| Statistics Don’t Paint the Full Picture
Comment
It was the 19th Century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli who
made the observation that: “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damned
lies, and statistics.”
Now we are certainly not levelling the charge of lying to the Irish people
at the door of Ireland’s Justice Minister Michael McDowell.
But he might be just regretting it a bit that he relied so heavily on
statistics when last week he announced Ireland to be one of the safest of
countries in which to live.
A snapshot of everyday life in Ireland taken at the time that Mr. McDowell
was making his grandiose assessment of how safe Ireland’s streets were to
walk in revealed something of a different picture compared to that portrayed
in the statistics.
Over the recent several days Ireland has witnessed three murders, including
a domestic stabbing, a gangland shooting and a drunken battering.
In addition, two other fatalities in Ireland are the subject of garda
investigation.
It is probably the case that Mr. McDowell’s assertion on the nation’s
safety is borne out by the detail of the statistics from which he was quoting.
However, it was nevertheless embarrassing for him to speak out with an
air of apparent smugness when all around him carnage and mayhem was occurring
on Ireland’s streets.
Irish citizens may still feel it is safe for them to sleep easily in
their beds at night, no matter if they are taken in by the Minister’s reassuring
message.
And Ireland still is somewhat of a safe place to live, compared with
other places around the world.
But Mr. McDowell will find it hard to persuade people out of the opinion
that is popularly held in Ireland: That the country has fallen prey to a
violent society that is spreading through to its core.
Ireland is at a time when extra gardai are needed as a matter of urgency
on its streets. It has levels of casual crime and domestic violence that
are unacceptable. It has gangland troubles continuing to bedevil and permeate
its society.
So it is wrong for Mr. McDowell to paint a picture that all in the garden
is rosy on the basis of bare statistics.
As someone else in history also pointed out: “You can fool some of the
people some of the time.”
Mr. McDowell would do well to take note of both sayings.
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