Deck 7: Measuring Crime: the Ucr, Nibrs, and Ncvs

Question 1

Why is the UCR preferable for measuring homicide compared to the NCVS?

Answer 1

NCVS does not include homicide.

Question 2

Name three UCR Part I offenses.

Answer 2

Criminal homicide, forcible rape, arson, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary larceny, motor vehicle theft

Question 3

Why is it difficult for police data to provide accurate information on crimes such as prostitution and drug dealing?

Answer 3

They are "victimless crimes", so police are unlikely to get calls reporting these incidents.

Question 4

When comparing crime figures for different cities, why is it better to use the crime rate rather than raw crime numbers?

Question 5

How can we work to prevent telescoping while doing victimization or self-report surveys?

Question 6

Give two examples on how police can manipulate statistics when reporting crimes under the UCR?

Question 7

Which of the following is a summary measure?

A) UCR
B) NCVS
C) NIBRS
D) MTF

Question 8

Which measure uses the hierarchy rule to allow only the most serious crime in an incident to be reported?

A) NIBRS
B) UCR
C) NCVS
D) MTF

Question 9

Which measure divides crimes into Part A and Part B, including measurements of
"victimless crimes"?

A) NIBRS
B) UCR
C) NCVS
D) MTF

Question 10

Which survey includes interviews of households?

A) NIBRS
B) UCR
C) NCVS
D) MTF

Question 11

Where does the national crime victimization survey (NCVS) get data?

A) Police reports
B) Interviews in victim advocacy offices
C) Household surveys
D) Prison records

Question 12

How many crimes need to be in a "series" to be considered a series offense in the NCVS?

A) 1
B) 3
C) 6
D) 15

Question 13

A __________ rate allows us to learn the percentage of the population that was victimized at least once during a certain time period.

A) Incidence rate
B) Prevalence
C) Victimization rate
D) Crime rate

Question 14

An example(s) of a "victimless crime" is __________________.

A) Drug offense
B) Gambling
C) Prostitution
D) All of the Above

Question 15

NIBRS provides much more detailed information than the UCR.

Question 16

NIBRS was created by the FBI in 1930.

Question 17

NCVS is an FBI-run data collection initiative that publishes crime reported to the police.

Question 18

Both UCR and NIBRS follow the hierarchy rule.

Question 19

NCVS only includes victimizations for people 12 and older.

Question 20

One of the disadvantages to the UCR is that it does not include data on white collar crimes.

Question 21

UCR collects information on white collar crimes.

Question 22

NCVS uses a panel design to collect data over a period of years.

Question 23

The UCR samples households.

Question 24

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of the UCR to the NCVS in measuring crime.

Question 25

Compare the UCR and NIBRS in their ability to measure crime.

Question 26

______is run by the FBI and currently has over 97% of police departments submitting data to it.

Question 27

The __________ is a randomized household survey that takes place every 6 months with members of the household who are at least 12 years old.

Question 28

_____ involves researchers trying to prevent telescoping by doing a baseline interview and then asking respondents "since our last meeting…..".

Question 29

_______ is coordinated by the FBI and collects more more detailed information on crimes reported to the police compared to the UCR.

Question 30

A _____________ rate is the number of victims or households experiencing victimization during a given time period over the total number of persons or households multiplied by 100.

Question 31

A ________ is a much more useful statistic than the raw number of crimes committed in a particular city, since it allows us to compare crime data across cities with different populations.

Question 32

A ____________ is a number of crimes, similar in type that occur so frequently that victimz are unable to recall each individual event.