One of the verities of crime statistics analysis is that homicide stats are more trustworthy than other kinds of statistics. But if the cops are under a lot of political pressure, as Chicago cops were after their recent murder spree, well, a bunch of homicides can turn into just plain dead bodies.
Chicago Magazine looks into ten recent cases of massaging the homicide stats.[The Truth About Chicago’s Crime Rates, By David Bernstein and Noah Isackson, Published April 7, 2014]
It`s still harder to make homicides disappear than burglaries, but it is eye-opening.