Overview
This week we focus on how we gather information about crime, the strengths and weaknesses of official police statistics, and alternative data sources used in criminology:
Understanding the prevalence and patterns of crime is a crucial aspect of criminology and criminal justice research. To do so, various data sources and methodologies have been developed and employed over the years. This week, we delve into the different ways we come to know about crime.
Official police statistics have long been a cornerstone in measuring and understanding crime within a population. These statistics are typically compiled and maintained by law enforcement agencies, providing valuable insights into reported crimes. The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) have traditionally been the go-to source for determining crime rates in the United States. UCR data categorize crimes into various classifications, including violent crimes like murder and robbery and property crimes like burglary and theft. These reports are instrumental in shaping law enforcement strategies and policy decisions. However, they are not without their limitations.
One significant weakness of UCR data is that they primarily rely on reported crimes to law enforcement. This inherently introduces biases into the data, as not all crimes are reported, and reporting rates can vary based on factors like the seriousness of the crime, the community’s relationship with the police, and cultural factors. This underreporting can result in an incomplete picture of the true extent of crime in a given area.
To address these limitations, the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) was developed as an improved system for collecting crime data. NIBRS provides more detailed and comprehensive information about individual crimes, including data on victims, offenders, and circumstances surrounding the incidents. It offers a more nuanced understanding of criminal activity but is not yet universally adopted by all law enforcement agencies.
In addition to official police statistics, researchers and policymakers turn to victimization surveys, such as the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). These surveys collect data directly from individuals about their experiences with crime, whether or not they reported the incidents to the police. Victim surveys are particularly valuable because they capture a broader spectrum of crimes, including those that never enter the official statistics due to non-reporting. NCVS, for instance, can reveal insights into crimes like sexual assault, which are notoriously underreported.
Beyond police statistics and victimization surveys, criminologists employ alternative data-gathering strategies to gain a more comprehensive understanding of crime. Self-report surveys, for instance, involve asking individuals about their involvement in criminal activities. This approach allows researchers to study crimes that may not be officially recorded or reported.
In summary, our exploration this week encompasses a wide range of methods for gathering data on crime, from official police statistics like the UCR to more comprehensive systems like NIBRS, victimization surveys like NCVS, and innovative approaches such as self-report surveys. Each of these data sources comes with its strengths and weaknesses, and understanding their limitations is crucial for accurately assessing the state of crime in society and developing effective crime prevention and criminal justice policies.
Learning Objectives
- Describe how official crime statistics are collected.
- Describe how crime data for NIBRS are collected and organized.
- Describe the method of data collection of the National Crime Victimization Survey.
- Discuss alternative methods of learning about crime.
Workflow
To Read
FBI. National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS):
https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/nibrs
The Marshall Project (2023). 4 Reasons We Should Worry About Missing Crime Data.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/07/13/fbi-crime-rates-data-gap-nibrs
Bureau of Justice Statistics (2021): Criminal Victimization, 2020:
https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/cv20.pdf
