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Bridging the Information Deficit In Bias Crime Reporting

Bridging the Information Deficit In Bias Crime Reporting. James J. Nolan, Ph.D. West Virginia University. Outline of Presentation. Describe the National Hate Crime Data Collection Program in the U.S. Conceptual Framework for Viewing Police Data as a Valid Source of National Statistics

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Bridging the Information Deficit In Bias Crime Reporting

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  1. Bridging the Information Deficit In Bias Crime Reporting James J. Nolan, Ph.D. West Virginia University

  2. Outline of Presentation • Describe the National Hate Crime Data Collection Program in the U.S. • Conceptual Framework for Viewing Police Data as a Valid Source of National Statistics • Identify and Explain Social Forces that Affect Police Participation in Hate Crime Reporting • Highlight Reasons Why Police are the Best Source of Hate Crime Statistics

  3. The National Hate Crime Data Collection Program • Developed after passage of the Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990. • FBI added hate crime to the existing UCR program • Approximately 18,000 police agencies participate in the UCR program • See Tables 1 and 2

  4. The Validity of Police Crime Data: A Statistical Perspective • Accounting Perspective vs. a Statistical Perspective • Error in data expected and acceptable from a statistical perspective • Error must be measurable.

  5. Figure 1. The Location of Error in Police Data POLICE RECORD CRIME VICTIM REPORTS CRIME CRIME OCCURS POLICE DATABASE Unrecognized crimes Victim fails To report Crime Police fail To file report Mis Classified crimes Missing data

  6. Organizational and Intrapersonal Forces that Affect Reporting • Organizational Forces • Commitment to process • Organizational culture • Policies and Procedure • Individual Forces • Personal prejudices • Lack of training • Professional Vision – Learning to See hate crimes

  7. How Terms Take on MeaningJohn Dewey (1910) • (1) Intention - to define the term so as to single it out • (2) Extension - mark off certain groups of things that do and don’t fit the definition.

  8. Figure 2. Sorting Out the Statistical and Criminal Definitions of Hate Crimes I – Set of events that fit the ODIHR statistical definition of hate crime I III II II – Set of events that fit the local criminal definition of hate crime III – Set of events that fit both the criminal and statistical definitions of hate crimes

  9. Importance of Police Involvement in Collecting Hate Crime Statistics • Police are in a position to help victims and communities • Important way to improve police-community relations • Police learn to see hate crimes • Great source of local, regional, and national statistics

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