Essay On Uniform Crime Reporting
The Uniform Crime Reporting
The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) is the most widely used system for recording crimes which subsequently affects policy implementation decisions (Aspen Publishers, 2010). The UCR has tracked data on seven crimes since 1930 which include murder, robbery, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, theft and vehicle theft (Falk, 2010). Then in 1979, the UCR started reporting arson crimes. It has been reported that approximately 17,000 law enforcement agencies report data to the UCR and FBI but this data has several limitations (Siegel, 2009). As the UCR evolved, it became the starting database for law enforcement executives, members of the media and the public that were seeking information on crime in the nation. In 2010, law enforcement agencies active in the UCR program represented more than 300 million inhabitants in the United States; this represents 97.4% of the total population in the country (Siegel, 2009). …show more content…
The major flaw I see in this system is the fact that it includes only those crimes reported to the police and not all crime in general.There is another issue that not all law enforcement agencies report their offenses and may inaccurately classify the offense if the offense included multiple aspects. Another significant issue involves terminologies and definitions as they are not always represented the same across varying legal systems, for instance the definition of the offense of rape. Sexual attacks on males are excluded from the rape category in some legal systems. Another flaw of the system is that only the most serious crime is reported using the hierarchy rule. The UCR system limits the ability to represent crime as a whole as it only permits two crime categories which are crimes against persons and crimes against property (Walker,
The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) is the most widely used system for recording crimes which subsequently affects policy implementation decisions (Aspen Publishers, 2010). The UCR has tracked data on seven crimes since 1930 which include murder, robbery, rape, aggravated assault, burglary, theft and vehicle theft (Falk, 2010). Then in 1979, the UCR started reporting arson crimes. It has been reported that approximately 17,000 law enforcement agencies report data to the UCR and FBI but this data has several limitations (Siegel, 2009). As the UCR evolved, it became the starting database for law enforcement executives, members of the media and the public that were seeking information on crime in the nation. In 2010, law enforcement agencies active in the UCR program represented more than 300 million inhabitants in the United States; this represents 97.4% of the total population in the country (Siegel, 2009). …show more content…
The major flaw I see in this system is the fact that it includes only those crimes reported to the police and not all crime in general.There is another issue that not all law enforcement agencies report their offenses and may inaccurately classify the offense if the offense included multiple aspects. Another significant issue involves terminologies and definitions as they are not always represented the same across varying legal systems, for instance the definition of the offense of rape. Sexual attacks on males are excluded from the rape category in some legal systems. Another flaw of the system is that only the most serious crime is reported using the hierarchy rule. The UCR system limits the ability to represent crime as a whole as it only permits two crime categories which are crimes against persons and crimes against property (Walker,