Thread: UNREPORTED CRIMES STATISTICS

Is estimating such things as the percentage of a certain type of crime that go unreported, a form of pseudoscience?

Depends on the method you use to estimate them.

The only method I can think of is to just guess because if something isn't reported, then you have no evidence to go on

You're not thinking hard enough, then. The first thing that popped into my mind was that the government can survey people about unreported crimes. And then I decided to search the net to see how unreported crime statistics are calculated. Lo and behold, surveys appear to be one of the greatest tools. For example, in the US, the Bureau of Justice Statistics conducts the National Crime Victimization Survey:

"National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the Nation's primary source of information on criminal victimization. Each year, data are obtained from a nationally representative sample of 77,200 households comprising nearly 134,000 persons on the frequency, characteristics and consequences of criminal victimization in the United States. The survey enables BJS to estimate the likelihood of victimization by rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, theft, household burglary, and motor vehicle theft for the population as a whole as well as for segments of the population such as women, the elderly, members of various racial groups, city dwellers, or other groups. The NCVS provides the largest national forum for victims to describe the impact of crime and characteristics of violent offenders." (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/cvict.htm)

The only "unscientific" thing about this is that people may not be honest in surveys, but this is a potential flaw with any survey.