More fun with crime stats.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Go on, have a treat on me-

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2328368.ece

THE government was accused yesterday of covering up the full extent of the gun crime epidemic sweeping Britain, after official figures showed that gun-related killings and injuries had risen more than fourfold since 1998.

The Home Office figures - which exclude crimes involving air weapons - show the number of deaths and injuries caused by gun attacks in England and Wales soared from 864 in 1998-99 to 3,821 in 2005-06. That means that more than 10 people are injured or killed in a gun attack every day.

This weekend the Tories said the figures challenged claims by Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, that gun crime was falling. David Davis, the shadow home secretary, tells her in a letter today that the “staggering findings” show her claims that gun crime has fallen are “inaccurate and misleading”.

*******

The Home Office has repeatedly denied gun crime is rising. Last week it pointed to the latest annual crime statistics, which appeared to show that overall gun crime was 13% down on the previous year.

But in his letter to Smith, released today, Davis said these claims were contradicted by figures “buried” in a Home Office statistical bulletin, published ear-lier this year. “[Here] we find the most revealing indication of the true gun-re-lated violence sweeping Britain. Gun-related killings and injuries (excluding air weapons) have increased over fourfold since 1998,” he wrote.

[Pekka]

Wow. This is very interesting. How do you go from 864 to 3821 within less than 10 years? In England? Aside from the fact that they're maniacs, this is an interesting fact.

[SlowwHand]

On the positive side, deaths by stoning or clubbing has dropped dramatically.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Originally posted by Pekka
Wow. This is very interesting. How do you go from 864 to 3821 within less than 10 years? In England? Aside from the fact that they're maniacs, this is an interesting fact.

Easy-peasy.

They're counting items such as CS spray, pepper spray and tasers as guns- and they were just about unknown on UK streets in 1998.

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb0207.pdf

Of course, the Sunday Times doesn't bother pointing that out. Nor do they point out that the same stats they refer to actually reflect a fall in fatalities due to gun crime.

Fun with crime statistics, kids. They're always good for a laugh.

[Kuciwalker]

They're counting items such as CS spray, pepper spray and tasers as guns

[SlowwHand]

Statistics in general. I'm not a fan of statistics.
I can just imagine, "20% of murderers don't wear socks.
We can drop crime by 20% by simply making socks mandatory."

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

The distressing part is that people won't look past the headline figures. Click the Sunday Times link and you'll see comments utterly convinced that Britain has crime rates roughly similar to the levels seen in Khmer Rouge-era Cambodia.

[Caligastia]

Here's another way to have fun with crime stats...have a hate crime victim category for hispanics, but no hispanic offender category.

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/forms/hatecrime.pdf

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp
Of course, the Sunday Times doesn't bother pointing that out. Nor do they point out that the same stats they refer to actually reflect a fall in fatalities due to gun crime.

I'll grant you it's wierd that the Home Office counts pepper spray as a gun but why is this factoid (lower fatalities) relevent?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Originally posted by Caligastia
Here's another way to have fun with crime stats...have a hate crime victim category for hispanics, but no hispanic offender category.

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/forms/hatecrime.pdf

There is a reason for that- the methodology is totally different and dependent on far more variables and skewing factors.

[Arrian]

They're counting items such as CS spray, pepper spray and tasers as guns

That's ****ing retarded.

-Arrian

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp


There is a reason for that- the methodology is totally different and dependent on far more variables and skewing factors.

So? Please explain.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
I'll grant you it's wierd that the Home Office counts pepper spray as a gun but why is this factoid (lower fatalities) relevent?

In a typical slow season for news, the Times (and the Tory party) is attempting to whip up a panic based on very dubious use of crime stats.

The stories suggest we're in the middle of a massive and increasing wave of violent crime. This story is currently appearing all over the right-wing blog circuit in support of theories that banning guns in the UK has resulted in a spiralling increase of gun crime.

[Pekka]

Isn't that like saying that banning sex leads to increased rates of rapes and HIV?

No wait. That's true. POPE!!!!! I wanna talk to you!

No wait. I don't want to talk to the pope. I'd like to fart the general direction he's at POPE!! you suuuck... pope suuucks.... pope, bad... pope loser... suucks..

[DinoDoc]

I bet he even admires Ghandi, Pekka.