Crime Statistics
Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
 Developed by the IACP and FBI (1927)
 Summarizes the incidence and rate of
Reported crimes in America.
 Utilizes reports from 16,000 law
enforcement agencies.
 When it began, it utilized reports from 400
cities in 43 states. (1930)
UCR Crime Index
 Sum of 7 crimes.
 Gives a crime rate based on population.
 Used to fund crime prevention programs.
 Part I Offenses:
– Murder, Forcible Rape, Robbery, Aggravated
Assault, Burglary, Larceny-Theft and Motor
Vehicle Theft.
UCR Crime Index Cont.
Clearance Rate:
The proportion of
reported crimes that
have been solved
through arrest or other
means
Based on arrests not
convictions
 Hierarchy Rule:
– When a series of
crimes occur during the
same incident, only the
most serious crime is
counted.
PART I Crimes
 Murder
 Rape
 Robbery
 Aggravated Assault
 Burglary
 Larceny Theft
 Motor vehicle Theft
 Arson
PART I OFFENSES
 MURDER
– Unlawful killing of one
human being by another.
May include 1st and 2nd
degree murder and
manslaughter.
– Not included: suicides,
justifiable homicide (selfdefense), negligent or
accidental deaths, and
attempted murders
 FORCIBLE RAPE
– The carnal knowledge
of a female forcibly
against her will.
– Not included: rape of a
male and same sex
rape. Statutory rape
without force
– Least reported of Part 1
offenses.
Crime Clock
Murder
 July & August - highest number
of reports
 most common in southern states
 persons age 20-24 most likely
victims
 most perpetrators also 20-24
years-old
Murder
 highest clearance rate of Part I
offenses (typically over 60%)
 firearms most frequent weapon
of choice (71%)
 knives second most frequent
(13%)
MURDER
 only 24% committed by
strangers
 most murders are committed by
“acquaintances”
 27% are the result of an
“argument”
 Reasons for NOT reporting rapes:
The lack of belief in ability of police to
apprehend the suspect.
The concern that the victim would
receive unsympathetic treatment from
police.
The desire to avoid the embarrassment
of publicity.
Reasons for not reporting Rape
 The fear of reprisal by the rapist.
 The fear of additional
“victimization” by court
proceedings.
 The desire to keep family/friends
from knowing.
RAPE statistics
 Most rapes are committed by
acquaintances of victim.
 Most rapists appear to be motivated by
the need to feel powerful.
 July and August are months with highest
number of reported rapes.
 December, January, and February are
months with lowest number of
reported rapes.
Part I Offenses cont.
 Robbery
– A personal crime that
involves face-to-face
confrontation .
– May involve weapons
or intimidation
– Not included: purse
snatching and pocket
picking
 Aggravated Assault
– A weapon is involved
or medical attention is
needed.
– Includes: attempted
assaults when a
weapon is used.
– Not included: simple
assaults, pushing and
shoving and fistfights.
Robbery facts
Most of those arrested are:
 male (90%)
 under age 25 (61%)
 minorities (56%)
Robbery rates in 2002 (per 100,000):
 large cities – 395.2
 rural areas – 17.7
Aggravated Assault Facts
 56% clearance rate (lower than murder)
 summer months highest number
reported Feb., Nov., and Dec. lowest
number reported
 35% blunt object
 28% hands and feet
 19% guns
 18% knives
Aggravated Assault Facts
Clearance is relatively low because of
the uncooperativeness of the victim.
 The victim knows assailant.
 The assailant is either the husband or the
boyfriend.
 The victim considers offense a “personal”
matter.
 The victim believes he “got what he deserved.”
 The victim fears revenge if charges are
pursued.
PART I OFFENSES Cont.
 Burglary
– Primarily a property crime
– 3 classifications:
• Forcible entry
• Unlawful entry w/o
force
• Attempted forcible
entry
– Most jurisdictions don’t
require forcible entry
 Larceny-Theft
– Theft FROM a motor
vehicle
– Shoplifting
– Thefts from buildings
– Theft of MV parts and
accessories
– Bicycle Theft
– Thefts from coin-operated
machines
– Purse snatching
– Pocket picketing
Burglary facts
 31% of all burglaries are unlawful
entries.
 63% are forcible entries.
 6.5% are attempted forcible entries.
 2 million burglaries reported in 2001.
 Daytime burglaries are the most
common.
