How Countries Count Crime: An Exercise in Police Discretion

Description

This edited collection illuminates the weaknesses and strengths of crime reporting across a wide range of countries, with a focus on democratic countries in which the police bear some accountability to citizens. In one compendium, for the first time, this book documents how different countries record (or fail to record) crimes. With chapters written by native authors who are experts on the practices of their respective countries, the book explores practices in 15 different countries across the globe. Organized with a parallel, country-by-country approach, the book describes and analyzes methods police use to record crimes, with the awareness that the counting of crimes is not only an issue of empirical measurement, but also one of social construction. Crime reporting practices vary widely by country. In some cases, reports are not taken, and in others, reports are carefully based on preliminary investigations. Willful manipulation of crime reports can and does occur, and the book explores related factors such as political pressure, personal ambition, community safety, and more. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter help the reader evaluate the significant issues influencing each country. The editors conclude by suggesting best practices for crime reporting and the collection of crime data. A unique addition to this book is a foreword by Tofiq Murshudlu, the Head of Drugs and Crime for the United Nations in Vienna. The book is intended for a wide range of audiences, including policing scholars, law enforcement and community leaders, and students of criminal justice. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page CONTENTS Foreword Contributors Introduction 1. Collecting Police-Recorded Data in Austria: A Review of the Current State of Play 2. How France Counts Crime: A Shared Interest in Bad Accounts 3. Counting Crime in the Isle of Spice: A Review of the Royal Grenada Police Force 4. Counting Crime: An Exercise in Police Discretion Report from India 5. Role of Police in the Compilation of Crime Data in Mexico 6. Crime Statistics: To Measure Is to Know, but Do More with Less 7. The Challenges of Police Discretion and Crime Statistics in Nigeria 8. How Portugal Counts Crime: An Exercise in Police Discretion 9. The State and Trends of Crime in Modern Russia 10. Counting Crime in South Africa 11. Police Data in Spain: Still a Grey Landscape 12. Crime Reporting in Sweden 13. Measuring Crime and Victimization Rates in Tanzania 14. A Web of Deceit: Police Crime Statistics of England and Wales 15. Crime Reporting in the United States: Truth or Consequences Index