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Strength and weakness of crime statistics
Advantages and disadvantages of using the national crime victimization survey data set
Strength and weakness of crime statistics
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Fighting crime, pursuing justice, and stopping the bad guys is what criminal justice might sound like to someone who does not know too much about the field. While yes, it does come with those perks, the criminal justice system is more than that. For one minute of action is about one hour of paperwork. Being as my major is criminal justice, I would like to become a police officer someday. Knowing that it is more than just patrolling the beat, there is actual work and statistics that goes into the job. Statistics is used in the criminal justice system every single day. People report crimes daily through statistic based police reports, known as the Uniform Crime Reports, (UCR) and National Crime Victimization Survey, (NCVS). Another way statistics …show more content…
Each of these collect and report data in different ways, but carry a lot of similar information. Being a rising junior in college, I have learned a huge deal of information on all three different databases that criminal justice data is reported.
The most well-known way to report any crime is through the Uniform Crime Reports. This is run by the FBI to ensure authenticity and each crime reported is taken seriously. It took off in 1997. From my knowledge of this already, I can tell you that the UCR, in fact, reports everything under the sun. In the seventh edition of the book of Criminology, it states “The UCR divide offenses into two major categories: Part I and Part II… Crimes tend to be reported to the police more reliably than others” (Adler, Laufer & Muller, 32). With that being stated, the Part I crimes include robbery, rape, burglary, homicide, and a few other serious crimes of that nature. Part II crimes, while not as serious as Part I crimes, include loitering, embezzlement, drug offenses, gambling, and so on. Their own website will also give you information on things that include crimes of terrorism, hate, white-collar, counterintelligence, public corruption, violent crimes, and much more. These crimes reported are considered the serious
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Sure, they both report crimes, but the differences are in the types of crime reported. With the Uniform Crime Reports, they report more serious, threatening crimes. In the National Crime Victimization Survey, it has more of a focus on victims and individuals because it does not have to be reported by law enforcement. This gives victims a chance to report their own crimes. A huge downfall of the NCVS is that crimes go unreported because it is self-reported, victims either do not want to share or do not realize that they should be reporting to this database. In my criminology class taken at Rutgers University, I have learned that these reports are initiated to redress the issues with the UCR and to collect information on crimes suffered by individuals and households. In my book, Criminology, the authors explain, “The NCVS includes only 7 offenses… Victimization by rape, robbery, assault, larceny, burglary, personal theft, and motor vehicle theft” (Adler, Laufer & Mueller, 34). While the other database, Uniform Crime Reports does report this, it differs because the FBI is controlling that rather than victims and someone speaking from personal experience, being able to give their own information directly. Reading along in the book, it gives an example of how the get a sample of data, “Researchers for the NCVS estimate the total number of crimes committed by asking
Crime data is a resource being used to help understand who the victims are, their age, race, what type of crime they have committed. The more information someone has about crime the more prepared they can be to deal with the victim, evaluate programs that help prevent crime. There are several official sources used UCR, NCVS, NIBRS that are used. There are pros and cons to each source and the following information will include some of the positive and some of the negatives points of each report. This is not inclusive by any means, there are many different various pros and cons of each report.
The UCR is a cooperative effort for nation-wide law enforcement agencies to report on national crime statistics. According to the FBI's "Summary of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program," every month, "18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies voluntarily report data on crimes brought to their attention" (as cited in "Uniform Crime Reports"). The UCR first began in the 1920s and 30s. By 1930, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) was made responsible for compiling the data, though the FBI does not and has never collected the crime statistic data itself. The UCR divides crimes into two major categories called Part I offenses and Part II offenses. Part I reports data on "violent and property crimes" ("Uniform Crime Reports"). The list of crimes included under the violent crime classification is "aggravated assault, forcible rape, and robbery" ("Uniform Crime Reports"). The list of crimes classified under property crimes
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is information that is gathered by the U.S Census Bureau. Unlike UCR this information is not given by law enforcement officials, but by a household survey that is conducted about twice a year. When the survey is being commenced they place the crimes into two different categories; person crimes and property crimes. NCVS has four objectives when obtaining information; “(1) to develop detailed information about the victims and consequences of crime, (2) to estimate the number and types of crimes not reported to the police, (3) to provide uniform measures of selected typed of crimes, and (4) to permit comparisons over time and types of areas.” (NACJD)
US Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics. n.d. 13 February 2012 .
The criminal justice field is made up of many facets. The court system includes many professions which include lawyers, judges, police officers and polygraph examiners. The federal justice system has numerous professions as well. Two highly recognizable organizations in the government criminal justice system are the CIA and the FBI. Two careers of interest worth future investigation are a polygraph examiner and a special agent in the FBI.
