The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program has been the starting place for law enforcement executives, students of criminal justice, researchers, members of the media, and the public at large seeking information on crime in the nation. The program was conceived in 1929 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to meet the need for reliable uniform crime statistics for the nation. In 1930, the FBI was tasked with collecting, publishing, and archiving those statistics.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics also collects and disseminates statistics on the criminal justice system of the United States.
In this guide, you will learn more about the statistics from these programs available in Data Planet.
Exploring Criminal Justice Statistics in Sage Data
In Data Planet, the many indicators on the topic of criminal justice can be viewed as stand-alone trends, charts, or maps. For example, the chart below shows the trend over time of arrests for forgery and counterfeiting in New York:
Note the option for Table in the center tool bar. Also see the option to Create DOI (Digital Object Identifier) Link below the chart. The DOI ensures that you are able to return to an exact view of the chart with the same data as when you created it. After you provoke the link, view the result—at the top of the page you land on, you'll see an option to Go to Dataset, which will bring you back into Data Planet and subsequently allow you to see updated data for that particular dataset (if any).
Create a ranking of states by arrests of juveniles for arson, as in the chart below by clicking on the Rank button in the tool bar immediately above the chart. Use Ranking Chart Options to select the number of states to display, colors, etc.
In Data Planet, you can compare statistics within and across datasets. For example, in the chart below, the trend in confirmed crime rates for robberies across time is compared against the unemployment rate.
To select multiple indicators, hold down the control (Ctrl) key when clicking on the second (or third) item on the indicator tree. Try it yourself with other indicators, such as unemployment rates, median household income, etc., and more. Keep in mind that the graphs you create do not necessarily imply causality: the results may suggest a potential relationship between the variables you select, which may be an interesting line of inquiry for your own research.
Click here for more information on using Data Planet. In that guide, you'll find a video tutorial, and tips and tricks for using the Data Planet search and browse functions.
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting: Overview
Data on Arrests and Crimes Reported from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program are available in Data Planet. The UCR is a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of more than 17,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement agencies voluntarily reporting data on crimes brought to their attention. The UCR Program counts one arrest for each separate instance in which a person is arrested, cited, or summoned for an offense. Because a person may be arrested multiple times during the year, the UCR arrest figures do not reflect the number of individuals who have been arrested. Rather, the arrest data show the number of times that persons are arrested, as reported by law enforcement agencies to the UCR Program. The UCR system defines a "juvenile" as anyone under 18 years of age, regardless of state definitions.
The UCR Program also collects Offenses Known to Law Enforcement for violent and property crime types (Part I offenses). Each month, participating law enforcement agencies submit information on the number of Part I offenses known to them (crimes reported). Violent crime is composed of four offenses:
Violent crimes are defined in the UCR Program as those offenses which involve force or threat of force. Property crime includes the offenses of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson, in which there is no force or threat of force against the victims.
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Sample Statistics
Click on the links below to view sample charts, rankings, and maps relevant to criminal justice that were created in Data Planet. Within the tool, you can further manipulate the data and explore relationships between these indicators and other indicators in the vast Data Planet repository. Scroll below the chart to review the metadata describing the indicator. You'll also find a suggested citation and a link to update the chart with any new data that may have become available.
Bureau of Justice Sample Statistics
Click on the links below to view sample charts, rankings, and maps from the Bureau of Justice Statistics datasets that were created in Data Planet. Within the tool, you can further manipulate the data and explore relationships between these indicators and other indicators in the vast Data Planet repository. Scroll below the chart to review the metadata describing the indicator. You'll also find a suggested citation and a link to update the chart with any new data that may have become available.
Ranking of the top 10 states in terms of the number of arrests for all offenses in all age groups in 2016.
This shows the trend over time of arrests for weapon possession in New York, California, and New Jersey: