Introduction
The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) is a program that publishes crime-related statistics obtained from voluntary law enforcement agencies, educational institutions, states, counties, and about 18,000 cities (“FBI services,” n.d.). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) provides the reporting agencies with a handbook that outlines how to classify and score offenses to achieve uniformity in crime and crime data definitions. Although reporting to the UCR is not mandated, many states have developed laws requiring law enforcement agencies to provide the UCR with crime data. The compiled data is then used to make national comparisons and determine the frequency, rate, and prevalence of crime. The information is also used by criminal justice students, researchers, the public, and the media.
History
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) started the program in the 1920s after recognizing the need for reporting crimes. The IACP created a committee that analyzed state criminal codes and recordkeeping practices, consequently created a crime reporting plan. This plan standardized the definitions of offenses and became the foundation of the UCR. The first report, published in 1930, disseminated crime data for 43 states, 400 cities, and about 20 million individuals in the United States (“UCR home,” n.d.).
In June 1930, Congress enacted the 28 USC § 534 legislation, which granted the Attorney General’s (AG) office the power to collect and preserve records of crime records (“UCR home,” n.d.). As per the assigned duties, the AG appointed the FBI to oversee the responsibilities mentioned above. In July 1930, IACP officially handed over the program to the FBI, who assumed responsibility for overseeing and managing the UCR (“UCR home,” n.d.). Since then, the FBI collects and disseminates data from local, state, and federal agencies. Following a series of conferences, the “Blueprint for the Future of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program” was enacted in 1985 (“UCR home,” n.d.).
The blueprint report proposed that the crime data be divided into two groups: Part I index crimes (serious crimes) and Part II crimes (less reported crimes) (“UCR home,” n.d.). Part 1 crimes include murder, non-negligent manslaughter, violent/forcible rate, aggravated assault, burglary, robbery, motor vehicle theft, arson, and larceny-theft.
The blueprint also proposed three modifications to the UCR program that are still in effect. First, all reporting agencies would use an incident-based reporting system to report and make arrests (“UCR home,” n.d.). Secondly, the UCR would collect data based on two categories: limited and full participation, and, thirdly, the FBI would develop and enforce a quality assurance program (“UCR home,” n.d.). Finally, the blueprint required the UCR program to ensure data integrity procedures are in place to maintain quality assurance.
UCR Advisory Groups
The advisory committee of the UCR consists of IACP and National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) (Lauritsen & Cork, 2016). ICAP represents all national police departments, while the NSA represents serving sheriffs. The Advisory Policy Board (APB) is charged with ensuring the continuance of UCR. In addition, the Association of State Uniform Crime Reporting Programs (ASUCRP) was formed to address issues among law enforcement agencies that provide the UCR with crime data and promote the contributing agencies’ interests in the UCR program.
Divisions
The UCR program has four main divisions:
- National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
The NIBRS collects data on every single crime and other offenses that occur within the same crime. It typically gathers information on known offenders, victims, the relationship between the offender and victim, and involved parties’ properties (Lauritsen & Cork, 2016). The division’s purpose is to provide a deeper understanding of the context surrounding the crime. Furthermore, it captures 52 data elements divided into six categories: victim, offense, property, offender, arrestee, and administrative (Lauritsen & Cork, 2016). The NIBRS system also collects information on gang presence within a given geographic area.
- Hate Crime Statistics
This division collects data on bias-motivated crimes. A hate crime is an offense motivated by an offender’s bias against a religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and disability (Lauritsen & Cork, 2016). The NIBRS also collects this information.
- Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA)
The LEOKA division collects information about law-enforcement officials that were killed or experienced assault while performing their duties (Lauritsen & Cork, 2016). The collected data is used to develop policies to improve officer safety during practice.
- The National Use-of-Force Data Collection
This division was created to promote transparency, accountability, and trust in law enforcement agencies. The division collects information on incidents where officers used force that resulted in bodily injury or death. It also reports incidents where law enforcement officers point a firearm at or in a person’s direction (Lauritsen & Cork, 2016). This data provides a nationwide aggregate view of reported incidents, circumstances, subjects, and officers involved in such incidents.
Conclusion
The primary strength of the UCR program is that it provides an extensive range of comprehensive data to interested parties. This information can be utilized to ascertain aspects, including crime prevalence, patterns, and trends within a selected period. However, since reporting to the UCR is not mandated, not all law enforcement agencies participate. Partial participation means missing vital data, which can lead to underrepresentation or overrepresentation of crime. UCR’s data can be accessed via the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer (CDE) website
References
FBI services: Criminal Justice Information Services – CJIS (n.d.). Federal Bureau of Investigation. Web.
Lauritsen, L. J., & Cork, D. L. (2016). Modernizing crime statistics: Report 1(defining and classifying crime). National Academies Press.
UCR home: About the UCR program (n.d.). Federal Bureau of Investigation. Web.