Massaging crime figures - why we're not surprised
| 7:59AM Aug 25, 2012 | |
YOURSAY 'It is not uncommon to massage figures to portray a better picture. But when carried too far, the strategy can backfire.'
How crime statistics can be doctoredTelestai!: What a disgrace! Is there anything else that hasn't been doctored? Someone close to me told me how public examination results were doctored to project a trend of overall improvement in performance.
It is part of the government propaganda to showcase the the achievements of the BN. Are we surprised why students with strings of As can't construct a proper sentence to save their lives?
And as for the crime statistics - all lies and damn lies.
Kgen: It is not uncommon to massage figures to portray a better picture but this has been carried too far so much so that reality and statistics move in opposite directions.
This is when the strategy backfires as the public totally rejects the said statistics. Yet the government still insists that crime is a perception problem because its statistics say so. This is an insult to our intelligence.
What government think-tank Pemandu is doing is like trying to sell ice to Eskimos by saying that the natural ice around them is a false perception.
Well, Mr IGP (inspector-general of police), your brilliant little scheme has been found out. You had Pemandu fooled completely but not us, the suffering public who has first-hand experience of crime.
Please don't insult us by saying 'perception' again and that goes for that loudmouth home minister who grudgingly said police will focus on fighting crime as if that is something extraneous for them.
Teoh Hock Aun: What an excellent written piece! So clear and so easy to comprehend. Such a brave and honest police officer who must be sick of his bosses' deception and would rather call a spade a spade.
Now I presume the government and his bosses will launch a witch-hunt to get the whistleblower. This country has gone to the dogs with the corrupt Umno and BN in power. They should have been booted out long ago.
Jkthum: It's an unspoken practice that most statistics and indices are doctored to paint the picture that those with vested interest want to portray.
Rarely do we get any that are not. But when statistics and reality are too far apart, that's when the public loses confidence.
Jiminy Qrikert: Just imagine what this does to the morale, self-image and honour of the police force.
These are the men and women who are faced with the increasing barrage of reports of crime but are forced to be a part of this huge lie and succumb to the political pressures to doctor data to prop up their political masters.
They know it's a lie but are helpless to prevent it. At the same time, they see the extent of corruption committed by these political masters who are powerful enough to literally get away with murder.
It does not take much pushing or temptation for these police to also succumb to crime and corruption since you might as well join them if you can't beat them.
No wonder, Umno-BN is so deeply buried in corruption as the police are now guilty accomplices in spinning a crime into a non-crime.
Unspin: Besides measuring our crime rate based on reported cases, a more meaningful KPI (key performance indicator) for the police force should be based on how many of those reported crimes that are resolved.
If they are given a target to resolve crimes, the police will be forced to work harder to hunt down the criminals.
In addition, it would not be easy to fake resolved crime numbers because if a crime is resolved, there will be corresponding statistics of the criminal(s) being charged in court or sent to jail.
Rightan: What are statistics anyway? You want a higher passing rate in any public examination for any year, just lower the passing mark.
A classic case is the additional mathematics paper in the SPM examination. I was told that the passing mark is only 17 marks. No wonder my son can score an 'A' though he failed in his trial examination.
Amused Malaysian: Why crime statistics only. What about Hari Raya road fatalities? There's none of the fuss of previous years. Don't tell me there are no road fatalities this Raya.
Yeow: Kudos to the police officer who gave the information for this report. Good that he remains anonymous as he may be bumped off and go missing.
Then it will be an index case becoming a non-index case, with the excuse that he has absconded and probably in Vietnam.
Rakyat Malaysia: Now, why I am not surprised by this manipulation in the police force? I don't blame them.
Blame their BN political masters for asking for 20 percent reduction. Yet nobody is really looking into finding the root cause rather than just throw the job to police and asking them to figure it out.
The police themselves also are laden with links to underworld figures. So, what high expectations can we expect from them?
Anonymous #58437020: Finally, someone has spoken up. A Malaysian who 'tak boleh tahan' (can't stand it) anymore.
No wonder the crime statistics created so much debate. I think the next audit for AG (auditor-general) should start here.
Can more Malaysians write in please? We need an independent audit appointed by the rakyat to go in and check this out.
Anonymous #79199503: If the crime rates are reducing, why does the government keeps asking for an increase in manpower for the police force?
Headhunter: And with the home minister having embedded himself in Bukit Aman (federal police headquarters) and lording over the police, is it any surprise that the police has been used to hound the opposition?
Can anyone imagine any police officer, no matter how senior he is, dare to go against Umno or BN with the man sitting upstairs? Pity the IGP and his senior officers having to be on standby, to be summoned by him every day.
No wonder they don't have time to fight crime. I hope the whistleblower will disclose to us more dirt in future. It's one way to clean up the police force.
Clearwater: This commentary on crime statistics manipulation is eye opening and above all, utterly believable.
Who polices the police statistics? Cynical manipulation of statistics is more plausible an explanation than the idiotic excuses put up by the certain politicians and their police henchmen.
Bartimaeus 2020: "He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp posts - for support rather than illumination" (Andrew Lang, 1844 - 1912, Scottish novelist and literary critic)
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