The Uniform Crime Report System

The Uniform Crime Report System

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Introduction

The Uniform Crime Report is factual crime information about the USA and is published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Law enforcement agencies collect and submit the data to the FBI which compiles the UCR statistics. The data is collected throughout the country and the report is released on an annual basis. The program started in 1930 after the congress had passed the enacting  HYPERLINK “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_28_of_the_United_States_Code” o “Title 28 of the United States Code” 28 U.S.C. § 534 and with time, it has been instrumental as a key source of criminal data that is used in making of policies by scholars, policy makers, media houses, amongst other groups (Curry & Riley, 2009). The program is divided into four categories which are the Traditional Summary Reporting System (SRS) which works closely with the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to compile the offense and arrest statistics. The Hate Crime Statistics Program which is concerned with hate crime data, the Cargo Theft Reporting Program that documents cargo theft and the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Program (Bagley, 2012).

The UCR documents crimes into two categories. The part I which is made up of violent as well as property crimes. Offences such as forcible rape, murder as well as no negligent manslaughter, aggravated assault and robbery are categorized as violent (Curry & Riley, 2009). Burglary, arson, motor vehicle theft and larceny-theft are termed as property crimes. The Part I crimes are very serious crimes on the basis of nature and volume. Part II of the crimes is composed of offences such as prostitution, vandalism, vagrancy, public drunkenness and weapon offences (Curry & Riley, 2009).

Basing on the categories provided above, it is easy for the public safety officials to identify criminal data on the basis of magnitude and type of crime committed. The collected data is forwarded to the FBI which examines the information and develops an annual statistical analysis (Bagley, 2012). The UCR compiles a statistical analysis of criminal activities while at the same time draws a topographical analysis of criminal activities and their trends. However, the programs has got its flaws and successes.

With the statistical compilation of data conducted by the FBI, it is easy to conduct a national and state analysis of criminal activities. The report identifies the major locations where criminal activities occurred frequently in that year. In such scenario, law makers as well as state police departments can be timely deployed in areas that are susceptible to criminal offences hence arrest the culprits (Bagley, 2012). The system has been existing for more than 90 years and therefore endured the test of time while at the same time provided critical annual account of criminal information that the demographics have been used to timely counter crime.

The UCR report can be a valid parameter in gathering statistics about criminal offences. The data can be used in international contrasts which can be used to evaluate the varying frequency and levels of criminal activities among different countries.

However, apart from its pros, the system has it cons. The criminal offences reported for instance may have been reported or detected. If in a case where 2000 rape cases happened and none of them was reported, it therefore means that in as much as the FBI report had documented the data, the criminals were not brought to book and therefore the enforcement of law was not achieved (Curry & Riley, 2010).

In an analysis conducted by Steven Barkan in criminology, it’s estimated that only an approximated 5% of criminal activities are reported to the police (Catalano, 2006). The police too are located in different states have great variation in the interpretation and definition of crimes. The variation in terms of crime analysis and interpretation could lead to misclassification of a criminal offence. The UCR system of classification of crime too diverts focus from white collar crimes.

The UCR has developed a hierarchical rule where suppose more than one crime was committed by an individual, the highest and worst criminal activity is documented and reported. For instance if someone was killed during a car theft incidence, then the offence documented would be murder and theft will be ignored (Catalano, 2006). The criteria faces sharp criticism basing on its classification system.

By means of identification of patterns, it is possible for the FBI to coordinate with police in each state and county. The role the FBI plays is majorly identifying the areas that have high frequencies of criminal activities, and alert the nearest police department in the area to closely monitor the location (Catalano, 2006). The identification of such spots should be done after an extensive and in-depth annual analysis of the location to ensure that the information passed to the authorities is legitimate and it will warrant the safety of the residents and arrest of the criminals.

The UCR database has a comprehensive statistical data about criminal activities for each state for a period of over 90 years. The data collected can be used to create models and draw curves to illustrate the possible frequency and occurrence of criminal activities both at national and county levels as well as state (Catalano, 2006). Such prediction can be used by policy makers to estimate the number of police that need to be deployed in every state and in due process suppress the occurrence of criminal offences.

An analysis robbery between 2010/2009 to 2013/2012 illustrated that the frequency of robbery at the national level has recorded mixed results with the figures showing in 2010/2009 the rates were at -10.7 but the following year they increased to -7.7 (Curry & Riley, 2010). In 2012/2011, for instance, the rates exponentially increased to 2.2. The rates were alarming and it forced the authorities to quickly act. The results bore fruit because in 2013/2012 the rates went down to -1.8 (Bagley, 2012). The statistics indicate that there could be a likelihood of increase in terms of robbery in the USA. Basing on the Oregon state, the rates of robbery have posted mixed results. From 2008 to 2011 then rates have been on a downward trend at an estimated rate of 5% per annum (Bagley, 2012). However, in 2012 stats indicate the rate increased by 7% (Bagley, 2012). Such results indicate that most likely the authorities were reluctant that the perpetuators found more time to commit robbery.

The crime rates in the 1950s were slightly higher than the present (Catalano, 2006). On average the incidences of robbery in 1950 were 15% higher than 2012. The reduction in terms of robbery could be as a result of the technological advances such as improved surveillance and patrols in areas that experience incidences of robbery more frequently. The early 1970s witnessed minimal occurrence of robbery but later during in the course of the decade, the rates hit a high of 3299 in 1979 from 2144 in 1970 (Curry & Riley, 2010). The figures indicate that incase the police and relevant lapse in putting measures to combat robbery, this decade could witness the occurrence of the 1970s.

Conclusion

It is essential for law enforcement agencies to report criminal offences to the FBI to ensure that proper and accurate demographic figures are tabulated (Curry & Riley, 2010). The CSR system is accurate in terms of recording its data but there is need to give room for the inclusion of all crimes committed and avoid only selecting major crimes in incidences where more than one criminal activity took place. Enlightening the public to report criminal activities to the police will be essential in ensuring that the public are assured of their security.

References

Bagley, C. E. (2012). Managers and the legal environment: Strategies for the 21st century.. s.l.: Cengage learning custom p.

Catalano, S. M. (2006). The measurement of crime victim reporting and police recording. New York: LFB Scholarly Pub. LLC.

Curry, J. A., & Riley, R. B. (2010). Constitutional government: the American experience (7th ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co..

FBI Releases Crime Statistics for Oregon and Washington. (2013, September 16). States News Service, p. 2.