UNIT 2 DR. MARIE MELE Criminology I

How do we measure crime? Police Records Victim Surveys Offender self-reports

Police Data Represent crimes known to police Generated in two ways: reports from victims and witnesses direct observations by police Limited in several ways: many crimes are not reported to or observed by police official record of crime is not always made inaccuracy in data collection and missing data

Limitations of UCR Does not include all crimes recorded by police focuses primarily on 8 Index offenses Hierarchy rule if multiple offenses, only most serious offense is counted creates an underestimate of crime

Addressing Limitations of UCR Data quality reviews audits of records submitted by a sample of police agencies reviewed for accuracy and missing data Use of incident-based reporting more detailed data than summary based measures

Incident-Based Police Data Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHR) Supplement to UCR that collects incident level data on homicides National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Collects incident level data on 46 offenses Does not use hierarchy rule Standardized reporting practices enhance quality of data

Limitations of NIBRS Requires additional police resources Requires advanced technology Participation is voluntary; most police agencies still report to UCR

Victim Surveys Measure crimes not reported to or observed by police Measure crimes not officially recorded by police Yield higher rates of crime than police data

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) Largest victim survey in U.S. Conducted by Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Uses a national sample of 42,000 households Surveys people age 12 + (living in households) Collects data on personal and property crimes

Limitations of NCVS Does not include homicide or commercial crimes Does not include homeless or people living in institutions (i.e. prisons, jails, military, universities) Wording of questions may alter responses Reluctance among victims to report victimization by family and friends

Self-Report Surveys Ask people about the crimes they have committed Measure crimes that are poorly measured by UCR and NCVS (i.e. gambling, drug use, drunk driving) Focus on a specific type of crime (NHSDA) or crimes committed by a specific population (MTF)

Discussion Topic If all measures of crime have limitations, should we be cautious when using them to say something about crime? How can we be better consumers of crime data?