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CRIME AND RACE STATISTICS: TOWARD A CANADIAN SOLUTION

NCJ Number
148426
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1994) Pages: 175-185
Author(s)
J V Roberts
Date Published
1994
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This author argues that routinely collecting and publishing race-related crime statistics has more disadvantages than advantages; therefore, he recommends that ethnicity data should be gathered only periodically, as part of the special study initiative of the Canadian Center for Justice Statistics.
Abstract
While skin color is a central defining personal characteristic in American society, allowing statistics to be classified according to race, Canadians come from a wider variety of cultures and countries and tend not to classify people in terms of skin color. There is the danger, in using race-based statistics, of attempting to identify groups that are overrepresented in the data and establishing a purported link between ethnicity and criminality. The author maintains that racial statistics cannot be gathered with an adequate degree of reliability or validity because of the complexities of racial classification. 4 notes and 11 references