Subject and Course Guides: CRCJ 2334 Intro to Criminal Justice System: Data and Statistics Sources

This guide is designed to assist you with the signature assignment for CRCJ 2334 Introduction to Criminal Justice Systems. Please refer to your syllabus for specific instructions for the assignment. Use the navigation panel to the left to navigate to different topics. Students may also reach out to their subject librarian via e-mail or the appointment scheduler for a one-on-one research consultation. Appointments can be held in-person or virtually.

Self-Report Study

Unlike other resources you will be asked to examine for this assignment, there is no single official self-report study. This is a methodology that researchers might use to answer specific types of research questions. To understand when and why a researcher might use a self-report study you can use the database below. You can also look for examples in the library catalog by using the search phrase: "self-report study" AND crime.

SAGE Research Methods This link opens in a new window
An online search tool that provides information and instruction on research methods. It is aimed at university students, researchers, and faculty and is designed to answer methods questions that arise during the various steps of the research process, including the literature search, review, research design, data collection, analysis, and write up.
SAGE Research Methods is a research methods tool created to help researchers, faculty and students with their research projects. SAGE Research Methods contains content from over 720 books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, the entire “Little Green Book”, the "Little Blue Book” series, two major works collating a selection of journal articles, and specially commissioned videos. Researchers can explore methods and concepts to help them design research projects, understand particular methods or identify a new method, conduct their research, and write up their findings. Since SAGE Research Methods focuses on methodology rather than disciplines, it can be used across the social sciences, health sciences, and more.

National Crime Victimization Survey

National Crime Victimization Survey
The BJS National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is the nation's primary source of information on criminal victimization. Each year, data are obtained from a nationally representative sample of about 240,000 persons in about 150,000 households. Persons are interviewed on the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization in the United States.
NCVS Methodology and Data
This page describes the methods used to gather data for the National Crime Victimization Survey and provides access to the data collected.
NACJD- National Crime Victimization Survey Learning Guide
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
NACJD hosts several large-scale datasets, including the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), and the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN).

Uniform Crime Reports and NIBRS

FBI Crime Data Explorer
Crime data for the nation are derived from Summary Reporting System (SRS) and National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) reports voluntarily submitted to the FBI for the Unified Crime Reporting (UCR) program.
NIBRS Information
This website outlines the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) which has become the national standard for law enforcement crime data reporting in the United States.
The Texas Uniform Crime Reporting Program
The objective of the Uniform Crime Reporting program is to produce reliable crime statistics for law enforcement administration, operation, and management. This information is also available as a measure of the fluctuations in the type and volume of crime in Texas. The means utilized to obtain these objectives are: to measure the extent, fluctuation, distribution, and nature of crime through the collection of data on the eight serious Crime Index Offenses; to measure the total volume of serious crime known to police; to show the activity and coverage of law enforcement agencies through arrest counts and police employee strength data.

Definitions:

Unified Crime Reporting (UCR) Program- The overall plan implemented by the FBI to improve the quality of crime data collected by law enforcement and reported to the FBI. This program was started in the 1930s.

Summary Reporting System (SRS)- The system and its accompanying guidelines that local law enforcement agencies used up until Jan. 1, 2021 to submit data to the FBI.

National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS- pronounced "Nye-bers")- A more detailed system and set of guidelines used for reporting by local law enforcement agencies that replaced SRS on Jan. 1, 2021. NIBRS data provides circumstances and context like location, time of day, and whether the incident was cleared.

Campus Crime Statistics

UTA Police Department Public Information
Crime reports and statistics gathered and reported by the UTA Police Department.
CLERY Handbook (2016)
The most current Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting. This document describes how crime statistics should be reported on college campuses.
The Clery Center
Website that gives background information on the origin and intended impact of the Jeanne Clery Act which requires colleges and universities to report campus crime data, support victims of violence, and publicly outline the policies and procedures they have put into place to improve campus safety.

FOIA and PIA

Do police departments have to report crime statistics? Yes and no. As government agencies police departments are generally subject to government legislation that requires them to provide certain information when requested. There are limits to what information can be requested, and there is no requirement that the information must be made available online. This is why you will find some cities that provide detailed crime maps and extensive reports publicly online and other cities provide nothing at all online.

Texas Public Information Act
This website explains the Texas Public Information Act. The PIA generally requires a governmental body to release information in response to a request for information. However, if a governmental body determines the information is excepted from disclosure under the PIA, then both the request and information at issue must be reviewed by the Open Records Division (ORD). The ORD will issue a decision on whether the governmental body is permitted to withhold the requested information or must release the information to the requestor.
Texas Municipal League PIA Resources
Additional resources that explain the Public Information Act and how municipalities (cities) must comply with the act.
About the Freedom of Information Act
Since 1967, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has provided the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. It is often described as the law that keeps citizens in the know about their government. Federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested under the FOIA unless it falls under one of nine exemptions which protect interests such as personal privacy, national security, and law enforcement.