The most critical issue surrounding the display of crime statistics of 2013 by the police is whether or not the service is engaged in detailed and focused analyses of the data collected and whether or not action plans and projects based on the data will be developed and activated to counter the criminal activities at the source(s).
So yes if there is achievement to be commended because of the reported 28 per cent reduction in what the police classify as "serious crime," then those commendations are to be made and the work acknowledged.
However, collecting crime data is a bureaucratic function; developing intelligence on why and how those achievements have been secured and why murders continue to increase, and determining what needs to be done to achieve all-round success in crime-fighting would be the real achievement going forward. Frankly, there is little value in collecting data and placing it in the public domain simply for the purpose of a public relations exercise if the data are not used for the analytical purposes hinted at above.
Large corporations, academic institutions, government departments and individual researchers spend billions of dollars and years of research to be able to apply the information gathered to produce products and guide social and economic action towards an end; the country needs to know if that is the case with the police service research department.
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