The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) - Assignment Example

The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) Number What is the purpose of the Uniform Crime Reports?  The purpose of UCR (Uniform Crime Reporting) is the production of crime statistics that are reliable for the administration, management as ell as operation of law enforcement. Uniform Crime Reporting information is also used as a way of measuring the changes in the volume and type of crime in a given area. To achieve this objectives or purpose, different ways are used. First, it is through measuring the fluctuation, distribution, nature and extent of the crime by collecting data about the eight major crime index offenses.

Second, is by measuring the volume of the serious crime or crimes that are known to the police officers. Finally, it is done by showing the coverage and activity of agencies that are responsible for law enforcement through counting the number of arrests and using the strength data of police employee (Siegel, 2009).2. Where does the FBI obtain the data for the UCR? In Uniform Crime data reporting, reports for crimes are obtained from agencies responsible for law enforcement via the nation based on reporting procedures and uniform classifications.

In order to provide the most complete outlook of crime in the U.S data is obtained only on offenses that are usually known by police officers. A meaningful view of crime can be seen by examining the seven major Crime Index offenses. These are chosen for their seriousness, likelihood of a report being made and the frequency of occurrence: forcible rape, murder, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, motor vehicle theft and larceny-theft. The FBA can get the number of crime offenses from reports of law enforcement agencies.

The law enforcement agencies have records of victim complaints, witness reports and crime reports discovered during operations of the agency. The reports can be obtained from the contributing law enforcement agencies on a monthly basis. To ensure that there is uniformity and that quality of the data is maintained for any received data, Uniform Crime Reporting should ensure provision of training on all detailed procedures used for classifying and scoring offenses (Leonard, 2001).3. Why do you think a member of the examined population might choose to not submit information for the UCR?

Since it was started, the uniform Crime Reporting plan has been able to provide a reliable, steady flow of information concerning crime in the country. However, since Uniform Crime Reporting is a summary reporting system, people may not provide data concerning individual crime incidences. The summary based method, even though it is reliable, has limitations in various aspects which can hinder submission of information from the examined population. These include lack of sufficient information regarding various offenses, arrests made and offender/victim relationships.4. Do you think the UCR would be an accurate tool to compare the efficiency of two different police departments?

The main concern in collection of crime information is the uniformity and validity of received data. With reports being received from more than nine hundred and fifty jurisdictions, the concern of achieving uniformity is readily clear. Every report that comes in is checked for reasonableness and accuracy by the use of several crosschecking procedures. Whereas minor errors may be corrected by the uniform crime reporting verifiers, there may be unusual variations that attract the attention of the submission agency through direct contact of the Uniform Crime Reporting field representative (FBI, 1966).

ReferencesSiegel, L.J. (2009). Introduction to Criminal Justice. Cengage Learning. Leonard, B. (2001). Crime in the United States (1999): Uniform Crime Reports. DIANE Publishing. Uniform crime reporting handbook: how to prepare Uniform crime reports. (1966). Washington, D.C.: Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Dept. of Justice.