Abstract
This chapter discusses how crime statistics affect the design and implementation of public policy in general and in particular how it affects public policy thinking. In so doing, it deliberates how they are used in the political debate and examines how they translate into public policy. The chapter includes interviews with officials and experts who deal with crime policy and statistics. It tries to explain why crime statistics become so important under certain circumstances and why they are almost ignored in others. Therefore, this chapters aims to explain the importance of reporting crime statistics in the current political context, whereby the process of public policy design and implementation seems to be influenced by public opinion and media representations more so than in the past.
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Notes
- 1.
Doyle, Jack and Wright, Stephen (2012). Immigrant crimewave’ warning: Foreign nationals were accused of a QUARTER of all crimes in London. The Daily Mail . http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102895/Immigrant-crimewave-warning-Foreign-nationals-accused-QUARTER-crimes-London.html#ixzz4SR5oEggQ [Accessed on 2 March 2017].
- 2.
Post Editorial Board (2016). FBI stats back up Trump’s warning on crime. The New York Post. http://nypost.com/2016/09/26/fbi-stats-back-up-trumps-warning-on-crime/ [Accessed on January 12, 2017].
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Lugo-Ocando, J. (2017). News, Public Policy and Crime Statistics. In: Crime Statistics in the News. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-39841-3_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-39841-3_6
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