Crime Statistics –
Often we hear, “crime is up”, “crime is down” or “crime is unchanged” for a specific time period. You may ask how your police department knows if crime is decreasing, increasing or not changing at all. The data is captured from crime statistics.
What are crime statistics?
Crime statistics are the number of crimes reported to police department. Concord Police Department compiles the number of crimes reported on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Advancements in technology has greatly eased the collection and sorting of reported crimes. The Concord Police Department uses various software applications to track and compile crime statistics.
What types of crimes are counted for statistical purposes?
Nationally, many types of crimes are tracked and reported in the Uniformed Crime Report (UCR). Concord Police Department like a majority of police departments volunteer to track and report what is known as Part I and Part II crimes. Part I crimes are also known as “index crimes” The UCR Program collects offense information for murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson. These are Part I offenses and are serious crimes by nature and/or volume. Part II crimes are less serious offenses. These statistics are reported to the Federal and State Bureaus of Investigations.
How does Concord Police Department use crime statistics?
Concord Police Department uses crime statistics for:
Accountability
Problem-solving
Manpower Allocations
Funding requests for additional manpower and resources
Policies and procedures development and implementation
Development of initiatives, programs and strategies to combat and/or prevent crime
Citizen awareness about crime trends
Planning and research
Are crime statistics the only source used by Concord Police Department to evaluate crime?
No. Concord Police Department uses other sources such as officer knowledge and information from citizens. As previously stated, crime statistics are merely the number of crimes reported to police departments. Crime statistics are often reported in “percentages”, on the surface the numbers can be misinterpreted and sometimes frightening. Let’s say for example crime statistics show that during the month of March, zero larcenies occurred, however in April one larceny occurred. The percentage will show an increase of 100%. Which appears more alarming, 1 or 100%?
Perception of crime, actual crime and crime analysis
If only the numbers or percentages are viewed, it may be perceived that crime is running rampant, when in actuality it is not. Viewing crime statistics in this manner increases the perception or fear of crime, and has the potential to psychologically affect our sense of security and quality of life. This is why it is important to look beyond the numbers and gather additional information about crime. This is often referred to as crime analysis.
Crime analysis looks beneath the numbers to find out why an offense may be decreasing or increasing. Crime analysis looks for variables and/or commonalities that may be causing the change in crime. Crime analysis takes into consideration factors such as population density, day of week, time, location, victim(s), habits, etc. It is only then that police can begin addressing or problem-solving to reduce or remove the opportunity for the crime to continuously reoccur.
How can I find out more about crime statistics?
To learn about the history of crime statistics and Uniform Crime Reports, visit
Federal - www.fbi.gov
State - www.ncdoj.com.
Local – Contact Capt. B. Crump - Concord Police Department, 704-920-5010 or email
