"Between 500 and 600 people die every year in state custody in England and Wales, a report due out later will say" says the BBC.
Right, so out of 80,000 people in prison, 550 die each year, hmm, that's just under 7 per 1,000.
The death rate for the UK as a whole is just over 10 per 1,000*,
So it's a pretty crap headline, isn't it?
How about "Death rate in UK prisons slightly lower than national average"?
*Yes of course, we would expect death rate among prison population to be lower, as they tend to be younger, but hey.
Friday, 21 September 2007
Lies, damn lies and statistics (1)
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4 comments:
Mark, take a look at his animation http://www.mercola.com/townofallopath/townofallopath.htm
Just shows how statistics can lead to the most ridiculous solutions because people mis-identify the problem.
I wrote a complaint to the BBC about this article on the grounds that it didn't mention what the "baseline" statistics were. We shall see what they say.
Yes of course, we would expect death rate among prison population to be lower, as they tend to be younger, but hey.
Ah! But most prisoners are in for minorish crimes as a result of their down-and-outery and/or drug habits. Therefore one can infer that a higher percentage of the prison population comes from the less healthy end of society. Thus one could argue they were more likely to croak in chokey.
Do I get a prize for pedantry now?
RM, that wasn't pedantic, that was common sense (and probably correct).
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