Citation

Lab SP, Allen RB. J. Crim. Justice 1984; 12(5): 445-455.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1984, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0047-2352(84)90092-8

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The relationship between self-report and official measures of crime remains unclarified. Adequate examinations of the comparability of the two measures have been limited because of the difficulty of obtaining both official and self-report data on the same subjects. In the present study, the authors use police records and self-report data on police contacts for members of a birth cohort, and find a substantial level of agreement between the two data sources. However, by incorporating data on police contact seriousness and a variety of demographic characteristics, the authors find some evidence of under- and over-reporting by various groups of cohort members. The authors suggest reasons for both the over- and under-reporting, and offer suggestions for future research.