VT Census Case Studies : Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics

Created and last modified by molfe on 02 Jan 2016

Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:

The UCR Program collects statistics on violent crime (murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and property crime (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft).  The FBI has gathered crime statistics from law enforcement agencies across the Nation that voluntarily participate in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program since 1930. These data have been published each year, and since 1958, have been available in the publication Crime in the United States (CIUS).

Link:  http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/

Date Inventory Completed:  6/15/2015

Screening

  • Is the data collected opinion-based?
  • Is the data collection recurring (must be collected at least annually)?
  • Is there data available for 2013?
  • Is the data collected at the property or housing unit level?
  • Can we access the data by August 15th?

Purpose

  • What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States, which simultaneously serves as the nation's prime Federal law enforcement organization.

  • Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?

To generate reliable information for use in law enforcement administration, operation, and management; however, its data have over the years become one of the country’s leading social indicators.

  • Who else uses the data?

Criminologists, sociologists, legislators, municipal planners, the media, and other students of criminal justice use the data for varied research and planning purposes.

  • Who do they sell the data to?

Free

 


Method

  • What is the data collection method? 

Self reporting

  • What is the type of data collected? 

Administrative

  • If designed, who created the questions?

Yes

  • What is the raw source of the collected data (prior to any aggregation)? 

Law enforcement agencies tabulate the number of Part I offenses (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson) brought to their attention based on records of all reports of crime received from victims, officers who discover infractions, or other sources, and submit them each month to the FBI either directly or through their state UCR Programs.  


Description

  • What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?

Crime statistics

  • What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?

Broken down data to county/agency level: 1985-2014

  • Is data collected and available periodically?

Yes

  • How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided? 

The latest national, state, and individual law enforcement agency data are released simultaneously with each edition of CIUS -- yearly.

 

Selectivity

  • What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?

The United States

 

Accessibility

  • How is the data accessed? 

Download from website

  • Is it open data?

Yes

  • Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?

None states

  • Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

Free

Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? Maybe

Full Inventory

Description

  • Features
    • What is the temporal nature of the data: longitudinal, time-series, or one time point?

Longitudinal

    • Geospatial? If Yes, at what level?

Police agency

 

Metadata

  • Is there information available to assess the transparency and soundness of the methods to gather the data for our purposes?

Yes, methodology report can be found here: http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/data/methoducrdatatool.doc

  • Is there a description of each variable in the source along with their valid values?

Yes

  • Are there unique IDs for unique elements that can be used for linking data?
  • Is there a data dictionary or codebook?

UCR handbook about data collection can be found here: https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/additional-ucr-publications/ucr_handbook.pdf


Selectivity

  • What unit is represented at the record level of the data source?

City law enforcement agencies 10,000 and over in population and county law enforcement agencies 25,000 and over in population for which 1 to 12 month crime counts have been received

  • Does this universe match the stated intentions for the data collection? If not, what has been included or excluded and why?

No. Only agencies in cities of a certain size are included.

  • What is the sampling technique used (if applicable)? 

  • What was the coverage?

Exact proportion of police agencies not stated.

 

Stability/Coherence

  • Were there any changes to the universe of data being captured (including geographical areas covered) and if so what were they?

Variations in population coverage and reporting practices may cause differences in reporting from year to year  versus sheriff’s office; and geographic location.

  • Were there any changes in the data capture method and if so what were they? 

In December 2011, the UCR Program changed its definition of rape. The rape definition change applies only to the traditional Summary Reporting System. The forcible rape statistics on this table-building tool have been reported according to the historical definition

  • Were there any changes in the sources of data and if so what were they? 

None stated

 

Accuracy

  • Any known sources of error?

Missingness: Because not all law enforcement agencies provide data for complete reporting periods, the FBI includes estimated crime numbers for the Nation and by state.   The FBI computes estimates for participating agencies not providing 12 months of complete data.  For agencies supplying 3 to 11 months of data, the national UCR Program estimates for the missing data by following a standard estimation procedure using the data provided by the agency.  If an agency has supplied less than 3 months of data, the FBI computes estimates by using the known crime figures of similar areas within a state and assigning the same proportion of crime volumes to nonreporting agencies.  The estimation process considers the following:  population size covered by the agency; type of jurisdiction, e.g., police department.

  • Describe any quality control checks performed by the data’s owner.

See: https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/data_quality_guidelines/

The UCR Program thoroughly examines each report it receives for arithmetical accuracy and for deviations in crime data from month to month and from present to past years’ data that may indicate errors.  The UCR staff members compare aggregated data from agencies of similar population size to identify any unusual fluctuations in an agency’s crime counts.  Large variations in crime levels may indicate modified records procedures, incomplete reporting, or changes in the jurisdiction’s geopolitical structure.

The final responsibility for data submissions rests with the individual contributing law enforcement agency.  Although the FBI makes every effort through its editing procedures, training practices, and correspondence to ensure the validity of the data it receives, the accuracy of the statistics depends primarily on the adherence of each contributor to the established standards of reporting.  

 

Accessibility

  • Any records or fields collected, but not included in data source, such as for confidentiality reasons)? 

If an agency’s crime count for an offense(s) was not published in an annual edition of Crime in the United States (CIUS) , the crime count, if available, is included in the data presentation along with a footnote explaining why the figure(s) was excluded. Subsequent to release of CIUS, it is possible for a law enforcement agency to adjust its current year’s data or submit missing data if less than 12 months complete until the annual files are archived by the FBI.  Therefore, figures shown in the CIUS may not agree with data that can be accessed from the UCR Data Tool.

  • Is there a subset of variables and/or data that is must be obtained through a separate process? If yes, is there a separate legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source? Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

None stated

 

Privacy and security

  • Was consent given by participant? If so, how was consent given?

Aggregate crime statistics are public information

  • Are there legal limitations or restrictions on the use of the data? 

None stated

  • What confidentiality policies does the source have? 

None stated

 

Research

  • What research has been done with this dataset? (e.g., impact of policies, predictors of student success)
  • Include any links to research if provided:
  • List any other data use notes provided by the supplier.

 

Gaps/Concerns

  • Feasibility - can all jurisdiction levels provide the data (if applicable)?
  • Data ownership - a lack of clarity in legal guidance stemming from a lack of clarity with who owns digital data?
  • Data collection authority - what data is reasonably private and what constitutes unwarranted intrusion?
  • Describe any other notes you have or any gaps/concerns you see with this dataset: