Question 1
The most important source of crime reporting data is The Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR) which comprises of The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) (Harnsberger, 2011). This program can be used by a city, county, state and the federal government of a country. It is administered by the FBI and provides a broad range of crime information by the law enforcement institutions and agents all over the country. The information administered by the FBI is either submitted through the state’s UCR Program or at times direct to the national UCR program (Baltic, 2011). This program for many years has been used to identify the nature and levels of crime in the United States. In the first 60 years since this program was invented, the data collected and disseminated remained unchanged. However, as time progressed, the need to use the UCR data increased and the law enforcement agencies increased its capabilities to supply information involving crimes.
Question 2
The method that law enforcers use to collect data comprises of some procedures which are reporting, verification, field representation, offense estimation and advisory groups. In reporting, law enforcement agencies such as the FBI to report the number of crimes committed from their files of the complaints made by victims (Burger, 2008). Also, they report the information from witnesses and any crimes the agency discovers during their process of operation. These reports are submitted without regard on whether the criminals have been arrested, or the prosecution has taken place. They report these arrests according to the sex, age and ethnic origin of the criminal. In the verification process, each report submitted is examined for accuracy through many cross-checking methods. Any small errors noted are corrected by the UCR verifiers, and in the case of unusual variations, the representatives in this program are brought to the attention through a direct contact. In field presentation, each representative is assigned a particular area and is mandated to help local police to solve any problems identified with reports. In offense estimation, the UCR depends on the support of law enforcement agencies to give an exact number of the crimes committed (Russell, 2009). With the use of crime experiences of areas within a state, the crime rates of non-reporting agencies are estimated proportionally. In advisory groups, committees on crime records promote interests in the UCR and foster an extensive use of crime statistics uniformly and offering help to contributors where it is needed. Also, the FBI helps in the development of statistical programs compatible with the national system.
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Question 3
One of the problems that law enforcement firms’ face in crime reporting is identifying triggers of domestic violence which are often associated with unemployment and drinking alcohol. Family members often do not want to speak of any violation committed to them to the police since they want to protect their family member who has committed the crime. Another problem is the threat in cyberspace which has become a significant threat to police institutions (Reichel, 2005). This is because they need to have the technical knowledge to secure their software containing criminal files to prevent hacking. Also, a police officer needs to understand the nature of crimes to know what to safeguard or not. Examining youth offenses has become a problem in some countries especially the United States where they take harsh approaches towards their cases resulting to an increment of incarceration. Also, intrusion by social media has become a challenge to crime reporting since many attorneys have been using social media to publicize criminal cases in an effort of prejudicing the potential assessors (Reichel, 2005).
Question 4
One of the solutions to problems associated with crime reporting is that police need to adapt to forensic science. Investigating a crime scene is the most important part of solving any crime hence forensic science will help capture crime scenes inform of pictures, collecting any body fluids, samples for DNA and fingerprints (Ratcliffe & Chainy, 2013). Another solution to crime reporting problem is the need for profiling criminals. This will help understand the mind and thoughts of criminals which is an important tool in any investigation. Law enforcement organizations need to adapt to modern techniques of interrogation (Ratcliffe & Chainy, 2013). Modern techniques help confirm the innocence or any psychological break down of a suspect when confessing a crime. This will make the work of the police easier unlike in the past when they used physical means to have a suspect confess their crimes.
References
Baltic, S. E., & Uniform Crime Reporting Program (U.S.). (2011). Crime in the United States 2011 . Lanham, Md: Bernan Press. (Baltic, 2011)
Burger, W. (2008). Human services in contemporary America . Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole.
Harnsberger, R. S. (2011). A guide to sources of Texas criminal justice statistics . Denton, Tex: University of North Texas Press.
Ratcliffe, J., & Chainey, S. (2013). Gis and crime mapping. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Reichel, P. L., Sage Publications., & Sage eReference (Online service). (2005). Handbook of crime & justice. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Sage Publications.
Russell-Brown, K. (2009). The color of crime . New York: New York University Press.
