Police say crime is down

The Ministry of National Security has released its crime figures for March, reporting that major crime has declined seventeen percent over the same period last year. The categories of robbery, rape, burglary and theft all dropped significantly, while murder, which rose from five in March of 2000 to six in 2001 is the only major classification to go up. While the release of statistics on a regular basis is a welcome practice, it will be a while before the press or public can have full confidence in the numbers, particularly when the ministry continues to consistently misrepresent their implications. The most glaring example is the insistence by officials–and subsequent repetition by the media–that major crimes during the last four months have fallen by sixty percent. This is in fact a lie, achieved by adding–instead of averaging–each month’s percentage change. The actual drop in crime is closer to fifteen point five percent–that is if one accepts the raw statistics that the ministry has produced.