Weaknesses Of NIBRS

There are many data sources that are available to the criminal justice system for reporting crimes that have been committed for specific periods of time. Those data sources include surveys that are used that gather data from individuals or households and there are reports that gather data from crimes committed and reported. It is important to understand that not all surveys and reports gather all the same information. Also, there are strengths and weaknesses to all the surveys and reports that are conducted, therefore, there is not one that is perfect. One report that is used measure crime is the Uniform Crime Report, also known as the UCR and it collects data annually under the title, “Crime in the United States” ( ,40). There are two parts
The reporting system is actually a joint task force between the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The data collected is submitted by the participating states with five states having no plans to participate in the program. The data that is collected for NIBRS contains more data that the UCR, therefore, the offenses that are committed can be examined in more detail. The reporting system contains offense and arrest information in regards to 22 categories of crime, with 46 offenses, and provides information on arrests for 11 offenses ( ,44). There are some issues with NIBRS though, such as the fact that the computer systems are dated, implementation benefit, and policy
The figures are collected yearly and give a detailed representation of crime occurrences, victims, and trends from the victim’s viewpoint. The Bureau of the Census for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics is responsible for gathering the data for survey that was once called the national crime survey. The NCVS measures the regularity, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization in the United States and this is seen as strength to the survey ( ,45). The survey is conducted twice a year with 90,000 households and 160,000 people participating. Basically, the NCVS assists in approximating the probability of victimization by rape or sexual assault, theft, household burglary, and motor vehicle theft for the population as a whole and also for segments women, elderly, racial and ethnic groups, city dwellers, and other groups ( ,46). Another benefit to the NCVS is that it captures a greater percentage of offending behavior than can be captured by police records and there are those that believe that the response to the errors in the NCVS may be less severe and better understood than those that are self-reporting