The influence of the media in forming public attitudes about crime
Differences between public perceptions and actual crime trends
The Uniform Crime Reports
Need for a standardized crime counting system
Voluntary system of reporting and counting crimes; compiled annually
by the FBI and published as Crime in the United States
Structure and content
the time clock suggests regular distribution of crime over time
intervals; misleading
Part I and II offenses
the Crime Index
the Crime Rate; the number of Part I crimes that occur in a given
place for every 100,000 persons living in that place; a standardized
unit of measurement that allows comparisons to be made from place
to place and from year to year
The extent of crime; about 11.64 million Part I crimes known to police
in 1999
Reliability of estimates
crime is difficult to measure; secretive in nature; many crimes
are either concealed or not reported
reasons for not reporting; fear, lack of confidence in law enforcement;
wish not to get involved
crime statistics may be manipulated by criminal justice officials
police may not record all crimes reported to them; may not keep
accurate records
The UCR: an evaluation
crime rates are useful in indicating trends in both reported
crime and arrests
useful at the local level for isolating community crime trends
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS); 1987; redesigned
UCR; expanded crime coverage and more detailed information;
24 crime categories
Victim Survey Research
Victimization surveys as an attempt to measure crimes not reported
to police and not appearing in the UCR
Bypass police records and directly question members of public about
experiences with crime
The National Crime Victimization Survey
started in 1972; provides information about the victims of crime
unreported crime is several times higher than reported crime
Comparing the UCR and NCVS, different methods and crime definitions
uses of victim surveys data
weaknesses include high cost of collecting data and memory of
persons being interviewed
Applications and limitations of victimization surveys
Self-Reported Criminal Behavior
Questioning persons about their own involvement in committing crimes
Uses of self-report data
Limitations include validity and reliability problems
Other Sources of Data on Crime and Justice
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics compiled by federal,
state, and local agencies
