M2 Readings

Question 1

What type of statistics provide an overview of criminal activity?

Answer 1

Crime Statistics

Question 2

T/F- If crime statistics are used properly, a statistical picture of crime can serve as a powerful tool for creating social policy

Answer 2

True

Question 3

What are the 4 reasons officials rely on crime data

Answer 3

1) Analyze and evaluate existing programs
2) Design new crime-control activities
3) Develop funding requests
4) Plan new laws

Question 4

Why has the objectivity of crime statistics been questioned( 2 reasons)

Answer 4

1) Social events like crime are complex and hard to quantify
2) The choice of which crimes to include in statistical reports may be biased

Question 5

T/F-Public opinion about crime is not always realistic and is greatly influenced by the news media

Answer 5

True

Question 6

What are the two main sources of national crime statistics?

Answer 6

1) Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR/NIBRS), run by the FBI
2) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), run by the Bureau of Justice Statistics

Question 7

What are the two other sources of national crime statistics besides the main two?

Answer 7

1) Offender self-reports
2) Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics

Question 8

A statistical reporting program run by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) division. The *** Program publishes Crime in the
United States, which provides an annual summation of the incidence and rate of reported crimes throughout the United States. This program is called

Answer 8

Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR)

Question 9

An annual survey of selected American households conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics to determine the extent of criminal victimization- especially unreported victimization in the US. This survey is called

Answer 9

National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)

Question 10

A US department of Justice agency responsible for the collection of criminal justice data, including the annual National Crime Victimization Survey is know as the

Answer 10

Bureau of Justice Statistics

Question 11

Crime measures based on surveys that ask respondents to reveal any illegal activity in which they have been involved. These types of reports may provide knowledge about previously unreported crimes. This term is defined as

Answer 11

Self-reports

Question 12

Crime that is not reported to justice agencies, and which is generally not known to the police ( unless it is otherwise discovered. This term is known as

Answer 12

Unreported Crime

Question 13

The most widely quoted numbers of crime data more than likely come which which main source?

Answer 13

Uniform Crime Reporting Program

Question 14

Which source can be described as a compilation of national information on crime and on the criminal justice system?

Answer 14

The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics

Question 15

When did Congress first authorize the FBI to collect crime data?

Answer 15

1930

Question 16

Approximately how many law enforcement agencies at all levels provide information?

Answer 16

16,800

Question 17

What were the 7 original crimes that were included in the Crime Index? What crime was added in 1979?

Answer 17

Murder
Rape
Robbery
Aggravated Assault
Burglary
Larceny-theft
Motor-vehicle theft

Added in 1979: Arson

Question 18

T/F- Out of 1000 serious crimes, 500 are unreported and undiscovered

Answer 18

True

Question 19

T/F- Out of 500 crimes reported to police. 400 are unsolved

Answer 19

True

Question 20

T/F- Out of 100 people arrested, only 30 go to trial

Answer 20

True

Question 21

T/F- Out of 30 cases in trial, 27 will plead guilty and the other 2* will be found guilty

Answer 21

True

Question 22

A now defunct but once inclusive measure
of the UCR Program’s violent and property crime categories.
or what are called Part I offenses. The** Index, long featured in the FBI’s publication Crime in the United Stares, was
discontinued in 2004. The index had been intended as a tool for geographic (state-to-state) and historical (year-to-year) comparisons via the use of crime rates ( the number of crimes per unit of population). However, criticism that the index was misleading arose after researchers found that the largest of the index’s crime categories, larceny-theft, carried undue weight and led to an under appreciation of changes in the rates of more violent and serious crimes. This index is called the

Answer 22

Crime Index

Question 23

An incident-based reporting system that collects detailed data on every single crime occurrence. This kind of data is replacing the kinds of summary data that have traditionally been
provided by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program

Answer 23

National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS

Question 24

When did the FBI’s CJIS Advisory Policy Board officially discontinued the use of the Crime Index?

Answer 24

2004

Question 25

If a police department closes a case, does that mean the UCR considers the case to be cleared?

Answer 25

No, an arrest must be made or they must know who committed the crime but are unable to arrest them due to death or etc

Question 26

When is a crime cleared by arrest?

Answer 26

The UCR Program considers a crime to be cleared by arrest if three conditions are met. To clear a crime by arrest, at least one person has been (1) arrested, (2) charged with committing the crime, and (3) turned over to the court for prosecution. Remember that one arrest may clear multiple crimes.

Question 27

When is a crime cleared by exceptional means?

Answer 27

Even if a law enforcement agency cannot arrest and formally charge an offender, it may be possible to clear the case exceptionally if four conditions are met. To clear a crime by exceptional means, the agency must have (1) identified the offender; (2) gathered enough evidence to support an arrest, make a charge, and turn the offender over to the court for prosecution; (3) identified the offender’s exact location so that the suspect could be taken into custody immediately; and (4) encountered a circumstance outside the control of law enforcement that prohibits the agency from arresting, charging, and prosecuting the offender

Question 28

What are some examples of exceptional clearances?

Answer 28

Some examples of exceptional clearances include the death of the offender; the victim’s refusal to cooperate with the prosecution after the offender has been identified; or the denial of extradition because the offender committed a crime in another jurisdiction and is being prosecuted for that offense.