CCJS 300 Exam #2 questions and
answers passed
Definition of UCR - correct answer ✔✔annual FBI publication of official statistics of crimes
reported by the police
Facts about the UCR - correct answer ✔✔-it is the most widely cited on crime of all the
methodological sources to be discussed
-it is the compilation and publication of national crime statistics
What are the two parts of the UCR and define them - correct answer ✔✔-Index Crimes (Part 1
crimes): consist of violent and property crimes and have selected for special analysis because of
their seriousness, frequency of occurrence and likelihood of being reported to the police
-Nonindex Crimes (Part 2 crimes): consists of twenty two other crimes (twenty one excluding
arson
Categories of crime and types of crime within Index crimes - correct answer ✔✔-Violent crime:
murder and non negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault
-Property crime: burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson (listed but not counted)
Types of crime in Nonindex crimes - correct answer ✔✔simple assault, vandalism, gambling,
drunkenness
,Crime rate - correct answer ✔✔expressed as the # of crimes per unit population (often 100,000
population). This allows for the standardization of population size so we can compare data more
easily
Factors affecting the UCR - correct answer ✔✔-UCR only records recorded crime, but recorded
statistics only represent a portion of true crime statistics
-Better communication, recording and reporting of crimes can influence crime statistics, as seen
in the jump in crime beginning in the mid 1960s-1970s
-Citizen morality (whether citizens choose to report a crime)
-most federal cases, "victimless" crimes and white collar crimes are not contained in the UCR.
Thus, analysis of crime may only reflect the poor and inept criminal
-changes in police administration, politics, and better attention to record keeping
-in the case of a multiple offense, only the most serious crime is recorded
Limitation of the crime index - correct answer ✔✔The crime index represents only a portion of
the crime in a community. It is also affected by better policing and better recording of crime and
better reporting of crime
Related UCR issues - correct answer ✔✔-Demographic shifts may provide some explanation for
rapidly rising or falling crime rates. For example, in the 1980s people forecasted a crime dip
-greater reliance on longer sentences, incarceration and incapacitation of serious offenders,
decline in UCR programs and decline in the # of police per capita
, The Crime Dip Example - correct answer ✔✔-Between 1993-1997 index crimes dropped over
20%
-some causes may have been a healthy economy, crime prevention programs, decline in
domestic violence, an incarceration binge, compstat and community policing, decline in the
crack epidemic, abortion
Hot spots - correct answer ✔✔high-crime areas where police can concentrate their efforts
UCR Redesign (definition and facts) - correct answer ✔✔-changes that have been
recommended in the UCR in order to take advantage of new computer technology
-beginning in 1977 there was a call for major revision and after 10 years, major revisions were
completed
-Major change was conversion into the NIBRS
NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System) - correct answer ✔✔-the unit-reporting
system used in the redesigned UCR in which each local law enforcement agency reports on each
individual arrest
-uses 52 data elements to describe victims, offenders, arrestees and the circumstances of the
crime
Sampling - correct answer ✔✔a process of selecting a subset of observations for the purpose of
drawing conclusion about the underlying population
Sampling frame - correct answer ✔✔this is the initial step in selecting a sample, it is a complete
list of the population or universe that one is interested in studying
answers passed
Definition of UCR - correct answer ✔✔annual FBI publication of official statistics of crimes
reported by the police
Facts about the UCR - correct answer ✔✔-it is the most widely cited on crime of all the
methodological sources to be discussed
-it is the compilation and publication of national crime statistics
What are the two parts of the UCR and define them - correct answer ✔✔-Index Crimes (Part 1
crimes): consist of violent and property crimes and have selected for special analysis because of
their seriousness, frequency of occurrence and likelihood of being reported to the police
-Nonindex Crimes (Part 2 crimes): consists of twenty two other crimes (twenty one excluding
arson
Categories of crime and types of crime within Index crimes - correct answer ✔✔-Violent crime:
murder and non negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault
-Property crime: burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson (listed but not counted)
Types of crime in Nonindex crimes - correct answer ✔✔simple assault, vandalism, gambling,
drunkenness
,Crime rate - correct answer ✔✔expressed as the # of crimes per unit population (often 100,000
population). This allows for the standardization of population size so we can compare data more
easily
Factors affecting the UCR - correct answer ✔✔-UCR only records recorded crime, but recorded
statistics only represent a portion of true crime statistics
-Better communication, recording and reporting of crimes can influence crime statistics, as seen
in the jump in crime beginning in the mid 1960s-1970s
-Citizen morality (whether citizens choose to report a crime)
-most federal cases, "victimless" crimes and white collar crimes are not contained in the UCR.
Thus, analysis of crime may only reflect the poor and inept criminal
-changes in police administration, politics, and better attention to record keeping
-in the case of a multiple offense, only the most serious crime is recorded
Limitation of the crime index - correct answer ✔✔The crime index represents only a portion of
the crime in a community. It is also affected by better policing and better recording of crime and
better reporting of crime
Related UCR issues - correct answer ✔✔-Demographic shifts may provide some explanation for
rapidly rising or falling crime rates. For example, in the 1980s people forecasted a crime dip
-greater reliance on longer sentences, incarceration and incapacitation of serious offenders,
decline in UCR programs and decline in the # of police per capita
, The Crime Dip Example - correct answer ✔✔-Between 1993-1997 index crimes dropped over
20%
-some causes may have been a healthy economy, crime prevention programs, decline in
domestic violence, an incarceration binge, compstat and community policing, decline in the
crack epidemic, abortion
Hot spots - correct answer ✔✔high-crime areas where police can concentrate their efforts
UCR Redesign (definition and facts) - correct answer ✔✔-changes that have been
recommended in the UCR in order to take advantage of new computer technology
-beginning in 1977 there was a call for major revision and after 10 years, major revisions were
completed
-Major change was conversion into the NIBRS
NIBRS (National Incident-Based Reporting System) - correct answer ✔✔-the unit-reporting
system used in the redesigned UCR in which each local law enforcement agency reports on each
individual arrest
-uses 52 data elements to describe victims, offenders, arrestees and the circumstances of the
crime
Sampling - correct answer ✔✔a process of selecting a subset of observations for the purpose of
drawing conclusion about the underlying population
Sampling frame - correct answer ✔✔this is the initial step in selecting a sample, it is a complete
list of the population or universe that one is interested in studying
