Law Enforcement Priority Crime Survey

The purpose of this abstract is to critically review the primary data sources used in the criminological research. The two key factors that measures crime are distinguished: official crime statistics, which are based on the compile data records of offenders and offenses processed by the police, courts, and corrections agencies; and unofficial crime statistics, which are produced by people and agencies outside the criminal justice system whom can add value to the data source (Regoli, Robert M., and Hewitt, John D., 2008, p 62). This abstract will discuss the strengths, weaknesses and differences of both data sources using arrests and self-reports to calculate the prevalence of crime in the United States.

Law enforcement agencies use three different sources to collect crime statistics. They use official statistics, victimizations surveys, and self-report surveys as their main sources of collecting data. The University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at Austin both have pretty similar crime statistics.

According to the UCR, from 2005 to 2012 Reno, Nevada had an increase in population of 25,737 people, yet between those dates Reno, Nevada showed a decrease of 283 burglaries. As for Sparks, Nevada, the UCR data showed an increase of the population of 8,596 people and just like Reno, Nevada, Sparks, Nevada, showed a decrease of 131 burglaries.

The "UCR Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics" (2010) website reports that the amount of forcible rape crimes reported in California has steadily decline in the past decade. The number of rapes reported in down by nearly 3,000 reports per year since 2002. The same can not be said about the state of Oregon; the number of forcible rapes reported in Oregon since 2002 has remained between 1,140 and 1,283 each year, for the last ten years. The reason behind the steady decline in forcible rape crimes reported in California could be due in part to increased incarceration, including longer sentences; improved law enforcement strategies and DNA technology ("Progress Watch", 2014). According to "Progress Watch" (2014), “technology has given detectives powerful new tools with which to analyze blood and Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples or other forensic evidence, for instance” (US crime rate at lowest point in decades. Why America is safer now); DNA technology has made great strides in the fight against sexual crimes. Because the forcible rape crime rate has relatively remained the same in Oregon, it is also possible to conclude that the number of victims reporting the crime in

While violent crime is declining overall, hate crimes are on the rise. Which resource is better to use- the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Bureau of Justice statistics?

As the newly appointed Chief of police, it is my job to ensure that the community feels that their concerns are addressed. I feel that the first thing to do is hold a city hall meeting for a question and answer. This would not only give me a better idea of what the community is wanting from the police in the community and it would also allow the community to know how the police force operates and how we should be operating.

The National Crime Victimization Survey is a yearly self-report survey that is a nationally representative sample for the United States. This is 38,000 households who are replaced every three years to different household. This is about 68,000 people. The interviews have many questions and take place twice a year.

The issues that our police departments face in today’s society consist of corrupt police departments, publicity, operating expenses, and constant training to meet the guidelines set by court decisions.

Throughout chapter 2, the main focus was types of crime and how they are reported/kept track of. In order to keep track of crime rates, Uniform Crime Reports (UCRS) and National Crime Victimization Surveys are used. Both of them have their positives and negatives. Uniform Crime Reports for instance, are beneficial because it keeps track of major crimes that have happened. It tracks the offenses such as Murder, Rape, Robbery, Assault, Burglary, Larson, and Auto Theft. Since murder is hard to get away with, it has a very accurate number when showing the statistics for that crime. On the other hand, half the crimes that happen go unreported like rape, theft, and assault. That is where the National Crime Victimization Surveys come in handy. The

Crime is not an easy concept to define and is very problematic. The two proposed definitions offered by Dr. Hutchinson of crime is behavior that violates laws and behavior that violates morality. These two definitions often do not correspond with each other. In the case of behaviors that violate morality, there is not a plaintiff. Examples of behavior that violates morality are white collar crime and prostitution. These crimes usually do not involve victims of any kind but are just simply illegal due to norms and morals of society. Society is also morally opposed to them or does not like the kinds of people who are committing these acts. Law violating crimes usually involve a victim. Usually, this victim brings charges against the accused and

Many citizens believe that there is more and more crime occurring in the United States each year. However, evidence suggests that, for the most part, the United States’ crime rate is decreasing while the rest of the world’s crime rates are increasing. The rate of both violent crimes and property crimes have significantly decreased in the past two decades. In 2014, there were 9.4 million crimes reported, which is a drastic improvement from the 13.8 million crimes that were reported in 1995. Even though these are only statistics for the number of crimes that were reported to the authorities, the trends of victimization also support the idea the crime rates are declining.

According the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report and the contrasting Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey, both reports show a steady reduction in violent crimes over the past two decades. Both reports are released annually and are comprised of statistical data of reported crime or victimization surveys of sample populations from across the country (Karmen, 2016). Though the information contained in both reports as statistically accurate as possible, a figurative spin can be placed on the information and data can be skewed to misrepresent the true picture of crime, so according to (Karmen, 2016), all statistical data but be viewed with some scientific scrutiny. Even though the data from both annual

Most individuals will experience some form of crime in their lifetime. This crime can range from civil or violent. Civil crime cases are cases that involve private citizens or companies in a dispute over money, contract agreements, divorce, child support, etc. Criminal cases are separated into three categories: infractions cases, which would consist of traffic tickets, misdemeanors cases such as shoplifting, and felony cases, which would consist of violent crimes committed against another person such as rape, domestic violence, and armed robbery.

From a business perspective, and when dealing with the more violent crimes, the Uniform Crime Report would be more accurate. Crimes such as murder or a kidnapped child are crimes that can usually be counted on to be reported. The only down fall is that the UCR only reports crimes that are reported to the police. Crimes that are frequently not reported to the police can include, but are not limited to sexual assualt and household theft. In the business stand point, we can only assume how many rapes actually occur in the United States. Even with this downfall, I feel that the UCR is more accurate than using surveys due to the fact that we are not relying souly on whether or not a victim is being honest or that the survey will be filled out at

Since the founding of this country, to the wild west, and up to the present, the agenda of the policing bodies have been clear: to uphold and enforce the laws of our society. Of course the way they do this today had undergone changes from the first police forces of early America, law enforcement has seen trends come and go.