Crime Reporting and Rates Response Essay

What is the purpose of the major crime – reporting programs? What makes a successful crime reporting program in the U.S.? The purpose of major crime – reporting programs is to keep track to see if crime is decreasing or increasing in the various communities. Also to keep track of the heaviest crime stricken areas to determine if police patrol needs to be increased. Also to keep track of which crime is being committed the most in the various communities as well. The most successful crime – reporting program in the U.S. is the UCR (Uniform Crime Report) it includes both crimes reported local law enforcement departments and the number of arrest made by the police agencies. It also compiles records from more than 17,000 police departments serving a majority of the U.S. population. The UCR also collects data on the number and characteristics (age, race, and gender) of individuals who have been arrested for committing a crime. How do crime rates relate to arrest rates and clearance rates? Is there a way to improve the correlation between crime rates arrest rates and clearance rates in the effort to combat criminal activity? Crime rates relate to arrest rates by the UCR and the NIBRS (The National Incident – Base Reporting System. The higher the crime rate the higher the arrest rate is. Greater population areas tend to have higher crime rates, although clearance rates are generally uniform across the nation. To combat criminal activity the police departments can utilize the UCR to most effectively deploy their officers to areas where they are most needed. Clearance rates are the percentage of crimes that have been closed by arrest.