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Ucr vs. ncvs (Click to select text)
Uniform Crime Report vs. National Crime Victimization Survey Arguments over crime statistics have existed ever since governments began counting criminal activity. The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) are two methods in which the government collects data, and monitors criminal activity in the United States. The Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Victimization Survey have both positive and negative attributes that have influenced different aspects of society. The Uniform Crime Reports are an annually published statistical summary. These statistics are a reflection of crimes reported to the FBI by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. These reports are sponsored by the United States Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Crimes are divided into twenty-nine types of offenses. Eight of which are major crimes. These crimes include homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. These crimes are also known as "index offenses". Information, or data collected on the index offenses, are more complete than the other twenty-one types of crimes. They are generally less serious, and would never come to the attention of the police unless an arrest was made. Some important factors used when collecting data are age, race, sex, geographic locations, etc. The Uniform Crime Reports have both positive and negative aspects. The Uniformed Crime Reports are crucial to the determination of the amounts of crimes solved. This is important because it can help determine social tendencies pertaining to crime. These crime tendencies can lead to theories about crimes that are on the rise, or crimes that are declining. In addition, the Uniformed Crime Reports can provide information about people that have been charged or arrested, law enforcement officers killed or assaulted, and the characteristics of homicide victims. The value or importance of the Uniform Crime Reports has been questioned throughout the years. One problem is that many victims of offenses do not contact the police to make an official report. Some people may fear that the police cannot, or will not do anything about the offense. Other crimes that rarely make it into the official statistics are embezzlement, computer crimes and corporate misdeeds. The data collected in the Uniform Crime Reports entail crimes that have "actually" been reported to the police. Since submission of such data is voluntary, how can the Uniform Crime Reports be accurate? How are we able to determine whether there is a trend among crimes? However the Uniform Crime Reports have limitations. They can, and are still used a powerful tool in decision making on crimes in America. National Crime Surveys are a large series of interview programs. These surveys are conducted by the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. National Crime Surveys are used to determine the extent and nature of crimes and the effect it has on its victims. The National Crime Victimization Survey cover all of the index offenses covered by the Uniform Crime Reports, except for homicide and arson. Unlike the Uniform Crime Reports, the National Crime Victimization Surveys collects data and obtains details from the victims point of view. In order to determine whether an individual is a "victim," a series of questions are asked. Once the individual is classified as a "victim," more detailed questions are asked in order to collect as much data as possible to determine trends among those crimes. The National Crime Victimization Survey helps to prove theories about the nature of a crime. Like the Uniform Crime Reports, these surveys provide detailed information about the victims age, race, sex, and geographic location. They also provide us with details about crimes (times and places of occurrence) whether reported to the police or not. One problem with the National Crime Victimization Survey is that the surveys are unlikely to gather information on a number of crimes from people who have participated in them. Since these interviews are conducted by government officials, persons who have been involved in crimes may withhold information in fear that they may be charged although "details about the crimes come directly from the victims and no attempt is made to validate the information against police records or any other source"(Schmalleger, 38). Others may even invent victimization for sake of the interviewers. It has been argued that the interviewers not be government officials, only to be argued that lay persons do not have a legal background. Hence allowing them to differentiate criminal from non-criminal behavior. Other problems may simply be the interviewee's memory. For example, property thought to be stolen at one time may have actually been lost. Also, dates may be inaccurate and carry last year's crime into this year's data. The Uniform Crime Reports, and the National Crime Victimization Survey both have strengths and weaknesses. Both methods illustrate previous comparisons in crime rates. They also allow for some predictability that deal with trends in crime. However, the National Crime Victimization Survey, in my opinion, is a better system for gathering crime statistics. The Uniformed Crime Reports are based on crimes reported to the police. Let's say twenty women are raped, and only two report it to the police, does that mean that the offense of rape is on a decline? The National Crime Victimization Survey gives the government a better understanding, statistically, whether crime is declining or on the rise. If twenty women are interviewed and all twenty are classified as a "victim" of rape, then the government has successfully obtained the data whether the crime was reported to the police or not. The National Crime Victimization Survey promotes social awareness which can ultimately lead to the prevention of crimes.
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