What are some potential sources of error in the major reports on crimes?

Question

Talking about crime statistics reported to FBI by UCR and NCVS

Answer 1

Statistics are estimations, not accurate counts. Like a census, it is very difficult to count each and every person. There are just too many and the job would be enormous and take too long to make the rersults useful. Statistics "solves" this problem by taking a sampling, or a series of samplings of groups and infering, or estimating certain percentages and such for a larger group. It is like determining the temperature of an entire swimming pool for instance, by leasuring the temperature of one part of it. Obviously, there will be some variance, depending on exposure to sun, wind depth of water , etc. so the measure is not exact, but probably within a certain range for various parts of the pool. errors in reporting could be a simple lost record or misplaced person. Another source of error is inherent in the legal system. A chrge may be dropped, or the person found innocent after being counted as a criminal.