Using official crime data is very important, as it allows the development of policies that target the actual circumstances and avoid biases. Data uses may include official crime data, self-report studies, or victimization surveys (Mosher et al., 2010). Official crime data provides a framework for developing general strategies based on crime patterns, developing criminological theories, and helping in evaluating crime policies. Therefore, real crime data should be used in implementing practical innovations or other law procedures.
Official crime data are reliable, as they represent the situation from all sides, taking into account factors that cannot be imagined or predicted in advance. For example, Miller (2003) describes a situation where collecting data and opinions on the effectiveness and impact of police work in reducing domestic violence led to a change in how the practice was viewed. In particular, the researchers concluded that police interventions and the arrest of aggressors had very low effectiveness, while legal empowerment of the victims had good potential.
Baumer & Adams (2003) provide another example where implementing a policy without prior statistics has resulted in poor performance. In particular, the ban on arrests of seven categories of criminals associated with minor crimes did not have the expected effect and did not relieve the overcrowding of prisons. This result came as a surprise, as policymakers overestimated the percentage of light offenders to the total number of offenders.
Given the stories in the two articles, the police should have implemented some work changes. First, arrests for domestic violence must be stopped and alternatives must be found to provide opportunities for the victim to receive independent funding, housing, or legal support to file for divorce. Secondly, the policy of summoning instead of imprisonment turned out to be fundamentally practical, but it requires some revision since it does not solve the original problem. An alternative would be to change the legislation and introduce a system of fines for petty crimes.
References
Baumer, T. L., & Adams, K. (2006). Controlling a jail population by partially closing the front door: An evaluation of a “summons in lieu of arrest” policy. The Prison Journal, 86(3), 386-402.
Miller, J. (2003). An arresting experiment: Domestic violence victim experiences and perceptions. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18(7), 695-716.
Mosher, C. J., Miethe, T. D., & Hart, T. C. (2010). The mismeasure of crime. Sage Publications.