Crime Statistics are used to determine the effectiveness of new laws and programs, and staff and procedural changes.Budget decisions about equipment, staffing, and initiation, continuation, or termination of new programs are based on changes in crime rates..
How Crimes are Measured: Activity Transcript
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Crime Statistics
Crime Statistics are used to determine the effectiveness of new laws and programs, and staff and procedural changes.Budget decisions about equipment, staffing, and initiation, continuation, or termination of new programs are based on changes in crime rates.
Millions of dollars are allocated based on statistical reports of the success or failure of programs and initiatives.Reputations are made or destroyed according to the rise and fall of crime.
Be wise when reading crime statistics.You must make sure you know exactly what the statistics describe.They may depict the number of crimes reported, or only arrests, or just convictions.These are significantly different kinds of information.
Numbers alone do not tell the complete story.Crime statistics do not account for unreported crime.Crime statistics also may not account for the crimes reported that did not lead to arrests, or charges that were later reduced through plea-bargaining.
Questions you might want to ask:
What agency collected this data, and for what purposes?
What does this data really mean?
Are there flaws, omissions, or weaknesses in this data?
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Crime Statistic Changes vs. Crime Rate Changes
There may be changes in crime statistics over time that are not really changes in the rate of crime.Below are some examples.
Click on an example to learn more.
Better education of victims may result in higher reporting levels.
When students in grade school were taught about “Good Touch/Bad Touch” in a new school initiative, they began to report bad touches from adults.This resulted on an increase in the number of arrests and convictions for sexual contact with a minor.
Store owners learned that homeless people who hung around their shop doors could be charged with vagrancy.In an effort to make their shops more appealing to buyers, shop owners began excessively reporting loitering and vagrancy behaviors to police.
Better police relations within a community may result in higher reporting levels.
Store-front police substations on poor sections of town brought citizens and police officers into frequent contact.The neighborhood adults began to trust the police officers as they came to know them, and were more willing to call the police for emergencies and suspected criminal activity.
The Chief of Police taught an adult education class at the community college.Students learned how police were trained and supervised, and how they went about their daily responsibilities.As a result, citizens became engaged in working with law enforcement to prevent and to solve crimes.
Increased police patrols may result in the arrest of more criminals.
More officers on the street in gang-ridden areas resulted in arrests for gang-related crimes, at least until the gang members moved to a different area of town.
Increased nighttime patrol in rural areas of one county increased the identification of meth makers, when arrests were made for thefts of ammonia from area farm tanks.
Changes in laws may change which behaviors are considered illegal.
A new traffic law required that back-seat passengers use seat-belts.Failure to do so resulted in a ticket for the driver as well as the passenger.The number of vehicle law violations increased as police enforced the new standards.
When child labor laws restricted the number of hours and the conditions under which persons of a certain age might work, employers risked arrest of they continued to employ children under previously-acceptable conditions.
Increased focus on enforcing certain laws will result in higher reporting for those violations.
City police initiated a no-tolerance attitude about curfew violations and public intoxication.Shoppers and store owners applauded police efforts.
During the busy holiday weekend, state police focused on the enforcement of speed limits on interstate highways; this resulted in an increased number of traffic stops and speeding citations.
Increased focus on reporting certain crimes will raise the apparent rates of those crimes.
Medical and school personnel are now required by law to report incidents of abuse of children.Abuse convictions have increased as a result.
State police paid for billboards asking citizens to call an 800 number if they saw drunk drivers on the road.Citizen calls resulted in more impaired drivers being stopped and arrested for DUI and DWI violations.
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Below are some key sources of crime statistics.
Click on a source to learn more.
Key Sources of Crime Statistics
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) – An annual FBI publication that summaries the incidence and rate of reported crimes through the U.S.
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) – An annual survey of selected American households conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to determine the extent of criminal victimization – especially unreported victimization – in the United States.
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) – A U.S. Department of Justice agency responsible for the collection of criminal justice data, including the annual National Crime Victimization Survey.
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics – This book brings together data from more than 100 sources about many aspects of criminal justice in the U.S.These data are displayed in over 600 tables.The Sourcebook is supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
National Institute of Justice – NJI is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the Department of Justice, dedicated to researching crime control and justice issues.NIJ provides objective, independent, evidence-based knowledge and tools to meet the challenges of crime and justice, particularly at the state and local levels.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention – The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) provides leadership and resources to prevent and respond to juvenile delinquency and victimization.OJJDP helps states and communities develop and implement prevention and intervention programs to improve the juvenile justice system, to protect public safety, hold offenders accountable, and provide treatment services for juveniles and their families.
Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center – The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), through its Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center (FJSRC), compiles comprehensive information describing suspects and defendants processed in the federal crime justice system.The goal of FJSRC is to provide uniform case processing statistics across all stages of the federal criminal justice system.
National Center for Victims of Crime – The National Center for Victims of Crime is the nation’s leading resource and advocacy organization for crime victims, working with grassroots organizations and criminal justice agencies to serve victims.Dedicated to serving individuals, families and communities harmed by crime, the mission of the National Center for Victims of Crime is to forge a national commitment to help victims of crime rebuild their lives.
Other Sources
Offender self-reports
Victim impact studies
Sociological studies
Psychological studies
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Activity 1 of 2
Select the source which is the annual FBI publication that summaries the incidence and rate of reported crimes through the U.S.
Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
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Activity 2 of 2
Is the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) the newly enhanced UCR?
Yes
No
Feedback for Activity 1 of 2
Federal Justice Statistics Resource Center – Incorrect, it is the Uniform Crime Reports or UCR.
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) – Incorrect, it is the Uniform Crime Reports or UCR.
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) – You are correct.
Feedback for Activity 2 of 2
Yes – You are correct.The NIBRS is an incident-based reporting system that collects data on every single crime occurrence.Whereas, the original UCR system was “summary based”.The NIBRS data will soon supersede the kinds of traditional data provided by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports.
No –Incorrect.The NIBRS is an incident-based reporting system that collects data on every single crime occurrence.Whereas, the original UCR system was “summary based”.The NIBRS data will soon supersede the kinds of traditional data provided by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports.
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