Public Safety Signals

Ken Szymkowiak Says:

One of the ongoing topics in my crim classes is the nature of how crime is reported in our country and in others.

The UCR is useful, but only in terms of crimes known to police and which crimes they report. Then there is the NCVS which tells us a bit more of what we don’t see in the so-called official stats. But since that survey is limited to people 12 and above, we still miss a lot of criminal behavior against younger children.

In my classes, I then can use this observation to help discuss why some actions are crimes while the same actions, when committed against certain persons, ar enot crimes at all. For example, corporal punishment is a great topic for discussion. Many people favor the practice even though if we did the same things to adults that we do to children, we would likely be brought up on charges.

Thanks for the report and the opportunity to comment — Ken S.

June 5th, 2007 at 11:47 am

Charles Says:

Ken, you bring up an interesting point. Our current national crime reports don’t do an adequate job, in my view, of the unaddressed dark figure of crime. Also, many crimes have been lost in the UCR reports due to the hierarchical nature of crime reporting. More recently, incident based UCR reporting has attempted to provide a more accurate accounting. The British system, akin to our NCVS, attempts to identify each and every crime victim and provide comparison year to year. For those more interested in crime reporting, here is an informative link: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucrquest.htm

June 5th, 2007 at 3:49 pm

Joseph Pascarella Says:

Ken,

Thanks for bringing up these very valid points about the UCR. The NCVS tells us that approximately 50% of serious crime (Robberies, Felony-Assaults, and Rapes) are NOT reported to the police.

This is a a significant amount crime not known to Public Safety authorities.

Thanks again.

Joe Pascarella

June 5th, 2007 at 3:52 pm

Joy Spicer Says:

Joseph, you said, “Police and law enforcement agencies are devoting a significant amount of resources for homeland security and counter terrorism initiatives. This now limits the amount of vital resources that can be utilized for crime reduction strategies”. Since the landscape of crime has so changed in America since 9-11, isn’t homeland security and counter terrorism part of crime reduction strategies? I know I’d rather have my hard-earned tax dollars keeping me from being blown up or attacked on my own home soil by a non-American than keeping my house from being burlarized by a fellow American. Sounds silly, but it’s the truth and how I feel. I really in truly think homeland security needs to be a top priority over other types of possible crime. Regards, Joy

June 17th, 2007 at 11:05 pm

Joy Spicer Says:

Charles, you said, “Also, many crimes have been lost in the UCR reports due to the hierarchical nature of crime reporting”. This is an important point when using any of the data from the UCR. I’m not familiar with the crimes outside of rape, my area of interest, but concerning rape, if the rape ends in a homicide, it is not even included as a sex crime in the FBI Uniform Crime Reports, according to the Hierarchy Rule, so the rape does not even end up in the estimates (U.S. Department of Justice, 2004, p. 10).

“The Hierarchy Rule requires that when more than one Part I offense is classified, the law enforcement agency must locate the offense that is highest on the hierarchy list and score that offense involved and not the other offense(s) in the multiple-offense situation” http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/handbook/ucrhandbook04.pdf

Side note: I HATE UCR defintions. One of my most favorite to hate: “‘Against her will’ includes instances in which the victim is incapable of giving consent because of her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity (or because of her youth). The ability of the victim to give consent must be a professional determination by the law enforcement agency. The age of the victim, of course, plays a critical role in this determination. Individuals do not mature mentally at the same rate. For example, no 4-year-old is capable of consenting, whereas victims aged 10 or 12 may need to be assessed within the specific circumstances regarding the giving of their consent”. UCR says a 10 year old may capable of giving their consent for sexual intercourse. What do you expect from an agency that states a male cannot be raped…
Regards, Joy
Reference: U. S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2004). Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook. Clarksburg, WV: Author.

June 18th, 2007 at 12:03 am