Uniform Crime Report (UCR) is used in compiling official data on crime in the US that is published by Federal Bureau of Investigation. Most of the crime data is compiled from the UCR data and released by the relevant authorities annually in the United States. UCR is strong in that it measures arrest and homicide and hence provides a sample that is consistent for analysis.
National Incident Based Reporting system is used by agencies that enforce law in the USA to collect data and reporting about crime. The data is generated by the local, states and the federal agencies from their record management systems. Some of the strengths of NIBRS are that data collected has no limitations on the cases or offenses it can cover. This reporting system meets the local states and federal national reporting needs and also provides a platform for collection of individual’s details and analysis and therefore being used for future reference.
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UCR and NIBRS differ in various ways and they include; UCR contains crimes for up to one month with 8 index crimes while NIBRS contains individual’s incident counts 8 index offenses and 38 other offenses records with full details. Uniform Crime Report records an offense as per the incident as per the rule of hierarchy while National Incident Based Reporting system documents offenses of different incidents as they occur. National Incident Based Reporting system also distinguishes between completed crimes and attempted crimes while National Incident Based Reporting system does not make a distinction. National Incident Based Reporting system also records rape of male and female, but Uniform Crime Report only records rape of the female. National Incident Based Reporting system gathers weapon details in all offenses while Uniform Crime Report gathers details on weapons for murder, robbery and aggravated assaults.
According to my opinion, NIBRS is more reliable than UCR as it captures all the details and it has a broad scope of data collection and therefore making it standard for use in all levels of the government.
