3 Types of Crime Measurement
By: Vika • Essay • 989 Words • December 14, 2009 • 3,006 Views
Essay title: 3 Types of Crime Measurement
Criminologist attempt to determine the extent and nature of delinquency using three
types of measurement. Uniform Crime Reports, victimization surveys and self report
studies all have similar purposes of concluding the trends in different crimes and
suggesting the attention of problematic issues. Although, theses types of crime
measurement all have the same aim, results vary tremendously between them. Each
type of measurement is conducted by a different group that hold their own techniques
of gathering information.
In the United States, the Uniform Crime Report has been the most relied upon.
The FBI gathers all their information from police agencies around the world. The
results come from recorded police reports which collect data on about 95% of the
population. The UCR breaks down crimes into part 1 and part 2 offenses. Part 1
offenses include eight crimes being either violent or property offenses. These are the
more serious crimes, while part 2 offenses include all other minor crimes except for
traffic violations.
While the UCR measures the extent of crime through police reports,
victimization surveys view crime through interviewing people about their experiences
as victims. The Bureau of Justice Statistics conducts interviews on a national sample
of households. The results for each household remains in the sample for a few years.
The victimization survey measures only part 1 index crimes and excludes homicide
and arson because the victims are impossible to interview or very difficult to account
for.
The third way of measuring crime is through self report surveys. Anonymous
questionnaires are usually distributed amongst juveniles in places such as a school
setting. The questionnaire relies on the individual's honesty in admitting his/her own
criminal acts. Similar to victims surveys and police reports, self report surveys also
adds its own distinct dimension to our knowledge about crime.
Being each way of measuring crime looks at different aspects, the results can
be both compared and contrasted in many areas. One area in question is the extent of
delinquency and the amount of offenders. Who commits acts of delinquency?
According to the Uniform Crime Report juvenile delinquency is considered an act that
few engage in. Only 6% of people, named chronic offenders by the Wolfgang study,
are said to contribute to half of all crimes. Directly opposing these findings from the
UCR are the results of the self report studies. Self report studies have found that
almost all juveniles have committed some type of act of delinquency. Delinquency is
seen on a continuum with the more delinquent people who frequently commit crimes
that are more serious in nature at the higher end.
Not only do findings differ among the percentage of people who commit
juvenile crimes but they also differ in explaining the most popular juvenile crimes.
Basically all of the 3 types of measurements do conclude that those under the age of 18
commit less violent offenses and more property offenses. However when it comes to
showing the most common violent offense, results differ once again. The UCR finds
robbery to be the most common violent juvenile offense. On the other hand, self
reports find that assaults are the most common.
When it comes to age and gender all 3 reports easily conclude that male
delinquency