'Fudged' crime stats hide domestic abuse

The L.A.Daily News reports:

Last year's dramatic 28 percent drop in violent crime is skewed because the LAPD downgraded many domestic-abuse cases, raising concerns that funds could be cut for battered women and children, advocates said Monday.

The City Council's Public Safety Committee ordered an analysis of domestic assaults reported in 2005 - the year the Los Angeles Police Department reclassified domestic assaults in which the victim suffered minor injuries or had no injuries. Because those incidents are considered battery rather than aggravated assault, they are not included in the violent-crime statistics generated by the department and widely used by other government agencies.

The LAPD reported a 40 percent drop in aggravated-assault cases in 2005, but there was no breakdown for domestic-violence crimes.

The vested interests of government.