2 Measuring Crime Free Online FlashCards

What do official crime statistics primarily measure?

They compile incidents known to law enforcement, so they do not count every crime.

What kinds of details does NIBRS record?

NIBRS records details about individual incidents, including offenses, victims, and known offenders.

What is one advantage of NIBRS over older summary reporting?

Unlike older summary reporting, NIBRS can record multiple offenses within one incident and provide more detail.

Why might an offense be absent from official crime statistics?

An offense may be missing if it was not reported, was not identified or classified as a crime, or was not included in complete agency data.

Why can official crime statistics be hard to compare across places or years?

Differences in reporting and recording practices can make comparisons across places or years difficult.

How does the NCVS collect information about crime?

The NCVS asks a representative sample of people in U.S. households about experiences with selected crimes, whether or not they reported them to police.

What does the NCVS estimate and describe?

It estimates nonfatal personal and household-property victimization and gathers details such as incident circumstances and whether the crime was reported.

Why are NCVS estimates subject to sampling error?

Because the NCVS surveys a sample rather than everyone, its estimates are subject to sampling error.

Name two limits of the NCVS beyond sampling error.

Respondents may forget incidents or be unwilling to disclose them, and the survey cannot measure every type of crime.

What do self-report studies ask participants?

They ask people whether, and how often, they have committed specified offenses.

How can anonymous or confidential self-report surveys help researchers?

Anonymous or confidential surveys can encourage candid answers and help researchers examine the circumstances and frequency of offending.

What are common sources of error in self-report studies?

Respondents may forget, misunderstand a question, exaggerate, or conceal behavior.