I’ve noticed something interesting during the course of this project in that every time we publish something about the statistics the project was designed to generate things get quiet and traffic tends to drop off a bit. In fact, when I publish stats I visualize readers yawning as their eyes glaze over while muttering to themselves “sheesh, not again…”
So, I thought, why not see what readers thought about our statistics and see if they are worth all the effort that goes into generating them? To that end, here’s a new poll that I’ll keep up until Friday… also, if you vote no please let us know if there’s something else we should be spending our time focusing on if the statistics don’t matter to you. Thanks!
Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.
Packratt, I rarely actually come to the site or post comments, but I do read every single post that you make, both here and on the Twitter feeds, through Google Reader. Do your stats count those views?
I, for one, really appreciate the job you are doing here. I knew that the “police” situation was bad, but I hadn’t realized just how bad it is until I started following your blogs. Please keep up the good work.
Voted yes. While I admit to not fully understanding the methodology, I appreciate the snapshot. In the not so distant future, I may right an article for my law school newspaper using your stats as a foundation (with full credit and acceptance given). Keep it up.
“I knew that the “police” situation was bad, but I hadn’t realized just how bad it is”
How many Americans are there just like him? That is why the Twitter and stats are so important; they’re the proof that it’s not just a few bad apples who are causing all the trouble. As always, I have some questions and comments for you but I’ve been feeling under the weather so I haven’t gotten around to posting them. Please keep in mind with the stats and most of the stories you write there’s really not a whole lot to say.
Also statistics in general are boring; they’re about bad things that might happen to other people. Think of all the information we have about cancer, and yet people still put off regular checkups. We like to think we are more than just a statistic. I wonder what these women thought the odds of something like this happening to them were?
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_13349996?nclick_check=1
Dunrobin,
Thanks for the support, I really appreciate that and I hope you keep on reading!
EdinMiami,
Thanks, I’ve tried to explain the methodology a few times and even in the TwitterFeed FAQ on the top menu, but I guess I’ll have to think of a clearer way to explain it. Thanks for letting me know!
NBC,
I know, statistics sometimes do seem like they are ignored. But, really, in all the arguments I’ve seen between cops and those who question them the argument is killed when the cop cites some unsourced statistics saying misconduct is rare or when they use some really specious logic to downplay how substantial misconduct really is.
The fact is, at least as I believe it, that we need to know what the numbers are or else we’ll never be able to reduce those numbers by changing the way the legal system shields, and even rewards, bad cops.
But, that’s just me, I need to see if others see the need for this too.
Thanks for the comments, and the votes!
Pack,
It isn’t you. I just don’t have any training in statistics. If I have a chance to use them, I’ll look over your explanation and probably have the numbers looked over by someone here. But no worries right now.
I wouldn’t mind you dropping statistics posts from full post domination of the FP. Putting details after the jump, with a summary beforehand.