Measuring Crime Mr. Romero University of California, Los Angeles

What is the effect of data and theories on the criminal justice system’s efforts to control and prevent crime? *If a slide has underlined information, copy the title of the slide and the underlined information

 Indicates how much crime there is in the U.S.  Report is conducted by the F.B.I and voluntary participation of local law enforcement agencies (95% of the population is covered)  Three measurement components: 1. The number of persons arrested. 2. The number of crimes reported by victims, witnesses, and the police themselves 3. The number of officers and support law enforcement specialist

Part I Offenses Include:  Murder  Forcible Rape  Robbery  Aggravated Assault  Burglary-Breaking or entering  Larceny/Theft (except motor vehicle theft)  Motor Vehicle Theft  Arson

 UCR Part II Offenses include about 20 other crime that are not in Part I

Identify at least two disadvantages that the UCR can have with the information it presents.

In the NIBRS, local agencies collect data on each single crime occurrence within twenty-two offense categories made up of forty-six specific crimes called Group A offenses.

 Criminologist rely on the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) to conduct studies on victims of reported and unreported crime  The NCVS conducts an annual survey of more than 40k households and 75k occupants over the age of 12  Advantages of victim surveys 1. It measures both reported and unreported crime 2. It is unaffected by police bias 3. It does not rely on victims directly reporting crime to the police