Assignment 2 PDF

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This assignment is mandatory. Questions are answered in detail. They are required to be in essay format. ...

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1. Discuss and compare UCR and NCVS including how the data is compiled and the validity concerns associated with the method of measuring crime. There are two national crime measurements that collect data on crime statistics. Both the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NVCS) measure the impact and the scope of crime in order to analyze the data. However, the two tools of measurement use differing methods of collection, have different aims, and are complied by different agencies. With data collection and research comes criticism for which the validity of each is questioned. The UCR is the most widely used report of crime statistics. There are eight crimes known as Part 1 crimes, or index crimes, that local police departments record for analysis. It is compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by gathering monthly records from local law enforcement agencies. Once the FBI compiles these records into the UCR, reported crimes are shown as raw figures, computations of crimes rates per 100,000 are estimated, and the crime rate of change over time are determined. The complexity of the UCR allows agencies to collect crime data and configure statistics, but the validity is disputed. For instance, not every crime is reported for various reasons like fear, law enforcement wrongly reports the criminal offenses, and problems arise pertaining methods like the FBI using estimations to make conclusions about their data analyses.

Due to validity issues like underreported crime in the UCR, the NCVS was created to gather information on crimes that were not reported. In contrast to the UCR, the NCVS uses a national survey for people twelve years of age and older. It is given to a sample of households nationwide to indicate the population’s data. The survey asks details about the who, when, where, and what of the victimization. This method of crime measurement is favored because it not only shows estimations for crimes that are reported, but also crimes that are unreported. Self reports are also given to obtain statistics on a persons criminal activity. These reports are anonymous and not subject to disclosure in hopes to get honest responses. However, the system of methods that the NCVS uses has issues like overreporting and underreporting. This is due to lack of knowledge on the definition of what each offense is and emotions like fear and embarrassment. Also validity becomes an issue in self reporting because criminals may lie about committing a criminal act; whether it be refraining from saying they committed an act or embellishing the act that they committed.

2. What is the National Incident-Based Reporting System? How is it different from the UCR? Another crime reporting system that is a part of the UCR is the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). They are both compiled by the FBI from collecting data from local law enforcement agencies, but differ because of how NIBRS expanded the UCR. NIBRS is a detailed crime reporting system that allows officers to record more on an incident. NIBRS is incident based, meaning that data is collected on each single crime. The UCR reports on offenses that are considered the most serious. However, there are twenty-two offense categories which make up forty-six specific offenses; this includes the Part 1 crimes in the UCR. While the UCR reports crimes on persons and property, NIBRS reports crimes on persons, property, and society. These crimes are split into groups of categories: Group A, Group B. Other differences in both of the crime reporting systems are that the UCR uses hand written documents that have to be manually entered and does not recognize whether a crime has been completed or

attempted. NIBRS data can be recorded electronically and recognizes if a crime was attempted or completed. 3. Explain how crime rates are impacted by ecology factors. In the ecology of crime, “patterns in the crime rate seem to be held to temporal and ecological factors” (Siegel, 2013, p. 43). Factors include the day, season, and climate, the temperature, and the regional differences. These factors influence how often crimes are reported, crime levels, and how likely they are to be violent or nonviolent. The ecology of crime is studied to better understand the nature and extent of crime while also looking for crime patterns. It is found in studies that crime rates and crime levels tend to occur during the warmer months of summer. This is due to families going on vacations and kids being out of school. The vulnerability of being a victim increases because of empty homes and more opportunity to get involved with criminal activities. Weather also seems to come into play. Murder and robberies are most likely to occur during the colder months, but criminologists believe that there is a correlation between violent crimes and heat. Criminologists have hypothesized that extreme temperatures cause more aggression because of more pressure on hormones. Location is another factor. Urban areas have higher violent crime rates than rural areas, the west and the south have higher rates than the Midwest and the northeast. This could be due to economic statuses or values that each area holds. 4. Explain the relationship between crime and the economy. Explain each of the views associated with this relationship. It is viewed that someone’s social class can reflect their criminal activity, meaning the lower class is more prone to committing crimes and living in high crime areas. However, some criminologists disagree. Some explain that police departments focus on lower income areas which would then increase their apprehension rate. Those that are arrested in the lower class are given harsh sentences while the upper class criminal offenders are given lenient sentences. The correlation between crime and social status may subject for differentiation, but studies reveal that serious crimes like murder and rape occur most often in lower class areas while less serious crimes occur evenly among both social classes. Given these accounts it can be conjectured that unemployment would be associated with someone’s social status. However, other views contradict this correlation. There are four different views on how the economy and crime have a relationship: bad economy means higher crime rates, good economy means higher crime rates, bad economy means lower crime rates, and crime and the economy are unrelated. In regards to the 4 differing viewpoints, a bad economy would mean that crimes rates would heighten. When the lower income or unemployed see that the economy is getting worse, they resort to crimes like stealing for survival. In contrast, others say that a good economy will mean that crime rates will increase. More people are hired, which means that they are making money and spending money on consumer goods. People who are less fortunate then get envious and begin to commit property crimes. The next view is that a bad economy results in lower crime rates. The explanation for this view is that the unemployed are sitting at home watching over the house and their kids and are not able to buy expensive items. The makes their home less susceptible to being burglarized or robbed due to so much

home activity occurring and items being of little value. Conflicting each of these view is that crime and the economy have no relationship with one another. Some believe that those who live in the middle class social status or those who are unemployed are not likely to commit crimes like bank robberies and or join gangs. The reasons for each of these viewpoints can be associated with the methods of measuring data. Each factor can contribute to how it effects the view on crime and the economy.

References Siegel, L. (2013). Criminology: Theories, Patterns, and Typologies (12th ed.). Cengage Learning....