By James Wilt
On October 30th, 2009, the Calgary Herald published an article titled, “Calgary's gang slayings tops in nation in 2008” that summated the shocking results of a recent statistical study reporting that Calgary has now moved into the position of leading Canadian cities in regard to gang-related slayings.
Within the article, the author, Gwendolyn Richards, included numerous statistics from the study (which was performed in 2008) as well as quotes from the Calgary Deputy Chief of police, a gang expert, and a Mount Royal University criminologist to support the claim. In addition, the author included a quote from the report that stated the increase in homicide total in Canada was
"almost entirely to increases in Alberta and British Columbia, much of which was gang-related"
as well as a graph indicating the results of the gang-related homicides per 100,000 people within each respective major city.
Although the article was very intriguing (as well as being very relevant to the Calgary read), upon further investigation it appears that the statistics were slightly twisted in order to create the compelling story.
The title states that Calgary “leads [Canada] in gang-related slayings”, when the article stated later that “The Toronto area recorded 24 gang-related homicides”. The reason is discussed in the following sentence, which described the study accounted for population.
Another similar fault is discovered in the presented graph, where it shows both Vancouver and Montreal had more gang-related homicides (19 and 17 respectively), but due to the fact Calgary had more such murders per 100,000 people, it came first.
Although it is difficult to understand why the author would make the facts appear differently than it they actually were, it would be extremely simple to remedy.
Rather than claiming that Calgary leads the country in gang-related homicides, they could truthfully present the facts as Calgary leading the country in gang-related homicides per 100,000 citizens. As soon as such a change was made, the graph would become a legit presentation of the statistics.
Asides from the misleading title, I believe the article was an objective, factual representation of the study. The Richards did an excellent job of providing the reader multiple perspectives (which included quotes, statistics, analysis, and the brief story of a gang victim) and presented the reader a very detailed and accurate understanding of the situation.
In conclusion, asides from the misleading title, I believe the author did an excellent job of collecting information and presenting it effectively and compellingly.
Richards, G. (2009, October 30). Calgary's gang slayings tops in nation in 2008 [Electronic version]. Calgary Herald.
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