Yes, I am sure they do good work. But you can see the issue of making data driven policy is dangerous based on biased data, right? Your point is that we should include at least one “rapist” every time someone calls in for support, making the number of days behind bars on average stupid low for that category of crime. The help line is not vetting or investigating these incidents, they are not set up to nor should they be made to do something so far outside their mandate. This group also does lobbying to update the legal setting, something that although noble is not without issue and definitely involves a clear bias that makes them almost as bad as the police that toss rape kits as far as a data source.
So now if we take your example we are going to see a unverified massive spike in sexual violence, and a massive decrease in time behind bars per incident. This would not have the effect you think it will, this will bury the real issue of already low sentences and conviction rates under so much anonymous noise that any real data driven policy will be impossible. In fact I would not be shocked to see laws passed that just re defined the crime to “fix” the wild numbers, further hurting the chances of justice. The very idea that a help line that will pick up the phone and assist regardless of facts or understanding (as is appropriate for such a help line, I would not have it another way) makes such a data set useful in a wet finger in the wind way at best.
You very literally said
How exactly do you expect unreported crimes to be included in the stats?
Stats on rape and sexual assault should include it, not stats on jail time for offenders.
None of you have looked into stats on rape and sexual assault before. It’s almost always included in some way because reporting of rape is very low.
Again, how exactly do you want unreported crimes to be included? We just modify the numbers in ways that make our position look better, or…?
They already get included in some stats about rape and sexual assault.
Do you think reporting to the police is the only way people find out about rape?
Those do not sound like stats.
Check out rainn.org
Those numbers get tracked regardless because many rape victims do not report to police.
Edit:
This page in particular you might find interesting.
Yes, I am sure they do good work. But you can see the issue of making data driven policy is dangerous based on biased data, right? Your point is that we should include at least one “rapist” every time someone calls in for support, making the number of days behind bars on average stupid low for that category of crime. The help line is not vetting or investigating these incidents, they are not set up to nor should they be made to do something so far outside their mandate. This group also does lobbying to update the legal setting, something that although noble is not without issue and definitely involves a clear bias that makes them almost as bad as the police that toss rape kits as far as a data source.
So now if we take your example we are going to see a unverified massive spike in sexual violence, and a massive decrease in time behind bars per incident. This would not have the effect you think it will, this will bury the real issue of already low sentences and conviction rates under so much anonymous noise that any real data driven policy will be impossible. In fact I would not be shocked to see laws passed that just re defined the crime to “fix” the wild numbers, further hurting the chances of justice. The very idea that a help line that will pick up the phone and assist regardless of facts or understanding (as is appropriate for such a help line, I would not have it another way) makes such a data set useful in a wet finger in the wind way at best.
What? I never claimed that, you have severely misunderstood what I meant.