Lying with Statistics - Metropolitan Alliance of Police

Lying with Statistics
Continued from page 11
enhancer—never—because then it’s not
about safety, it’s about money.”
What cracks me up, however, is when
irate, pissed off citizens get jobbed for
$100, the politicians send them over to
the cops. That’s what really irks me. The
police get to handle the p.o.’d person
and they didn’t even write the ticket. But
politicians have to get elected and the
cops have to come up with the excuses
and the stats to support some private
business in order to make money for
them and your town. What the businesses
tell the pols is that these cameras
will continue to make money, even when
the citizens who live there get used to
them. Visitors, relatives, passerbys, and
shoppers won’t know they are there.
That’s what the pols hope for, Whack
them, not “my voters.” See, cash cow!
Even though you have to admit when
there is a red light camera watching,
you will think twice about pushing that
light. But it’s not all about safety when
they say there is a 34 percent reduction
of traffic accidents. The stats are
skewed. All the numbers are not usually
given, just a percentage for the most
part. Why Because like the man says,
they need to confuse you to get everyone
nodding their heads in agreement that
the cameras are working. Bull. It’s just
a revenue gold-mine—like gambling.
Drop the numbers statistical game and
just say what it is. In this one town examined
it is interesting to note that the
mayor shut down the cameras, maybe
due to the citizens’ complaints, but that’s
not the official reason given. I have a
copy of one citizen’s letter—it’s a doozy!
When the pols become sensitive to the
complaints and see votes going in the
tank, they don’t give that as a reason why
they are eliminating the cameras. No…
they say accidents were reduced, and
they didn’t need them anymore. Yeah,
like reducing accidents from nine to five
shows a need to have them in the first
place. The stuff I want to hear is how
much those four reduced accidents generated
in ticket revenue. I’m still waiting.
One final thought. There are a lot of
ways to lie with statistics in police work.
One of my favorites was the boss reporting
the decrease in burglaries, vehicle
burglaries, and domestic violence when
I was in the bureau. These stats were
always going down because the big brass
did not want to count detached garages
that were broken into as burglaries. I
guess it’s not a dwelling therein, even
though the hoods kicked the door down
to get in and took stuff.
Same with vehicle break-ins. If the door
was not locked, then voila! No burglary,
nothing broken, even though the hoods
took stuff. Arson to a dumpster or a
field after all is not really arson, unless
someone happens to be living in that
dumpster.
And most domestic violence cases are
not considered battery. Beat the snot out
of the missus and it’s not a reportable
battery per se. Different reporting technique,
but chiefs and politicians want a
low crime rate. Statistics on crime are
very commonly altered. I tried to tell my
bosses that all you can really hope for
is a “decrease in the increase of crime.”
Crime will never go away. It fluctuates
like the stock market and those shark
attacks.
Well, that just pissed them off and they
would accuse me of being insubordinate
for the 500th time.
And that, my friends, is a statistic you
could count on.
* * *
Editor’s note: I could go on and on, like
with the new traffic study where stats are
used to enforce someone’s theory that
we waste $11.7 billion dollars a year to
traffic congestion, at $14.48 an hour for
each person stuck in traffic. Who comes
up with this stuff But you can think up
anything to parse your idea on why we
should go to mass transit for our transportation
woes.
Also, these are my observations, and
only mine, although Homer Simpson
did help me a bit here. I could have used
more statistics, but then I could be lying!
If I’m off on a figure here or there, relax.
We’ll change it—it’s only a statistic!
Next time, or the time after that, I’ll finish
up my ramblings on lying and what
all this could possibly mean.
Stay safe.
Quote:
As the election cycle nears, the 10 most dangerous words in the
English language are:
“I’m from the government and I’m here to help you.”
- Ronald Reagan
Page 12 The Rap Sheet Fall 2008