2.2. Official Statistics 
SHANELL SANCHEZ 
Despite being aware that crime does go unreported, it is still important to estimate and attempt to measure 
crime in the country. However, it is essential always to be aware of the data sources strengths and weaknesses 
when reading crime statistics. Also, be cautious of how changing data collection techniques may alter 
statistics. For example, if a survey never collected data on prescription drug abuse but then all of a sudden 
does it could seem like prescription drugs are being abused at high rates. However, it is most likely just 
because it is the first time the questions got asked and there are no comparison groups. 
Official statistics are gathered from various criminal justice agencies, such as the police and courts, and 
represent the total number of crimes reported to the police or the number of arrests made by that agency. 
Remember, if an officer uses discretion and does not arrest a person, even if a crime was committed, this does 
not get reported. 
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI’s) Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) is the largest, most common 
data on crime currently available. The UCR lists the number of crimes that were reported to the police 
and the number of arrests made. The link below can take you to the UCR homepage https://www.fbi.gov/
services/cjis/ucr. 
The UCR Program’s primary objective is to generate reliable information for use in law enforcement 
administration, operation, and management. Various groups and agencies rely upon the UCR crime data, 
such as law enforcement executives, students, researchers, the media, and the public at large seeking 
information on crime in the nation. 
1 The UCR began in 1929 by the International Association of Chiefs of 
Police to meet the need for reliable uniform crime statistics for the nation. In 1930, the FBI was tasked with 
collecting, publishing, and archiving those statistics. Every year there are four annual publications produced 
from data received from more than 18,000 city, university and college, county, state, tribal, and federal law 
enforcement agencies voluntarily participating in the program. 
2 
The UCR Program consists of four data collections: The National Incident-Based Reporting System 
(NIBRS), the Summary Reporting System (SRS), the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted 
(LEOKA) Program, and the Hate Crime Statistics Program. The UCR also publishes special reports on 
Cargo Theft, Human Trafficking, and NIBRS topical studies. The UCR Program will manage the new 
National Use-of-Force Data Collection. 
1. U.S. Department of Justice. (2017). UCR Reports 
2. U.S. Department of Justice. (2017). UCR Reports 
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