> robberies, etc. That's how it works.

   Thanks, Frank.  I understand, more so now that you have added your 
good information.

   The point I was making to the editor of the paper, to the county 
Supervisor and to the Chief was actually quite simple.  Lacking any 
type of disclaimer or clear and concise explanation, the term "in the 
county" greatly misleads the public.  It is not a matter of a 
misunderstanding of what is being said, it is more a matter of not 
stating the actual facts to begin with.  To my way of reading and 
thinking, "in the county" or "within the county" means exactly that, 
and nothing else.

   I just think that for informational purposes, the wording of releases 
to the public should be changed to convey the truth of the matter, 
that's all.  Since the FCPD and the county government are releasing 
figures and statistics, in part, in order to inform the public about 
what is happening in the county, and since they want the input of the 
public, complete disclosure needs to be part of the equation.

   Surely the county government can supply figures to citizens that are 
inclusive of the county in its entirety if they wanted to.  After all, 
some of the most densely populated areas and commercial establishments 
that are targets of crime are in the towns and cities of the county.

   Steve