These numbers were compiled from records collected and distributed every day to the media by the Metropolitan Toronto Police. Globe and Mail reporter Gay Abbate sifted through each day's records for 1992 and 1993 and picked out robberies and attempted robberies and the victims description of each robber. She then sorted the suspected robbers into groups according to the race the police had recorded each. The Globe and Mail attempted this exercise to show the difficulties in collecting statistics by race. While the chart conveys some information, the overwhelming number of caveats show how unreliable such numbers can be.
Many people think any attempt to link crime with the skin colour of a suspect is spurious.
Other believe that if the method of collecting them were improved, they could say a great deal about discrimination against a particular group. Some studies have shown that crimes such as robbery are linked to socio-economic status. Even fewer are convicted. In 1993, the figure was 2,719.