Stockwell Day and the Mystery of the Unreported Crime Surveys

[Spazito]

(Kady O'Malley's take on this, she is great, imo)


It's fair to say that Stockwell Day's morning press conference -- which was, if you'll recall, ostensibly supposed to be all about the economy, as underscored by the enormous Canada Economic Action! Plan-themed backdrop -- left some reporters, in the words of Sun Media bureau chief David Akin, "baffled" after the subsequent question and answer session, which, as predicted, quickly veered off in an entirely different direction than the one suggested by the signage.

Leaving aside, for the moment, the minister's (doubtless unintentional) muddling of the waters on the decision to abolish the mandatory long-form census -- although it's probably worth pointing out that, despite the minister's comments, the maximum possible fine for refusing to fill it out is $1,000, not $10,000 -- it was his "concern" over an allegedly "alarming" increase in "unreported crime" that seemed to most perplex the attending press. Just what, Day was asked repeatedly, if politely, did he mean by the "unreported" crime rate? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

Actually, no -- at least, not at Statistics Canada, which has been keeping track of such incidents via various voluntary surveys since the 1990s, including the National Victimization Survey, part of the General Social Survey, which is conducted every five years.

The trouble with that particular survey, however -- at least, from Stockwell Day's (or, more accurately, his press secretary's) perspective, is that the most recent data -- collected in 2009 -- isn't scheduled to be released until late September. The latest publicly available numbers are from the International Crime Victimization Survey, which was last conducted in 2004. Given that Day seemed to suggest, in response to an earlier question, that census data becomes "untenable" a year or two after it was initially collected, it's hard to see how he would become "alarmed" by victimization reports from six years ago.

more (one more line)

http://www.cbc.ca/politics/insidepolitics/2010/08/stockwell-day-and-the-mystery-of-the-unreported-crime-surveys.html

Doris is at it again, lol.

[mahigan]

1. Ass clowns

What a sorry bunch of ass clowns we have running our government. Don't like the statistics? Pull some out of your ass and use them instead. Crime has always been under reported but using that to justify spending more billions for nothing is ridiculous. Crimes that are not reported are not investigated. Crimes not investigated do not result in charges being laid. Charges not laid do not result in convictions. Convictions not won do not result in prison sentences. Prison sentences not handed out do not require prisons to be built. But that reasoning is way too complicated for movement conservatives who subjugate everything to ideology. Can we get a real government, please?

[Spazito]

2. LOL and well said....

in typical Doris style, he totally negates his own points and is completely oblivious to the fact he is doing it. Quite funny.

[CHIMO]

3. Watched

A clip of his speech. Half way down the page.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/what-stockwell-day-meant-to-say/article1660585/

He looked ill at ease. He knew he was on thin ice and would get a few kicks on the shins from Harper.

[Spazito]

4. LOL, loved the YouTube clip with the annotations...

they were perfect. That man is a babbling idiot. The update on the article is hilarious as well. In their attempt to fix the mess Doris made, the government spokesperson used, gasp, a report from Statistics Canada from 2004. The irony is delicious. After trashing statistics and StatsCan, they turn around and use it's stats to try and save Doris.

:rofl:

[CHIMO]

5. It May

Be hilarious, but we are all the butt of the comedy.

Until we are prepared to support an alternative, with dollars, we are all going down the tube with one third of the voters shoving us down the tube.

Support an alternative. Not just here.

It is a comedy though.

[Spazito]

6. I live in Alberta but still make my thoughts known about the harper cabal...

to everyone who is willing to listen. I vote, usually for Liberals, occasionally for the NDP if their candidate looks more likely to defeat the neocon.

The provinces where the biggest change needs to happen is, as usual, Ontario and Quebec with B.C. sometimes counting as well.

[CHIMO]

7. I Am

In the same boat. Also in the same riding, I believe.

But if we support a party that is opposing Harper then we can contribute to his overthrow.

If I can remember correctly, there are members that supported the NDP in a riding in Edmonton in the last election. The Conservative candidate lost.

There is some dissention in some of the ridings in Alberta. If each person were to select a vulnerable riding and support the one most likely to win, we might make a difference. At least we could cause Harper to divert millions in election funding into his home Provence.

[Spazito]

8. Yep, Linda Duncan won in Edmonton-Strathcona...

and, to make it even more delicious if possible, she defeated Rahim Jaffer, lol.

I certainly will be watching closely to see which candidate (Liberal or NDP) has the better chance in defeating the neocon currently representing this riding and, once it is clear, will work my ass off for them.