Introduction
The Uniform Crime Report is a series of annual studies on criminological data. The report includes official data on the seven major felony offenses that have been reported to the police departments of Happy Town, Frown Town, Smooth Town, and Cool Town during years 2010-2015. The categories of crime that have been included in the statistics and further analyzed are violent crimes (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault) and property crimes (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft). These offenses have been chosen because they are serious crimes and regularly occur in the given areas. The data presented in the report reflect the Hierarchy Rule, so in a multiple-offense incident, only the most serious offense has been counted.
A data-gathering strategy that has been chosen is the document review strategy. This qualitative method of collecting data involves a systematic collection and analysis of data gathered from law enforcement agencies. Types of data include reports, data files, and other written artifacts. This strategy has been chosen because documents that are reviewed can be verified independently (Liebling, Maruna, & McAra, 2017). The crime data have been submitted through the state UCR Program. In order to ensure that data are uniformly reported, law enforcement agencies have been instructed on how to classify and score offenses. All the reports obtained from law enforcement agencies have been examined for accuracy and consistency using cross-checking procedures.
Crime Statistics in Happy Town for 2010-2015
Table 1 shows the estimated rates of different categories of crime in Happy Town per 100,000 inhabitants. Based on Table 1, Table 2 has been created to show the percent change in rate per 100,000 inhabitants. It can be seen that during 2010-2015, there was a constant increase in the crime rate. The 2015 violent crime rate has increased by 9,7% as compared to the 2014 violent crime rate. Compared to the 2013 violent crime rate, the 2015 violent crime rate increased by 24,3%. There is a 5,7% increase in the 2015 murder and nonnegligent manslaughter rate as compared to 2014. In comparison with 2010, the increase in this rate is much more dramatic and equals 100%. All the other 2015 crime rates have increased as compared to all the previous years. Such an increase in crime must be viewed as a subject of great concern.
Table 1. Crime in Happy Town by Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants.
Table 2. Crime in Happy Town, Percent Change in Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants.
Crime Statistics in Frown Town for 2010-2015
Table 3 shows the estimated rates of different categories of crime in Frown Town per 100,000 inhabitants. Based on Table 3, Table 4 has been created to show the percent change in rate per 100,000 inhabitants. It can be seen that during 2010-2014, there was a constant increase in the violent crime rate. The decline in the 2015 violent crime rate stems from the decrease in the number of murders and robberies. The property crime rate did not change significantly for years 20112-2014. In 2015, though, the property crime rate dropped due to the decrease in the number of larceny-thefts and motor vehicle thefts.
Table 3. Crime in Frown Town by Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants.
Table 4. Crime in Frown Town, Percent Change in Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants.
Crime Statistics in Smooth Town for 2010-2015
Table 5 shows the estimated rates of different categories of crime in Smooth Town per 100,000 inhabitants. Based on Table 5, Table 6 has been created to show percent change in rate per 100,000 inhabitants. It can be seen that compared to 2010, the 2015 crime rate decreased by 15,6%. However, compared to 2013 and 2014, it increased by 2,4% and 4,3% correspondingly. Rates of property crimes did not change significantly during 2012-2014, though there is a decrease in the 2015 burglary and larceny-theft rates as compared to those for 2014.
Table 5. Crime in Smooth Town by Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants.
Table 6. Crime in Smooth Town, Percent Change in Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants.
Crime Statistics in Cool Town for 2010-2015
Table 7 shows the estimated rates of different categories of crime in Cool Town per 100,000 inhabitants. Based on Table 7, Table 8 has been created to show the percent change in rate per 100,000 inhabitants. It can be seen that the 2015 violent crime rates and property crime rates dropped as compared to the 2014 crime rates. In general, property crime rates decreased during 2011-2015 with only a few rates not fitting this tendency. Since 2010, the robbery rate has had a tendency to increase.
Table 7. Crime in Cool Town by Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants.
Table 8. Crime in Cool Town, Percent Change in Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants.
Conclusion
Violent and property crime rates differ for all four areas with no common tendency being found. As for the crime situation in Happy Town, the crime does not go in cycles but grows in scale. In contrast, a decrease in the 2015 crime rate of Frown Town as compared to the 2014 crime rate can be attributed to criminal investigations, arrests, and community involvement. As compared to the previous four years, the violent crime rate and the property crime rate at Cool Town are at their lowest. Compared to the other three areas, the violent crime rate at Cool Town is the lowest, and the second lowest violent crime rate is observed in Smooth Town. In 2015, the highest violent crime rate can be observed in Happy Town.
Reference
Liebling, A., Maruna, S., & McAra, L. (Eds.). (2017). The Oxford handbook of criminology (6th ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.