The Collection of Crime Data

2. FIGURE 2–1 The criminal justice funnel. Source: Derived from Tracey Kyckelhahn and Thomas H. Cohen, Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties, 2004 (Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2008). The Collection of Crime Data

3. The Value of Data • Data are valuable and can be used to • Shape public policy • Analyze and evaluate existing programs • Create new programs • Plan new laws • Develop funding requests

4. Sources of Data • Nationally, crime statistics come from two major sources: • Uniform Crime Reports (also known as the UCR/NIBRS Program) • National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) • Additionally, data are available from: • Professional organizations (example: PERF) • Offender self-reports • Other regular publications (example: Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics)

5. Uniform Crime Reports • The reports began in 1930. • Data are collected by F.B.I. • Approximately 16,000 police agencies provide data. • Only crimes known to the police are included. • Law enforcement agencies submit reports voluntarily. • Until 2006, the UCR presented data in a Crime Index.

6. UCR: Crime Index • The Index is made up of Part I Offenses (excluding arson). • Part I Offenses • Violent Crime • murder, rape, robbery, assault • Property Crime • burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, arson

7. NIBRS: The New UCR • National Incident Based Reporting System • Incident driven, rather than summary based • FBI started this program in 1988. • City, county, state, and federal law enforcement agencies furnish detailed data on crime and arrest activities at the incident level. • The NIBRS isn’t a separate report; it’s the new methodology underlying the modern-day UCR system

8. NIBRS • The new UCR/NIBRS is much more detailed than the old UCR system, including data on: • place of occurrence • weapon used • type and value of property damaged or stolen • the personal characteristics of the victim and offender • nature of victim-offender relationship • case disposition • It also replaced the old Part I and Part II offenses with 22 general offenses

9. 22 offenses include: kidnapping larceny motor vehicle theft pornography prostitution narcotics offenses embezzlement extortion arson assault bribery Burglary Counterfeiting Vandalism Gambling Homicide Fraud weapons violations Robbery forcible sex offenses non-forcible sex offenses receiving stolen property UCR/NIBRS

10. UCR/NIBRS Also collects data on: • bad checks • vagrancy • disorderly conduct • driving under the influence • drunkenness • non-violent family offenses • liquor law violations • “peeping Tom”activities • runaways • trespassing • general category of all “other” criminal law violations

11. UCR/NIBRS: Crime Rates • Most UCR/NCVS information is reported as a rate of crime. • CrimeRate= number of crimes/100,000 population • Rates allow for comparison across areas and times.

12. Major Shifts in Crime Rates • Since the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program began, there have been three major shifts in crime rates—and we may now be at the start of the fourth.

13. Major Shifts in Crime Rates • Early 1940s—Sharp drop in crime rate as many young men went to WWII. • 1960s-early 1990s—Dramatic increase in crime rates as police professionalism and victim reporting grew. • 1991-2006—Significant decline in most major crime rates as funding for crime fighting increase and many embrace a “get tough” attitude. • 2006-on—Violent crime rates starting to rise again pushed by economic uncertainty, more teens, copycat crimes, and social disorganization.

14. The Transition • Reports of crime data available through the UCR/NIBRS program are now going through a transitional phase, as the FBI integrates more NIBRS-based data into its official summaries.

15. number of crimes solved • number of crimes committed ClearanceRate= UCR/NIBRS: Clearance Rates • Clearances are based on arrests, not judicial dispositions.

16. Murder • …the unlawful killing of a human being by another. Includes: • All willful and unlawful homicides • Nonnegligent manslaughter Excludes: • Suicides • Deaths caused by accidents or negligence • Attempted murders

17. Data on Murder • Least likely Part I offense to occur • High clearance rate • Murders are more common during warmer months and in southern states • Most victims and perpetrators are age 20–24 • Weapon most often used: firearms • Victim and offender are often “acquaintances”

18. Murder: Multiple Killings • Spree—two or more people, killed on more than one occasion. • Mass—three or more people, killed in a single event. • Serial—several victims killed in three or more separate events and over time.

19. Forcible Rape • …the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Includes: • Assault or attempt to commit rape by force or threat of force Excludes: • Assault if victim is male • Statutory rape (without force) • Same-sex rapes • Other sex offenses

20. Forcible Rape: One of the most underreported violent crimes • Many victims do NOT report because they: • Think the police won’t be able to catch the suspect. • Believe that the police will be unsympathetic. • Want to avoid the embarrassment of publicity. • Fear reprisal by the rapist. • Fear additional “victimization” by court proceedings. • Want to keep family/friends from knowing.

21. Forcible Rape • Most rapes are committed by acquaintances of victim, as in the case of date rape. • Most rapists appear to be motivated by the need to feel powerful. • Use of the “date rape drug” Rohypnol is rising.