Is people going to forget what happen in Ferguson? How about George Zimmerman being proven not guilty? Or that Eric Garner was screaming “ I can’t breathe” before his death? There are lists of African Americans all over the world who were not given the justice that they deserved. In todays, news African Americans are being treated unfairly compared to any other demographic groups. America is the greatest country in the world, but it is difficult to believe that being in the 21st century racism still does exist. For instance, when it was time to remove the confederate flag, some demographic groups had a hard time letting go. People who argue that “blue lives matter,” which states that police are justified when using force and being unfair. These reasons are not justifiable enough to kill someone. Black Lives Matter alleges that police target and use
The United States is one of the only few democratic countries that disenfranchises convicted felons. An estimated 5.85 million people charged with a felony are banned from voting. Moreover, felon disenfranchisement laws are a form of racial discrimination because a large percentage of felons are Hispanic, Latino or African American that have been incarcerated as a result of racial profiling. Denying felons from voting is unconstitutional since the right to vote and cast a ballot is supposed to be the cornerstone of democracy. Felons who have completed their sentence should be restored their right to vote as they should be able to participate in elections just like every other citizen. Despite being charged with a felony, felons are also American
Is it true that excessive force is one of the most used forms of police misconduct? Are unarmed African Americans more likely to get killed during an encounter with police officers than any other race? Yes, both of these shockingly horrifying facts are true. So why are police officers abusing their powers and creating fearful environments when they should be making people feel safe in their communities. Who can we turn to on this earth to keep us safe if everyone and thing seems to be corrupt? When did police brutality become a thing in the U.S.? What exactly are we dealing with and what can we, as a nation, be doing to solve this awful conflict evolving quickly in the U.S.
Police brutality among all races needs to stop. Movements like Black Lives Matter focus in on only one race; however police brutality happens among all ethnic groups. Police brutality can sometimes shut out people who are not of the African American race. If more people supported the all lives matter movement, this could truly bring the discussion of police brutality to the table. It can be more difficult to do this when we focus on just one community of individuals. The only way to fix the downside that we face is requiring all police officers in the United States to wear body cameras. This solution would create less he said she said and more facts in situations where people are killed by police officers no matter what color they are.
We must take actions to reform police behavior! The problem is not the police nor the people of the United States, but the Federal Government system in which we all have to abide by. In order for a police reform to be implemented, the system has to be fixed and reconstructed. The people of the United States want to feel protected by the police, but on the other hand, they receive limited training on how to effectively interact with the people in the community they serve. Police officers are ordained by the power of the government. Police reform should start by giving proper training to new recruits and veterans, enforcing community policing and police accountability.
Due to the fact that the Uniform Crime Report is released every year, allows for it to be readily available and updated for the media, researchers, students, and government organizations (Rosen, 1995). This is advantages to society because this information is readily available to the public which can be used for statistics or research.
From the origins of criminal victimization, we begin with blaming the offended. (Silverii). Still what is more baffling is to question whether or not it is one's duty to make sure victims won't be victimized again or if victims of a crime that are unreported should even be considered victims. There are three main issues that are provided through victimology and these are context, connections, and investigative direction (Turvey). Most victims are not just victims they're perceived by a criminal as an ideal victim. An ‘ideal victim’ is someone who has played no part in their victimization by an offender who was solely responsible for the incident. In the early 1970s, research by the National Opinion Research Center and the President's Commission on Law Enforcement, and the Administration of Justice indicated that many crimes were not reported to police. A lot of times victims are not prepared for the insensitive and unpleasant treatment they may incur from the police, hospitals, and judicial system. In response, the U.S. Census Bureau began conducting the annual National Crime Victimization Survey in 1973. The survey provides the largest national forum for victims to describe the impact of crime and characteristics of violent offenders. The data includes type of crime, month, time, and location of the crime; relationship between victim and offender; characteristics of the offender; self-protective actions taken by the victim during the incident and results of those actions; consequences of the victimization; type of property lost; whether the crime was reported to the police and reasons for reporting or not reporting; and offender use of weapons, drugs, and alcohol.
For decades now, including the years 1994 and 1995, the time of the O.J. Simpson murder trial, American law enforcement has used two major data sources to measure crime. First, there is the Uniform Crime Report or UCR. The UCR is compiled data from reported crimes, it is a very accurate system used for murder and those crimes that cannot go unnoticed. Next, we have The National Crime Victim Survey or NCVS which is a unanimous survey, better at accounting for the crimes that may not get reported, crimes such as rape or assault.
Crime analysis is the systematic study of crime and disorder problems as well as other police related issues including sociodemographic, spatial, and temporal factors to assist the police in criminal apprehension, crime and disorder reduction, crime prevention, and evaluation (Santos). Crime analysts, sometimes called intelligence analysts, use three primary types of crime analysis. Tactical crime analysis is used to identify immediate crime threats determine patterns (i.e. location, suspect descriptive), and disseminate that information to patrol officers and detectives. Strategic crime analysis involves gathering in interpreting crime data, then making recommendations as to where police resources are best concentrated. Finally, administrative