1. Chapter 2 The Incidence of Crime
Lee Ayers-Schlosser, Southern Oregon University

2. Chapter Objectives (1 of 2)
Define the elements of the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and identify its strengths and weaknesses as a crime data source.
Define the elements of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and identify its strengths and weaknesses as a crime data source.

3. Chapter Objectives (2 of 2)
Define the elements of the National Incident-Based Reporting System.
Understand what patterns are present in the UCR and the NCVS and what they tell about crime.
Summarize what data sources tell about the criminal justice system.

4. You Are the Criminologist
Lying with Statistics—Police Style
Crime statistics are used to assess quality of police performance.
Temptations arise to manipulate statistics to demonstrate positive performance.
New Orleans (2002–2003) downgraded the level of certain offenses.
How would such manipulation influence the accuracy of city wide statistics?

5. Introduction (1 of 2) Crime is difficult to measure.
Crime statistics are viewed as an indicator of societal health.
It is important to have accurate statistics for operational purposes.

6. Introduction (2 of 2) High crime leads to alarm
Low crime leads to feelings of security
Problems in data collection
Not all crimes are reported.
Some crimes are “invisible.”
Most crime is not observable.

7. Sources of Crime Statistics (1 of 2)
Uniformed Crime Report (UCR)—lists crimes reported to the police
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)—documents the extent of victimization
Most crimes not directly observable

8. Sources of Crime Statistics (2 of 2)
1929 International Associations of Chiefs of Police developed a uniform crime reporting program.
1930 FBI began to compile nationwide crime statistics.

9. The Uniform Crime Report (1 of 2)
Major source of crime statistics
Annual report: Crime in the United States
Standardized definitions of crime
Only most serious offenses (index offenses)
Crime index indicates the level of serious crime in the United States
Information from most jurisdictions
Makes it possible to analyze and compare crime rates across regions

10. The Uniform Crime Report (2 of 2)
Limitations
UCR figures reflect only the volume of crime reported to the police.
UCR figures are affected by the recording practices of the police.
UCR emphasizes street crime.
Crimes reported to the police mainly reflect the results of their style of work.

11. The National Incident-Based Reporting System
URC changed system of data collection in 1991 to generate more information to conduct crime analysis.
Will eventually replace the UCR.

12. UCR vs. NIBRS (1 of 2) UCR NIBRS
Monthly crime counts for eight index crimes
Individual incident reports for 46 offenses
One offense per incident
Records each offense
Does not distinguish attempted crimes
Distinguishes attempted and completed crimes

13. UCR vs. NIBRS (2 of 2) UCR NIBRS Only female rape
Male and female rape, restructured definition of assault
Weapons data only for murder, robbery, and aggravated assault
Weapons data for all offenses
Details on 8 index crimes and 21 offenses
Details on 8 index crimes and 49 offenses

14. National Crime Victimization Survey (1 of 2)
Conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics
Purpose: to uncover crime that has not been reported
Scientifically designed annual survey
Representative sample of 60,000 households

15. National Crime Victimization Survey (2 of 2)
Improvement over UCR
Information taken directly from victims
Collects background information on victims
Uncovers more crime than reported in UCR
High level of correlation with UCR

16. Attributes of Victimization Patterns, 2003
NCVS gives specific information about crime by focusing on victims’ attributes:
Gender
Race
Age
Household income
Marital status
Region
Residence
Victim–offender relationship
Weapons in violent crimes

17. Categories of Victims and Victimization (1 of 4)
Intimate partner violence, 1993–2001
Significant category of crime victimization
Recent domestic violence laws and programs have increased public awareness and led to a decline in victimization.

18. Categories of Victims and Victimization (2 of 4)
Violent victimization of college students, 1995–2000
Most victims not injured
Risk increased by nighttime partying and drug use
Prevention by disassociation with dangerous people and activities

19. Categories of Victims and Victimization (3 of 4)
School crime and safety
Age
Use of a weapon
Fighting
Bullying
Victimization rates are declining

20. Categories of Victims and Victimization (4 of 4)
Violence in the workplace, 1993–1999
Incidence
Race
Gender
Victim–offender relationship
Weapons

21. Limitations of the NCVS
Respondents are not always reliable.
Respondents may not be truthful.
NCVS asks questions about rape in an indirect fashion.
There are problems administering the survey or coding the data.
The survey does not contain specific information on particular areas.

22. Criminal Justice System Statistics
Another crime indicator is the size of the population being served by different parts of the criminal justice system.
Results are not always a clear indicator of the nature of crime, but rather what type of enforcement has been a priority.
Criminal justice statistics reflect who is in the system, not necessarily what is going on in society regarding a particular type of offense.

23. Jail Population (1 of 2) Annual survey
Jails are local facilities with inmates:
With short-term sentences (< 1 year)
Pending arraignment
Awaiting trial or sentencing
From overcrowded facilities
Jail population figures help determine how to manage jail space and avoid overcrowding.

24. Jail Population (2 of 2) Trends Jail population size Gender Race
Jail space

25. Prison Population Federal and state adult correctional institutions
Trends
Prison population size
Gender
State vs. federal prisons
Age
Race

26. Probation and Parole Figures (1 of 2)
Probation is an alternative sentence instead of incarceration.
Parole is a form of early conditional release from incarceration.

27. Probation and Parole Figures (2 of 2)
Trends
Size of probation population
Type of offense
Race
Gender
Recidivism rates

28. Conclusion Actual volume of crime is difficult to estimate.
Not all crimes are reported or uncovered.
Figures collected by criminal justice agencies are more accurate reflections of their own operation than of the true crime rate.