Up is Down, Right is Wrong
And reporters still can't read a statistic without spinning it in completely the opposite direction in which it was intended. From the Sun Times:
- Despite a slight increase in ridership, fewer crimes were reported on CTA property in the first half of 2006 than during the same period last year, Chicago Police statistics show.
- In the first six months of 2006, there were 544 reported thefts, a decline of nearly 7 percent from the first half of 2005.
"Despite a slight increase in ridership"? Does this reporter live in a vacuum? A slight increase in ridership means what? MORE WITNESSES! More potential heroes to tackle a purse snatcher or chain grabber. More crowds to maneuver around. Less chances for a clean getaway and escape. Thieves, especially snatch and grabbers operate on a very basic statistical level - Can I get a hold of the purse? Is this person going to put up a fight? Will I get away clean? Crowds, while advantageous to the pick pocket, spell a much harder time for the purse snatcher, the mugger and the rapist. More riders don't always mean more victims and the reporter is a knucklehead for implying it.
posted by SCC at 12:01 AM
3 Comments:
That was exactly what I was thinking. Not to mention that the criminal segment of society riding trains (i.e., those who don't steal or jack cars) is probably somewhat constant, whereas the working segment of society riding trains probably shifts pretty steadily with gas prices, the perception of safety, and the gentrication of some neighborhoods served by trains.
It seemed like a pretty stupid relationship for the reporter to try to establish (implicitly), and I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking what you wrote.
BTW, I like the new new policy a lot. It definitely saves time reading through the BS>
Crime is down on the CTA because Seiser ANOV's everybody and their mother while working Special Employment!!
First they came after the lawyers. No one said anything. Then they came after the socialist rabble rousers. There was silence. Then they came after the journalists. Not a word was said. There was no one left to come after me. What a wonderful world.
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