Statistics Collecting Crime Statistics - 1206 Words

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON Collecting Crime Statistics Rebekah VanDijk CRCJ 2334.002 Professor Carpenter 20 October 2014 Collecting Crime Statistics Law enforcement agencies use three different sources to collect crime statistics. They use official statistics, victimizations surveys, and self-report surveys as their main sources of collecting data. The University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at Austin both have pretty similar crime statistics. Official statistics include the UCR, Uniform Crime Report, and NIBRS, National Incident-Based Reporting System. UCR is a summary based reporting system that collects data on the eight index crimes, murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, theft, auto theft, and arson. The UCR is published annually by the FBI, but the data is collected by law enforcement agencies all around the United States. UCR looks at trends of crime and gives statistics of crime in certain areas. Three weaknesses of the UCR is it only reports the highest crime committed, so if someone commits burglary and murders someone in the process the UCR will only report the murder, it only reports crimes known to the police, and not all crimes are reported to enhance the view of cities and areas. Although the UCR has weaknesses, it also has its strengths. Three strengths of UCR are that it has multiple years of data available, almost all law enforcement agencies use this to report crimes, and helps la wShow MoreRelatedThe Role Of Statistics And Criminal Justice1378 Words   |  6 PagesRole of Statistics in Criminal Justice Nerisa Newton Grambling University Abstract In this paper, the main objective will be to outline the importance of statistics as a method to analyze data in the field of Criminal Justice. Also, this paper will focus on ways in which data is obtained keeping in mind the appropriate statistics to use with the collected data, and how to interpret the findings. In addition, it will review the causes of crimes, the rate at which these crimes occur, predictiveRead MoreThe Uniform Crime Report Is Perceived By The International Association Of Chiefs Of Police770 Words   |  4 PagesUniform Crime Report also knowns as the UCR, is a program that was perceived by the International Association of Chiefs of Police in 1929. This program was essentially created to provide consistent, uniform crime statistics. Around 1930, Congress sanctioned the U.S. attorney general to assess crime in the United States (NACJD, 2010). Thus allowing the UCR program to get underway, tasking the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), with the jobs of gatheri ng, circulating, and archiving all crime statisticsRead MoreAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Official Statistics In Sociological Research1105 Words   |  5 PagesDisadvantages of Official Statistics Official statistics are quantitative data produced by local and national government bodies, and can cover a wide range of behaviour including births, deaths, marriages and divorce, income, crime, and work and leisure. Official statistics can be produced as a by-product of the normal workings of a government department, but they can also result from research designed specifically to produce them. Two main sources of official statistics are the government and itsRead MoreInvestigation Of The Criminal Justice Field1261 Words   |  6 Pagesdata and statistics on criminal activity across the nation. 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