 The clearance rate in 2001 was only
13%.
Larceny/Theft Facts
 is the most frequently reported
crime.
 total value of property stolen is
around $5.2 billion.
PART I OFFENSES Cont.
 Motor Vehicle Theft
– Self propelled vehicles
that run on the ground,
not on rails.
– Excludes: trains,
airplanes, bulldozers,
farm equip., ships,
boats & spacecraft
 Arson
– Intentional and
unlawful burning of
structures
– Burning of vehicles
– Unable to integrate
stats into crime index
– Not many agencies
report
Types of Motor Vehicle Theft




short-term transportation
long-term transportation
commission of another crime
profit
•
highly organized professionals
•
amateur auto strippers who steal for
parts.
Types of Motor Vehicle Theft
 Carjacking
 Legally, carjacking is a type of robbery,
not a motor vehicle theft.
 It accounts for just over 1% of all car
thefts.
 Victims and perpetrators tend to be
young African-American males.
 About half of carjackings are committed
by gangs or groups.
 About 24% of victims sustain injuries.
Arson Facts
 juveniles are arrested for a greater share
of this crime than any other.
arson for profit – involves a professional
arsonist who sets fires for a fee.
arson fraud – involves an owner
burning his or her business
property to escape financial
problems or for insurance.
Major offenses
Rate per 100,000
murder
forcible rape
robbery
Agg. assault
burglary
larceny-theft
motor vehicle theft
arson
5.6
33.0
145.9
310.1
746.2
2445.8
432.1
32.4
Number
16,204
95,136
420,637
894,348
2,151,875
7,052,922
1,246,096
74,921
Part II Offenses
 Drug-Law violations
 Driving under the Influence
 Simple Assault
 Disorderly Conduct
 Liquor Law violations
 Public Drunkenness
 Fraud
 Vandalism
Part II Offenses
 Weapons
 Curfew Violations
 Offenses against the family (nonsupport)
 Receiving Stolen Property
 Runaways
 Forgery and Counterfeiting
 Sex Offenses
 Etc.
NIBRS
 National Incident Based Reporting System
 Attempt to improve the UCR
 Details are gathered about each criminal
incident.
 Replaces Part I and Part II offenses with 22
general offenses
 Eliminates hierarchy rule
NIBRS
 Reports on the elements of crime such as:
– Alcohol or other drug influence.
– Type of weapon used.
– Location of crime.
– Etc.
 Distinguishes between attempts and
completed crimes.
 Records rapes of males and females.
NCVS
 National Crime Victimization Survey
 Dept. of Justice and Bureau of Justice Statistics
 Based on victim self-reports through a survey
 Began in 1972
 Tries to uncover the “dark figure of crime,” that
which is unreported.
 Shows that crime is more prevalent than UCR
indicates.
NCVS Cont.
 25% of American households are touched by
crime each year.
 Includes rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault,
burglary, personal and household larceny and
motor vehicle theft.
 Excludes: murder, kidnapping, victimless crimes,
commercial robbery and burglary of businesses.
 Uses hierarchal counting
 Surveys people 12 y.o. and older.
NCVS Cont.
 Surveys 42,000 households representing
75,000 people.
 No business burglaries or thefts.
 No crimes against young people.
NCVS vs. UCR
 NCVS Rape includes victimization of both
males and females.
 NCVS Includes sexual assault.
 Arson is not included in the NCVS
 NCVS = survey: UCR = police depts. report
to FBI
Interesting Facts
 The chance of violent attacks is much
higher for young black males than any other
group.
 1in 21 for black males
 1 in 369 for white females.
• Crime and the Nation’s Households, 2000.
SPECIAL CATEGORIES
 Crime against women
 Crime against the elderly
 Hate Crime
 Corporate and White-Collar Crime
 Organized Crime
 Gun Crime
 Drug Crime
 High-Tech and Computer crime
Crime Statistics research
 Pick one of the following cities and find
crime statistics for that city:
–
–
–
–
–
New York
Boston
Atlanta
Chicago
Philadelphia
-Los Angeles
-Houston
-New Orleans
-Miami
-Washington D.C.
City Research
 Where did you find the statistics for that city?
 Are the statistics you found based on law
enforcement agency reports or individual
surveys?
 How many murders were committed in that
city in the latest reported year?
 How many assaults were committed in that
city in the latest reported year?
 What race is the majority of the suspects?