Mark Twain was quoted as once having said, “facts are stubborn things, statistics more pliable.” But the specific source of the quote is inconsistent enough one might hesitate to attribute it to anyone at all.
Statistics are not by themselves facts. They require context and analysis of the data sources on which they are based.
If the data is of poor quality, or incomplete, the conclusions drawn will be similar.
For example, if the data the statistic is drawn from excludes nearly half the data points available, one might conclude the statistic to not be entirely truthful.
In Canada, we are fortunate to have access to high quality data through Statistics Canada, which also publishes reports commenting on and explaining much of the data.
According to the report “Police-reported crime statistics in Canada, 2023” which was published in July when the 2023 Crime Severity Index (CSI) numbers were released, the CSI does not account for demographic experiences of crime.
“For example, First Nations people, Métis and Inuit are historically overrepresented among victims of homicide, among self-reported victims of violence, and in the criminal justice system,” reads the report.
“Area-based measures of crime can potentially gloss over complex systemic issues or may reflect these underlying issues. It is important to consider additional context when interpreting the CSI value for a given area to help also understand the lived experience of people in that area.”
This is not to suggest crime is not a problem in the Lakeland. Even without the cherry-picking present on CanadaCrimeReport.com, having most of the Lakeland in the top 25 per cent for Alberta is not a great look.
But there’s a difference between all being in the top 35 individual communities and all being in the top 10.
The Statistics Canada report also notes the single largest contributor to increases in the CSI in 2023 is reports of child pornography, the majority of which include a cybercrime component.
“Notably, 79 per cent of the increase in child pornography in 2023 was reported in British Columbia, and another 14 per cent was reported in Alberta,” reads the report.
Yikes. And from a review of the 2023 RCMP releases, we know at least some of that 14 per cent involves people here in the Lakeland.
The footnotes about the child pornography increase are interesting too.
“Because of the complexity of cyber incidents, which represent a significant number of incidents of child pornography, these data likely reflect the number of active or closed investigations for the year rather than the total number of incidents reported to police.”
The report adds, “As public awareness continues to increase, police services are reporting increases in recent and historical incidents which may also impact annual reporting of these criminal violations.”
In plain speak, that 14 per cent increase didn’t necessarily all happen in 2023, but could date back to the dawn of the Internet age.
Maybe let’s all get off the Internet and direct our energy to addressing the root causes of much of the crime – mental health and addictions treatment, poverty reduction, and crime prevention through environmental design.
M.K.
