ABSTRACT
Lack of knowledge about the types of crimes and criminals is not the only form of ignorance that hinders the criminal justice system in the United States. The "war on drugs" indicates the problem that the dark figure of crime poses for evaluations of criminal justice policy. The crime problem is one without clearly marked boundaries. The sources of information about crime and criminal justice are of two basic types: official statistics and unofficial statistics. The Uniform Crime Reports cover 29 different crimes, including eight crimes that, when totalled, are known as the Crime Index. Researchers have used several other methods to measure crime and study the criminal justice process. Counting the number of crimes and criminals yields an estimate of the volume of "business" conducted by the criminal justice system. Democracy also leads to the development of constraints on the powers of government and the ability of the criminal justice system to affect crime.