22. Robbery • …the unlawful taking or attempted taking of property that is in the immediate possession of another by force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear. • Excludes: • Pick pocketing • Purse snatching

23. Aggravated Assault • …unlawful inflicting of serious injury upon the person of another. • Includes: • Attempted assaults, especially when a deadly weapon is used • The possible use of a gun, knife, or other weapon that could result in serious injury • Excludes: • Simple assaults

24. Burglary • …unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft. • Types of burglaries: • Forcible entry • Unlawful entry without force • Attempted forcible entry

25. Larceny–theft • …unlawful taking or attempted taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession of another. • Motor vehicles thefts are excluded. • Includes (in declining order of frequency): • Theft from motor vehicles • Shoplifting • Theft from buildings

26. Larceny–theft • Theft of motor vehicle parts and accessories • Bicycle thefts • Theft from coin-operated machines • Purse snatching • Pocket picking • Is the most frequently reported crime (yet still greatly underreported).

27. Motor Vehicle Theft • …the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. • A “motor vehicle” is a self-propelled vehicle that runs on land and not on rails.

28. Includes automobiles motorcycles motor scooters trucks buses snowmobiles Excludes trains airplanes bulldozers most farm equipment ships boats spacecraft Motor Vehicle Theft

29. Motor Vehicle Theft • Carjacking...the taking of a motor vehicle directly from the owner by force • Legally, carjacking is a type of robbery, not a motor vehicle theft. • It accounts for just over 1% of all car thefts.

30. Arson • …the burning or attempted burning of property, with or without the intent to defraud. • …does not include fires of unknown or suspicious origins • …became a Part I offense in 1979

31. Characteristics of Arson • Most common type of arson is the burning of structures, followed by the burning of vehicles • Low clearance rate—18.7% • Average loss per offense—$17,289

32. Part II Offenses • Part II offenses are less serious than Part I • Offenses and include many social order • Offenses, such as: • Simple assault • Driving under the influence • Prostitution • Vandalism • Receiving stolen property • Fraud • Embezzlement

33. NCVS • National Crime Victimization Survey • Began operation in 1972 • Based on victim self-reports • Designed to measure the “dark figure” of crime • Uses data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics • More than 43,000 households are surveyed twice per year • Measures “households” touched by crimes

34. NCVS • Includes data on: • Rape • Robbery • Assault • Burglary • Personal and household larceny • Motor vehicle theft

35. NCVS Statistics Reveal • About 1/2 of all violent crime is reported. • Slightly more than 1/3of all property crime is reported. • Victims are more likely: • Men • Younger people • African American • City residents • Lower income (for violent victimization)

36. NCVS • Household crime rates are highest for households: • Headed by African-Americans • Headed by younger people • With six or more members • Headed by renters • Located in central cities

37. UCR/NIBRS Not everyone reports Some crimes are rarely reported Victims inaccuracies Bureaucratic influences Hierarchical counting system Contains only data that FBI thinks is appropriate NCVS There is potential for false or exaggerated reports False reports may be generated by overzealous interviewers Some people won’t respond Respondents may suffer from faulty memories Respondents may misinterpret events Hierarchical counting system Contains only data that BJS thinks is appropriate Problems with the UCR/NIBRS and the NCVS

38. Crime Typology • A classification of crimes along a particular dimension, such as legal categories, offender motivation, victim behavior, or the characteristics of individual offenders.

39. Special Categories of Crime • Crime against women • Crime against the elderly • Hate crime • Corporate and white-collar crime • Organized crime • Gun crime • Drug crime • High-technology and computer crime • Terrorism

40. Women and Crime • Compared to men, women are: • Less likely to be victimized in every major personal crime other than rape. • More likely than men to be injured as a result of crime. • More likely to make lifestyle modifications because of threat of crime.

41. Findings of the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) • 52% of women surveyed have been physically assaulted as a child or as an adult. • Approximately 1.9 million women are physically assaulted in the U.S. each year. • 25% of women, compared to 8% of men surveyed, said they had experienced partner violence.

42. Findings of the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS) • 18% of women have experienced a completed or attempted rape; more than half of these were under 18 when first raped. • Women are significantly more likely to be injured during an assault. • Violence against women is primarily partner violence. • 8% of women have been stalked.

43. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) • Seeks to eliminate violence against women. • Act extends the Rape Shield Law to civil cases and to all criminal cases.

44. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) • Provided federal funding to: • Educate police, prosecutors, and judges about special needs of female victims. • Provide specialized services for female victims of crime. • Fund battered women's shelters. • Support rape education.

45. Anti-Stalking Laws • All states have anti-stalking laws, which give additional protection to women. • 80% of stalking victims are women. • Cyberstalkinginvolves using the internet, email, or other electronic communication technologies to stalk another person.

46. Elderly Crime Victims • The elderly generally experience the lowest rate of victimization—both violent and property—of any age group.

47. Elderly Crime Victims • Elderly victims are more likely than younger victims to: • Be victims of property crime than of violent crime. • Face offenders who are armed with guns. • Be victimized by strangers.

48. Elderly Crime Victims • Be victimized in or near their homes during daylight hours. • Report their victimization to the police. • Be physically injured. • Be less likely to try to protect themselves during victimization.

49. Hate Crimes • Hate crimes are motivated by hatred, bias, or prejudice, based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation of another individual or group of individuals. • Most consist of intimidation, but they may also include vandalism, simple and aggravated assault, and murder. • Most are motivated by racial bias.

50. Corporate Crime • Identification doctrine • Corporations can be treated as separate legal entities and convicted of violations of the criminal law • Corporate criminals are called white-collar criminals.