Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

[crazylegs]

One of the new things that our 'wonderful' new government has done is to release a website that lists down to street level the current amount of crime.

Fabulous.

What it doesn't do is show you what crime levels have been - with levels of crime at an all time low and the fear of crime at an all time high this is one of the worst things that they could have done. IF a bit more thought, time and money had been given to the project it would have a much more useful tool but it'll just whip up people into a frenzy with no thought as to current crime trends.

[HYHYBT]

This is the sort of thing I hate: trying to figure out whether something like this is *intended* as a disguised attempt at stirring up fear, or is a good idea that just might go wrong in that manner and would have been far better if they'd had the same secondary good idea you did of adding the past.

[crazylegs]

It would appear that the damn thing isn't working anyhow - I've put in not only where I live, but where my parents live and where I work and they all come up as 'Not in an area policed' (or words to the effect of...).

Damn things broken and it's only a day old!

[Mytical]

Hmm haven't heard about this yet, but you know what they say about Statistics.

85% of statistics can say whatever you want them to.
10% of statistics are just plain wrong.
36% of statistics are just made up.

Or something to that effect.