Criminology 102

Seminar 2

Collecting Data on CrimeUCR-collected by FBI from around 17,000

police departments.The best most widely known source of

crime statistics in the United States.

StrengthsThe most widely reaching source of data.Great at picking up patterns of crime.Gets some demographic information like

age, race, gender

WeaknessesMethodological issues including

Lack of reporting by many police departments so crime is underestimated

When the offender commits multiple crimes only the most serious is documented leaving out all others from the statistics

Police departments may consider and label crimes a bit differently

National Crime Victimization SurveyDeveloped to pick up on things the UCR

missesCan compare the amount of victim reports

with UCR reports and uncover the “Dark Figures of Crime”

Allows victims who did not report a voice.Are able to gather more in depth

information about the crime and the victims

Self Report SurveysAllows some to actually confess when they

have not been caught and these figures can also be compared to UCR

Sometimes the criminals have the worse memories of their crimes

Can under or over reportSelf report surveys are anonymous so

actually they have found people are usually honest

The Media and CrimeHow does the media portray crime in your

area?Do you ever get tired of hearing only about

crime?How powerful do you think the media is?Who uses the media in relationship to

crime?What are some changes that could be

made?