Training Course in the Analysis of Crime and the Criminal Justice System, Module 3 - Refining Crime Measures

• NCJ Number: 82348
• Author(s): R Hardt
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 0 pages
• Publication Format: Film
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. 2 videotapes, total running time 36 minutes, black and white, 1 inch - Part of the training course in the Analysis of Crime and the Criminal Justice System. See also NCJ-82345-82355 and NCJ-82357 for other videotapes. There is no Module 10 in this series; it was a training exercise.

Annotation

The use of crime indicators in data analysis and the difficulties posed by the variety of crime measures used and the different data collection techniques are examined.

Abstract

As a policy tool, crime indicators are useful in assessing the nature of a community's crime threat and the pressures on the system to handle cases. One of the principal sources of data for analysis is the Uniform Crime Summaries. However, major difficulties arise in the use of crime data, even if similar rules are applied in data collection. Differences may exist in techniques for counting victims or incidents, making comparisons impossible, and compound incidents or series of incidents are usually only counted in one category, leading to undercounting. Principal indicators for trend analysis can be defined as (1) crime volume, which may be measured as incidence (i.e., period counts) or as prevalence (i.e, point counts); (2) risk of crime, measured as a rate that varies with the method of calculation; and (3) harm from crime or seriousness of crime, which may be estimated through such factors as common loss value. Indexing systems have been established to ascertain the seriousness of offenses. The best known of these is the Wolfgang and Sellin System which considers hospitalization, financial loss, use of weapons, and forcible entry as crime seriousness measures. Another system describes seriousness as a function of convictions and sentence length for particular offenses. Moreover, harm units can be calculated for Index crimes to facilitate neighborhood comparisons. Planners in separate communities are encouraged to calculate seriousness scores according to criteria deemed appropriate for their own setting.