The Uniform Crime Report (UCR) is a program that is led by America’s FBI. Since the inception of the program in 1930, it has continued to provide useful statistics on the nature and types of crimes that are committed in different states of the United States. The main objective of this program is to ensure that at any given moment, there is reliable information that law enforcement officers and any other relevant users can obtain access to. This information might be used for planning and research activities by legislators, criminologists, sociologists, media. It can also be used for learning purposes in colleges and universities where criminology courses are taught. The UCR Program publishes annual reports on the various areas which it is mandated to produce data on. These include the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the Summary Reporting System (SRS), the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA), and the Hate Crime Statistics program. All four data collections are important, and they provide unique information that will be used for the UCR program (Barnett-Ryan & Griffith, 2016). Through proper analysis of the reports, the relevant authorizes can be able to monitor the trend in criminal activities in any of the four categories and make recommendations from an informed point of view.
In the quest to gather reliable data that can lead to clues on why the crime rates in the area have been on the rise, seven methods can be relied upon. As an intern at the Happy Town Police Department, I can acquire primary data from the officers in the station on the reasons for the increase in crime rates in the region. Through in-depth interview sessions for a few police officers, this can provide insights into the possible causes. Law enforcement officers should ensure that there is law and order in the area that they operate. As such, in rate event there are instances of lawlessness and an increase in criminal activities, they have to do research and gather information on the possible cause by going to the ground and conducting own investigation. By sharing the same information on their findings, then this can form the basis upon which further investigations can be based upon. In the police station, various reports are done daily regarding any criminal activities that have occurred and the circumstances that led to its occurrence (Strom & Smith, 2017). For instance, crimes might be facilitated by the use of technology and other sophisticated means. Obtaining access to such information ill reveal the nature that criminal activities have taken and help in coming up with ways to seal any loopholes that may exist regarding the nabbing of such criminals.
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Another source that can provide reliable data is the document review of the UCR report for the last five years. This report consists of large data on the criminal activities of various natures that were reported in all regions in the U.S. A proper analysis of this information will give useful information on the trend of the crime rate over a given period. It is useful information on the assessment of the impact that some of the legislation and policies implemented have been fairing and whether they have had any effect in helping curb crime rates reported in different states. The information is such an avenue that provides information on how effective the policies and actions taken to deal will criminal activities have been. The data over five years can be used to show the trend on the different categories of criminal activities that are recorded. It is important to get information on the direction in which the crime rates are taking in whichever region. In the event, the trend shows an increase in the crime rates despite all the measures taken, then further investigation might be needed to establish a clear cause of the problem, and further action-plan be recommended. UCR is an important source of data that deals with criminal activities in the U.S. (Strom & Smith, 2017). Therefore, any research or report concerning criminal activities in any state within the U.S. would not be complete without the data. This explains why the data on the UCR report will be used in investigating the possible cause of crime rates in Rodney Hurt or any other state.
The crime rate normally expresses the total number of index crimes per population of every 100,000 people. The crime rate figure is useful in analyzing the trend that criminal activities in a certain location take hence useful for making informed decisions on how to deal with such criminal activities. The UCR provided for Happy Town, Frown Town, Smooth Town, and Cool Town for the five years can be used to show the crime rates reported in these towns, all presented in their specific categories to allow for proper analyzes and understanding of the provided data ( FBI UCR , 2015). However, it should be noted that there are particular instances of criminal activities that may not be presented in the data since there are criminal activities that are conducted but go unnoticed.
From the data provided, Smooth Town is one of the places that recorded the lowest crime rates as compared to others. For instance, it has the lowest rate of violent crime reported amongst the three other towns. For the Frown Town, despite the town recording, a drop in the overall crime rates reported over the period, crimes remain still high. For instance, cases of robbery, aggravated assault, and Larceny-theft are reported to be on the increase. The police ought to conduct their investigation and come up with proper ways that will lead to bringing into law the perpetrators of such crimes. Despite the suggestion that comes in the mind when one hears the term “Happy Town’, this is not the case in the real situation. The community has one of the highest cases of criminal activities reported in the state ( FBI UCR , 2015). According to the statistics provided, crimes have increased. This can be backed up by the reported increase in theft in the community. In Cool Town, the criminal activities in 2015 were the lowest level attained. The town has recorded positive trend where the rates of crimes reported have been going as per the report. This trend can be attributed to the partnerships that the area police officers have made with the community members making it easy to identify and flush out criminal elements from the community, hence playing a critical role in bringing law and order in the area.
Ultimately, t is evident that the UCR presents useful information that can be relied upon in making policy actions. By providing data on criminal activities of a given location over a giver time, proper comparison can be done and thus providing useful information that shows the trend of criminal activities in the locality. This will give insight to the police officers on the areas where to concentrate their efforts on in attempts to help curb such criminal activities. Thus, the information is useful in making policy actions that will ensure that the lives of the area residents are secure.
References
Barnett-Ryan, C., & Griffith, E. H. (2016). The dynamic nature of crime statistics. In Carlos A. C., & Callie M. R. (Eds.), The Wiley handbook on the psychology of violence. Chichester, UK: Wiley , 5-23. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118303092.ch1
FBI UCR. (2015). 2015 crime in the United States. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015
Strom, K. J., & Smith, E. L. (2017). The future of crime data: The case for the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) as a primary data source for policy evaluation and crime analysis. Criminology & Public Policy , 16 (4), 1027-1048. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12336
