Armando Murillo
Excelsior College
Briefly identify and explain the key differences and similarities regarding the UCR, NIBRS, and NCVS programs. The Uniformed Crime Reporting (UCR) Program displays crime data for the United States, as well as for states, cities, counties and colleges. This allows for a comparison among neighboring jurisdictions and among those with similar populations and other common characteristics. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects information on the frequency and of crimes such as rape, sexual assault, aggravated and simple assault, household burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft. Both systems report different types of information and different details. The UCR program displays statistics for law enforcement administration, operation, and management. The UCR program utilizes what is called the hierarchy rule. If more than one crime was committed by the same person and the time separating the crimes was minor, then the crime highest in the hierarchy is the only crime reported. This seems like a very inaccurate method of recording data, one would assume that all records of offenses were taken into consideration for reporting purposes. The NCVS program collects information on crimes by individuals and households while also providing information on victims such as age, sex, race, marital status. The difference in the two programs is that each serves a different purpose in reporting. The UCR reports information for law enforcement, operations and management. The NCVS provides information about each crime, its victims and the offenders.
Summarize the evolution of the criminal justice system in America. Identify and discuss at least three (3) key U.S Supreme Court cases that have had a significant impact on the issue of individual rights versus public order, with respect to arrest, search, and seizure. In modern day America, the public’s view on the typical criminal has shifted
References: Schmalleger, F. (2014). Criminal Justice: a brief introduction, (10th ed) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Takeaways From Supreme Court Rulings On Buffer Zones, Recess Picks. (2014). National Public Radio.