One reader has asked me what my opinion is of http://www.wikicrimes.org, which offers interactive maps that people can use to anonymously report crimes, describe what happened and pinpoint the location. The site also identifies danger zones known as "crime hotspots," within a region with generally high crime rates, to enhance people's awareness, preparedness and safety.
COMMENT: As someone who taught crime statistics at George Washington University (Washington, DC) for over 15 years, I must respectfully caution our readers that WIKICRIMES does not accurately depict the true crime stats and demographics as pertains to those regions and countries reflected on their site, largely because it is based only on voluntary postings, not a comprehensive and credible database that identifies all REPORTED CRIME.
Although I will be the first one to support the notion that national police and decentralized police crime stats in developing countries are far from credible and accurate, if not suspect, I would discourage our readers from using WIKICRIMES to determine the relative threat level in a particular city, country or region, simply because the database is voluntary. Additionally, crime categories used on the site are not well-defined and exclude the majority of felonies, which would skew the reliability of the data.
Genuine crime trends can best be obtained from the US Department of State website (http://www.travel.state.gov) or from foreign ministries worldwide that document incidents against their nationals. I would also direct readers to http://www.uncjin.org/statistics.
A final point on WIKICRIMES. The site seems to discourage crime victims from reporting crimes against persons and property to local police. This is not good advice. There are three sound reasons for reporting a crime to local police and in obtaining an official police report of the crime: One, to demonstrate to one's employer (if on business) that you have been victimized; two, if injured, the police report can be used for medical claims; and three, if property loss was considerable, the police report can be used for insurance claim purposes. Posting a crime on WIKICRIMES does not address any of the foregoing requirements.
A final thought. If the police report is not in the victim's language, it should be translated by a certified translator.
COMMENT: As someone who taught crime statistics at George Washington University (Washington, DC) for over 15 years, I must respectfully caution our readers that WIKICRIMES does not accurately depict the true crime stats and demographics as pertains to those regions and countries reflected on their site, largely because it is based only on voluntary postings, not a comprehensive and credible database that identifies all REPORTED CRIME.
Although I will be the first one to support the notion that national police and decentralized police crime stats in developing countries are far from credible and accurate, if not suspect, I would discourage our readers from using WIKICRIMES to determine the relative threat level in a particular city, country or region, simply because the database is voluntary. Additionally, crime categories used on the site are not well-defined and exclude the majority of felonies, which would skew the reliability of the data.
Genuine crime trends can best be obtained from the US Department of State website (http://www.travel.state.gov) or from foreign ministries worldwide that document incidents against their nationals. I would also direct readers to http://www.uncjin.org/statistics.
A final point on WIKICRIMES. The site seems to discourage crime victims from reporting crimes against persons and property to local police. This is not good advice. There are three sound reasons for reporting a crime to local police and in obtaining an official police report of the crime: One, to demonstrate to one's employer (if on business) that you have been victimized; two, if injured, the police report can be used for medical claims; and three, if property loss was considerable, the police report can be used for insurance claim purposes. Posting a crime on WIKICRIMES does not address any of the foregoing requirements.
A final thought. If the police report is not in the victim's language, it should be translated by a certified translator.
