A Law Enforcement Crime Report is a recording of accounts of criminal activities to ascertain the prevalence and strategize mitigation measures to curb the incidences. The reports are prepared at the city, county, state, or federal level and delivered to the FBI's Crime Data Explorer (CDE) for further analysis and action. The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program was established as a faction of the FBI to streamline the reporting process and documentation patterns. The objective of UCR is to ensure reliable information and quality reporting is achieved to increase the efficiency of administration, operation, and management of law enforcement agencies (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2018). To achieve the uniformity, a standardized procedure for Law Enforcement Crime Report is followed, as discussed in this paper.
First, the UCR divided its program into four data collection categories that subdivide the nature of crime reported. The four are the Hate Crime Statistics (HCS) Program, the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) Program, and the Summary Reporting System (SRS). The NIBRS is the most detailed and quality-oriented, as it contains information from every single crime with minute details that range from victims' information, relationship with offenders, arrestees’ information, and properties involved (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2018). HCS emphasizes crimes with a race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability bias while LEOKA reports on officers assaulted on duty. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (2018), the SRS program, which collects the least volume of data, is currently being phased out and will cease to be used by 2021.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
(Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2004, p. xx)
Classification of Offenses
Classification is the process of assigning offenses to proper categories to enhance accuracy in prevalence statistics. The program directs that crimes and attempted crimes be categorized as though they happened, except for murder, where attempted offenses are classified under aggravated assault. The eight classes used to categorize offenses are as elaborated in this section.
Criminal Homicide
Consists of deaths that are caused by injuries afflicted in a fight, argument, or assault. Accidental deaths and suicide are exempted from this category (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2004, p. 16). The class also contains manslaughter by negligence, defined as killing caused by gross negligence.
Forcible Rape
Includes rape by use of force or attempts to commit rape by using force (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2020).
Robbery
Attempts or taking any valuable items from the custody of the owner through the use of force. Force is defined by the use of a firearm, weapons, or strong arms.
Assault
An attack by a person unto another. Assaults are classified as aggravated if they intend to cause harm through the use of weapons or strong arms and or fists.
Burglary
Entries into a premise to attempt or commit a felony or theft.
Larceny-Theft
The lawful carrying or taking or moving of property from its lawful owner. Includes pocket-picking, shoplifting, and theft of bicycles.
Motor Vehicle Theft
Theft or an attempted theft of autos, trucks, buses, and other classes of motor vehicles.
Arson
Offences that involve willful and malicious burning of property to defraud or destroy.
Scoring of Offences
After the classification of offenses, the reporting process should involve the scoring of the crimes. Scoring is the counting of the offenses after classification. Accurate scoring is key in attaining accurate prevalence rates which guide law enforcement agencies on the quantity of resources needed to curb crime. Scoring relies on two broad categories: crimes against a person and crime against property. Crimes such as rape, homicide, and assault are committed against a person and are counted per victim. Arson, robbery, theft, and burglary are crimes against property and are counted per a distinct operation and not the number of machinery involved. The exception in the scoring of crimes against property is in motor vehicle theft, where each vehicle is counted as a crime (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2004, p. 41).
After classification and scoring, the reporting officers should ensure that elaborate details are captured to enhance data interpretation and promote effective planning. The report should capture criminals' background information, details of the crime scene, the offender's history, and motives. Timestamps should also be included, along with a description and explanation of the data captured.
References
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2004). Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook . U.S Department of Justice.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2018, September 10). Uniform crime reporting (UCR) program . Retrieved September 18, 2020, from https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2018, September 10). National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) . https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/nibrs
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2020). Uniform crime reporting statistics . https://www.ucrdatatool.gov/offenses.cfm
