After reading Chapter 4 of the Mosher textbook, what are some of the differences in
using official crime data as discussed in Chapter 3 of the Mosher textbook and Self-
Reported Data in Chapter 4. What are the particular strengths and weakness of each of
these types of data sources?
"Official crime data are those that derive from the normal functions of the criminal
justice system" (Mosher, Miethe, & Hart, 2011, p. 65). They include police reports of
offenses and arrests, charges filed by prosecutors, criminal complaints and indictments,
imprisonment data, and prison releases. In the United States, there are two major
sources for crime data which are the UCR or Uniform Crime Reports and the NIBRS or
National Incident-Based Reporting System. "The UCR is the FBI's widely used system for
recording crimes and making policy decisions" (National Institute of Justice, 2009). The
UCR collects data on 8 different index crimes and reports it every year however the
NIBRS goes toward the UCR but actually collects more detailed information. The UCR
collects data on criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary,
larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. The NIBRS organizes there crimes into
group A and group B offenses. Some offenses for group A include but aren't limited to
shoplifting, drug/narcotic offenses, embezzlement, and even kidnapping/abduction.
Group B offenses include bad checks, runaway, peeping tom, and many more offenses.
The UCR has been used for decades in order to collect some basic information within its
categories while the NIBRS is a newer source that tracks more detailed information
which allows multiple victims and even multiple offenders in order to capture more
detailed information about each incident. The NIBRS has helped to improve the UCR by
increasing the number of criminal offenses from 8 to 57, allows more detailed
information, links specific arrests and clearance data, eliminates the use of the hierarchy
rules and distinguishes between attempted and completed crimes. As for the NIBRS 57
offenses, there are 46 Group A offenses and 11 Group B offenses. The UCR has many
strengths which include putting real crime data into a consumable format, allowing
people to see the historical perspective of crime, and letting society see how it has
viewed crime over the years. Also, the amount of agencies that participate in the UCR is
high which makes it one of the more comprehensive studies. Weaknesses include the
fact that it is not 100% accurate, changes in local laws can cause information spikes, and
data is slow in coming out. It only measures crime that is reported and it does not
account for errors in reporting. Some weaknesses for the NIBRs is that it only collects
data on reported crime, does not detect crimes that do not come to the attention of the
police, and the reporting process is so cumbersome that a few agencies participate. A
strength is that the information is standardized across the US.
References
Mosher, C. J., Miethe, T. D., & Hart, T. C. (2011). Official Crime Data. In The Mismeasure of
Crime (2nd ed., pp. 65-116). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
National Institute of Justice. (2009, December 14). Sources of Crime Data: Uniform Crime
Reports and the National Incident-Based Reporting System. Retrieved from
https://www.nij.gov/topics/crime/pages/ucr-nibrs.aspx
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