• 
Bureau of Prison officers 
• 
Private security officers 
All of these official statistics are a great starting point, although, recognize they are imperfect in nature. Police 
agencies can change their attention to certain events, which can change the overall number of arrests. For 
example, if police begin cracking down on domestic violence the statistics may go up. This crackdown can 
make it appear that the problem has increased, although it can be related to the crackdown. Just remember, 
if the crime is not reported, or no arrest is made it will not get captured in the data. 
Bureau of Justice Statistics Exercise 
The BJS is relatively user-friendly. Look at crime statistics by state, region, or city, and explore different years 
and crime types. 
https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=datool&surl=/arrests/index.cfm 
Examine current state AND city crime trends in the past five years. 
Second, pick a state AND city interested in living in and examine the crime trends for the past five years. 
 
ALISON S. BURKE, DAVID CARTER, BRIAN FEDOREK, TIFFANY MOREY, LORE RUTZ-BURRI, AND SHANELL
SANCHEZ
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