What are Uniform Crime Reports?

What are Uniform Crime Reports

Frank J. Schmalleger (2009, p. 38) writes in Criminology Today:An Integrative Introduction that the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) are, “A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) summation of crime statistics tallied annually and consisting primarily of data on crmes reported to the police and on arrests”. There are eight major offenses, called Part I offenses, reported on in the UCR and compared against the United States (U.S.) population in various regions. The UCR is used to compare crime rates that occur in different regions and from one year to the next. Another benefit to the UCR is that they show major changes in crime rates through the years. The FBI has compiled these reports since 1929, which created a standard through which all crimes throughout the country are reported. The UCR is published yearly and is available to all law enforcement agencies and accessible to all citizens via the Internet. “Rates of crime under the UCR/NIBRS Program are generally expressed as “x number of offenses per 100,000 people in the U.S. population” (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 39).
The eight major offense categories reported on in the UCR are murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The crime of murder is the first statistic reported in the UCR and should not be confused with homicide. Murder is, “…an unlawful homicide” and homicide is, “…the willful killing of one human being by another” (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 54). Classifications of murder are first-degree (premeditated) murder, second-degree murder, and third-degree murder or negligent homicide. (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 54). In the UCR, “…only the number of murders committed, not attempts to murder” are measured (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 55). According to crime statistics compiled during the first half of 2011 (January – June) murder rates were down -5.7%. In 2010, it was reported that murder victims were, “…50.4 percent were black, 47 percent were white” and offenders were, “…53.1 percent were black, 44.6 percent were white” (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded/expandhomicidemain.pdf). Murder is most likely committed in highly populated cities, and of the total number of female victims, “…37.5 percent were murdered by their husbands or boyfriends” (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded/expandhomicidemain.pdf). In 2011 murder was down 5.7 percent overall from the previous year (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/preliminary-annual-ucr-jan-jun-2011/data-tables/table-1).
Forcible rape is, “…distinguished among three categories of rape: (1) forcible rape, (2) statutory rape, and (3) attempted forcible rape” (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 56). Rape is defined by, “Carnal knowledge through the use of force or the threat of force, including attempts. Statutory rape (without force) is excluded. Both heterosexual and homosexual rapes are included” (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 56). In the first half of 2011, “…the number of rapes decreased 5.1 percent” (http://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-preliminary-semiannual-crime-statistics-for-2011). “The rate of forcible rapes in 2010 was estimated at 54.2 per 100,000 female inhabitants” (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/violent-crime/rapemain).
Robbery is, “…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” (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 59). Robbery also decreased in the first half of 2011 by -7.7 percent (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/preliminary-annual-ucr-jan-jun-2011/data-tables/table-1). “An estimated $456 million in losses were attributed to robberies in 2010” and, “Firearms were used in 41.4 percent of the robberies for which the UCR Program received additional information in 2010” (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/violent-crime/robberymain).
Aggravated assault id defined as, “An unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury” (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 60). Aggravated assault in 2011 has declined by -5.9 percent in the U.S. (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/preliminary-annual-ucr-jan-jun-2011/data-tables/table-1). “Of the aggravated assault offenses in 2010 for which law enforcement agencies provided expanded data, 27.4 percent were committed with personal weapons such as hands, fists, or feet. Slightly more than 20 percent (20.6) of aggravated assaults were committed with firearms, and 19.0 percent were committed with knives or cutting instruments” (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/violent-crime/aggravatedassaultmain).
Burglary is, “By the narrowest and oldest definition, the treaspassory breaking and entering of the dwelling house of another in the nighttime with the intent to commit a felony. Also, the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft” ” (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 61). On the FBI website it states, “Of all burglaries, 60.5 percent involved forcible entry, 33.2 percent were unlawful entries (without force), and the remainder (6.3 percent) were forcible entry attempts” and “burglaries of residential properties accounted for 73.9 percent of all burglary offenses” (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/property-crime/burglarymain). Burglary is also down the first half of 2011 to -2.2 percent according to statistics (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/preliminary-annual-ucr-jan-jun-2011/data-tables/table-1).
Larceny is another crime indexed in the UCR and is defined as, “The unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property (other than a motor vehicle) from the possession or constructive possession of another. Attempts are included” (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 62). On the UCR it states that larceny was also down in 2011 by -4.0 percent (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/preliminary-annual-ucr-jan-jun-2011/data-tables/table-1). On the FBI website it states that in 2011 “Larceny-thefts accounted for an estimated 68.1 percent of property crimes” and “Over 26 percent (26.4) of larceny-thefts were thefts from motor vehicles” (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/property-crime/larcenytheftmain).
Motor vehicle theft is, “The theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. According to the FBI, this offense category includes stealing of automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, motorscooters, and snowmobiles (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 63). Burglary in the first half of 2011 is on the decline to -5.0 percent compared with the same time period in 2010 (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/preliminary-annual-ucr-jan-jun-2011/data-tables/table-1). In 2010, “there were an estimated 737,142 thefts of motor vehicles. The estimated rate of motor vehicle thefts was 238.8 per 100,000 inhabit “ and almost 73 percent were automobiles (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/property-crime/mvtheftmain).
The last crime data reported on in the UCR Part 1 offenses is arson. Arson is defined as, “The willful or malicious burning or attempt to burn, with or without intent to defraud, of a dwelling house, public building, motor vehicle or aircraft, personal property of another, and so on” (Schmalleger, F., 2009, p. 64). In 2010 there were, “…19.6 arson offenses for every 100,000 inhabitants”, and the “…average dollar loss due to arson was $17,612” (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/property-crime/arsonmain). “Arsons involving structures (e.g., residential, storage, public, etc.) accounted for 45.5 percent of the total number of arson offenses” (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/property-crime/arsonmain). In 2011, Arson dropped by -8.6 percent from the previous year (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/preliminary-annual-ucr-jan-jun-2011/data-tables/table-1).
There are a few things that should be added to the UCR reports that would make it an even more valuable resource. First, the Part I offense of rape should broken down by offenses committed by minors and adults, and list victims in these categories as well. Additionally, statistics for prior offenders should be reported. Finally, another valuable information tool would be to include criminal offences that go unreported by conducting a yearly random blind survey in order to measure what the variance in reported crimes might actually be. In closing, the UCR during the first half of 2011 showed there was an overall decline in every Part 1 offense as compared to the same time period the previous year. This is important because it demonstrates that current laws and enforcement are working. Law enforcement is headed in the right direction, but is still a ways off from meeting its goals. The U.S. is still considered a very high crime nation when compared to other developed countries. When considering the data contained in the UCR, we must also be aware that as unemployment rates go up, crime goes up. This could be a factor as to why there was a dramatic change in crime statistics over the previous year. As our country’s economic situation improved, for some, committing crime was no longer necessary.

References

The FBI Federal Bureau of Investigations. (n.d.). Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime
Reports. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/preliminary-annual-ucr-jan-jun-2011
Schmalleger, F., (2009), Criminology Today:An Intergrative Introduction. Upper Saddle River,
NJ:Pearson Publishing.