Crime Statistics in the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation: Crime Statistics
Introduction to Crime Statistics
Since 1930, the FBI has served as a national clearinghouse for crime statistics through its Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Law enforcement agencies throughout the United States forward data monthly and annually to the FBI on the following crimes: murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Agencies also report hate crimes, the overall number of people arrested, and the characteristics of those arrested.
The FBI publishes the statistics annually in the Uniform Crime Reports Bulletin. Although the Bulletin was created as a service for law enforcement agencies, it is now used by sociologists, legislators, city planners, and the media as an indicator of the crime rate.” (1)
Legal Materials
There are two major sources for U.S. crime statistics:
(1) The National Crime Victimization Survey, which is compiled annually by the Bureau of Justice Statistics based on a survey sent to a random sample of the population.
(2) The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which is based on crimes reported to the police and posted on the FBI Web site (www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm).
Some additional resources:
- Many of the key findings from the Survey and Report are included in the American Jurisprudence 2nd Desk Book.
- The Bureau of Justice Statistics posts statistics about U.S. crime, victims, criminals, courts, police, jails and prisons.
- The Crimes & Crime Rates page from the Census.gov website.
- The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics (unclear whether this is still being updated)
- The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) provides detailed information on Federal crime enforcement. In addition to the materials available online, you can call TRAC to order data back to 1974.
- Corrections.com links to additional sources for crime statistics.
Historical Information: In addition to the materials discussed above, check out theNational Archive of Criminal Justice Data.
Illegal Drugs: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration posts statistics on illegal drug use and law enforcement in the U.S.
Sentencing Statistics: The United States Sentencing Commission posts Federal sentencing statistics by state. New York State’s Division of Criminal Justice Servicesreports annually on the processing of state felony cases. Custom reports can be requested by contacting the Division’s Crime Reporting and Statistical Services department (518-457-5837 or 1-800-262-3257).
State and Local Statistics: State and local crime statistics are often available from corrections departments. Links to state corrections department Web sites are posted onCorrections.com. Additional information may be posted on prosecutor Web sites; links are posted on Prosecutors on the Web.
City-Wide Statistics: The BOJ compiles statistics on the larger U.S. metropolitan areas (www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs).
College Campuses: Crime statistics for college campuses are posted athttp://ope.ed.gov/security.
Crime Statistics and Reporting in relation to Crime and Race
Crime Statistics and Reporting is included in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime (1), beginning with: A prominent feature of the race/crime nexus in the United States is the racial disparity found in arrest statistics. Although self-report surveys suggest fewer racial differences in offending than do police-generated statistics, the media frequently focuses on crimes known to the police. To facilitate a better understanding of the relationship between race and crime, This section focuses on two sources of national crime statistics: the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 1930, and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau since 1973 for the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The UCR collects data on murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson (traditionally known as Part I crimes), in addition to 21 other criminal offenses. (2)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Crime Statistics in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
- Entry about Crime Statistics and Reporting in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime
See Also
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Criminal Law
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Guns and Other Firearms
Prisons, Prisoners and Jails
United States Sentencing Commission
In this Section
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation Structure, FBI Jurisdiction and Investigative Responsibilities, FBI Agents, Law Enforcement Services, FBI Law Enforcement Services (including FBI Fingerprint Identification, FBI Laboratory, FBI Criminal Profiling, FBI Police Training, National Crime Information Center and Crime Statistics), FBI History (including FBI Early Years, Hoover Reforms, FBI in the World War II and Postwar Era, FBI Antiradical Activities, FBI Reform, Ruby Ridge, FBI Under Freeh and September 11 Attacks), FBI and the Patriot Act and National Lawyers Guild.
Crime Statistics in the Criminal Justice System
This section covers the topics below related with Crime Statistics :
Crime
Arrests in relation with Crime Statistics
Law Enforcement
Resources
See Also
- Crime
- Arrests
- Law Enforcement
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