Uniform Crime Reporting System

Improved Essays
Incidents in our country happen every day. Since the beginning of last century, the statistical data for incidents have been collected and analyzed to help track where this country is heading and for the years to come. The two main sources of crime statistics come from Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) and the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Each program has it own unique way to contribute statistically to these reports and have their own potential sources of error. The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program started in 1929 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In 1930, the FBI was tasked with collecting, publishing, and archiving these statistics. (U.S. Department of Justice) The UCR is a summary based …show more content…
UCR is not gone for good though; it just received a significant upgrade. The NIBRS system is incident driven, not summary driven like the UCR, and records each offense occurring in an incident. New methodology incorporates better details about incidences statistically giving it a more accurate approach to data consolidation. The traditional 21 offenses have been replaced with 49 other offenses for accurate organization. Information is reported on rate of crime and is computed on the number of crimes per some unit of population. NIBRS presents quantitative and qualitative data that describes each incident and arrest. (FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division) There are some bugs still to be worked out in the merging of these two systems. Now that we have discussed the police reporting side of statistics, this brings us to the victim’s self-reporting …show more content…
With UCR.NIBRS, there can be a misclassification of crimes or a suppression of multiple offenses by hierarchy rule. (Bureau of Justice Statistics) On the operational side, the definitions might be modified or the conversion process might not go as planned. Inadequate programming of computer systems may lead to discrepancies. Not all agencies have the same allocation of monies in order to support the system. The potential source of error for NCVS is the sampling error. The sampling is only taken from a sample of the target population. If the sample is larger, there is a decrease in potential error. There are other components of non-sampling error: specification error, frame error, non-response error, measurement error, and processing error.
In conclusion, there are two major sources of crime statistics UCR/NIBRS and NCVS. UCR/NIBRS uses police reports and NCVS uses the self-reporting from victims. This enables a full spectrum of statistics from both reported incidents and incidents that people are afraid to report. Both programs have evolved over time with tremendous changes. Training is a big key to both programs. Keeping agency officials and field representatives up to date improves the quality and cost associated with data

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The UCR and NIBRS systems are the most utilized crime systems by agencies across the country. The UCR focuses on eight index crime, while NIBRS has twenty two Group A offenses. These two reporting system are very similar. NIBRS goes beyond the limits of what the UCR can accomplish. The UCR and NIBRS coincide with each other, if an agency cannot meet the full participation requirements, it may limit itself to reporting details of incidents involving the UCR’s eight index crimes rather than the NIBRS’s expanded list of twenty-two crimes.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Information on patterns can help law enforcement agencies deploy resources in a more effective manner, and assist detectives in identifying and apprehending suspects.” With Crime Analysis, we are able to detect crimes throughout cities are known throughout the whole world and have law enforcements be ready to take action when needed. With technology today, knowing this information will help police stop any level of crime that could happen throughout the day or…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With the availability of this type of database and requirement to submit data, citizens may feel a better sense of security and trust in the police. If the statistical numbers prove that police use too much deadly force, this will bring forth new procedure examinations to lessen the likelihood of using deadly force. On the other hand, if the statistical data proves that police use of…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    UCR stands for Uniform Crime Report. The UCR started keeping track of criminal record in the 1920's. They officially launched their program in 1929. They receive their data from the FBI and report it to the state. The UCR divides crime into two parts.…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Statistical numbers where less than 1% of the criminal case resulted with the NCRMD in Canada and Canada has approved the verdict of NCRMD less than the U.S explain that this defensive tool is working properly. With these major factors and purpose, the NCRMD defense is a significant tool that provides equality in the criminal justice system. However, some of the problems associated with the NCRMD are represented to the public in a wrongfully, where some people feel antipathy about the NCRMD. Our government and criminal related agencies should put some efforts to correct the misunderstandings by the…

    • 1688 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. What are two major setbacks or shortcomings of the UCR? The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) which is a compilation of criminal statics that has been submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) by local law enforcement agencies. The UCR is divided in two crime Indexes, Index I and Index II.…

    • 830 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    UCR And NIBR Essay

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Also, there is a much higher level of detail in NIBRS. In his research into the system, Michael G. Maxfield concludes that NIBRS, in addition to being an upgrade in the criminal justice system, it can also allow researchers to draw more accurate conclusions. For example, it includes time of occurrence of the crime as well as the type of location. This data can better serve a researcher in analyzing the distribution of specific types of offenses in relation to space and time (Maxfield, 1999). However, the NIBRS has its limitations.…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    FBI Uniform Crime Report

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages

    White-collar crimes are not index crimes; therefore, the only information available on these offenses is arrest information, which includes age, sex, and race of the arrestee. The Uniform Crime Report does provide victim’s complaint and what police know about the incident.…

    • 293 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) are used to gather reports on crime rates in the United States. The law enforcement uses the (UCR) to report national crime statistics. The crimes are reported monthly and the (UCR) has two major categories Part I and Part II offenses. Violent and property crimes are categorized in Part I offenses that includes aggravated assault, forcible rape and robbery under violent crimes.…

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    NIBIN, IAFIS And CODIS

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages

    When investigating a crime scene, NIBIN, IAFIS, and CODIS are used to help collect and individualize evidence. The use of these helps investigators find and determine the perpetrator of a crime easier and faster. Before these it would take investigators a lot longer to find suspects of the crime and determine who committed it. Overall, NIBIN, IAFIS, and CODIS have helped make solving a crime a easier and quicker process and are a big step in making forensics evidence a more reliable source. National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), first came about in the early 1990s.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Introduction Effective policing is is the main goal of any law enforcement agency. It has become extremely important to incorporate varies techniques to accomplish this objective. Agencies around the globe are utilizing crime analysis. Crime analysis is one of the most important tools a law enforcement agency can have. It is a very old method but have gained wide spread popularity and advanced tremendously over the years.…

    • 1976 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Crime is a major problem in the United State and many argues over crime statistics in our neighborhoods and country. For many years, citizens have questioned the importance of the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR). One particular problem with the UCR is that several victims of crimes do not contact or fellow up with police to make an official report. “The statistics collected in the Uniform Crime Reports entail crimes that have actually been reported to the police. Since submission of such data is voluntary, how can the Uniform Crime Reports be accurate?…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which is gathered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is a primary source for crime statistics in the United States (Walsh 2015, p. 25). Through the UCR, the citizens and the law enforcement officers can see the crime rates or statistics in a given city. The UCR identifies offenses in two categories, Part I – the index crime and Part 2 – the less serious crime. The index crime is the violent crimes, property crimes, and human trafficking. Violent crimes include homicide, assault, forcible, rape, and robbery.…

    • 1393 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Crime Victimization Survey

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Victimization survey in the United States perhaps is the most accurate crime data survey which encompasses some of the so call, dark figures (crimes not reported to police). Currently, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) has a 91 percent response rate from eligible household and 84 percent from individuals (Rand, 2006). Furthermore, NCVS is different from other governmental agency surveys in that it is victim focused and includes threatened, attempted, and completed crimes from sexual assaults to simple property crimes. Whereas, others are more focused on the offender and/or the completed crime itself.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    There are many methods to measure crime such as surveys, self-reports and official statistics in order to defined which ones are more accurate. Official statistics show us a comparison between the crime committed in the latest years and how the crime has been increased or decreased. The data and charts just reveals the acts who has been recorded and recognised as an act of crime, therefore the statistics are inaccurate due to the many of people who do not a complaint before the police.…

    • 1746 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays