1. Chapter 2 Adapted from: Frank Schmalleger’s CRIMINAL JUSTICE TODAY, 9E.PRENTICE HALL, Education Inc. ©2007 Pearson Education, Inc.

2.  How many crimes are committed annually in the United States?  How do we keep track?  How are statistics calculated? Counting Crimes

3. 3  The  Criminal  Justice  Funnel

4. 4 The FBI Crime Clock

5. 5 The Value of Data Data are valuable and can be used to  Shape public policy  Analyze and evaluate existing programs  Create new programs  Plan new laws  Develop funding requests

6. 6 Sources of Data  Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)  National Incident Based Reporting System (NIMBRS)  National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)  Offender self-reports  Other regular publications

7. 7 Uniform Crime Reports

8. 8 Uniform Crime Reports  The reports began in 1930.  Data are collected by F.B.I.  Approximately 16,000 police agencies provide data.  Only crimes known to the police are included.  Law enforcement agencies submit reports voluntarily.  The UCR contains the Crime Index.

9. 9 UCR: Crime Index The Index is made up of Part I offenses.  Violent crime  Murder, rape, robbery, assault  Property crime  Burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, arson

10. 10 UCR: Crime Index Crime Index =  major crimes 100,000 population

11. 11 UCR: Crime Rates Crime Rate =  number of crimes 100,000 population Rates allow for comparison across areas and times.

12. 12 Actual and Projected Rates of Crime (1950–2010)

13. 13 UCR: Clearance Rates Clearance Rate =  number of crimes solved  number of crimes committed Clearances are based on arrests, not judicial dispositions.

14. 14 Crimes Cleared by Arrest, 2004

15. National Incident Based Reporting System

16. NIBRS: The New UCR National Incident Based Reporting System Incident driven, rather than summary based  FBI started this program in 1989.  Goals: to enhance and improve crime data collection, analysis, and publication.

17. 17 NIBRS National Incident Based Reporting System  Includes nature of the disposition of the complaint  Replaces the old Part I and Part II offenses with 22 general offenses

18. NIBRS 22 offenses include:  kidnapping  larceny  motor vehicle theft  pornography  prostitution  narcotics offenses  embezzlement  extortion  arson  assault  bribery  burglary  counterfeiting  vandalism  gambling  homicide  fraud  weapons violations  robbery  forcible sex offenses  non-forcible sex offenses  receiving stolen property

19. 19 NIBRS Also collects data on:  bad checks  vagrancy  disorderly conduct  driving under the influence  drunkenness  non-violent family offenses  liquor law violations  “peeping Tom” activities  runaways  trespassing  general category of all “other” criminal law violations

20. National Crime Victimization Survey

21. 21 NCVS National Crime Victimization Survey  Began operation in 1972  Based on victim self-reports  Designed to measure the “dark figure” of crime  Uses data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics  More than 50,000 households are surveyed twice per year

22. NCVS Includes data on:  Robbery  Assault  Burglary  Personal and household larceny  Motor vehicle theft  Rape

23. NCVS Statistics Reveal  2004—crime rates at lowest level in years.  15% of all households are touched by crime.  24 million victimizations each year.  About 1/2 of all violent crime is reported.  Slightly more than 1/3 of all property crime is reported.  Victims are more likely:  Men  Younger people  African American  Lower income (for violent victimization)

24. NCVS Household crime rates are highest for households:  Headed by younger people  Headed by African-Americans  With six or more members  Headed by renters  Located in central cities

25. Problems with the UCR and the NCVS  UCR Not everyone reports Some crimes are rarely reported Victims inaccuracies Bureaucratic influences Hierarchical counting system Contains only data that FBI thinks is appropriate  NCVS There is potential for false or exaggerated reports False reports may be generated by overzealous interviewers Some people won’t respond Respondents may suffer from faulty memories Respondents may misinterpret events Hierarchical counting system Contains only data that BJS thinks is appropriate