Uniform Crime Data Report
The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program was conceived in 1929 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to meet a need for reliable, uniform crime statistics for the nation. In 1930, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) was tasked with collecting, publishing, and archiving those statistics (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2007). Today, the FBI produces a Uniform Crime Report (UCR) annually for all fifty (50) states and the cities within those states from statistic collected from all police enforcement agencies. The UCR lists violent crimes and property crimes and categorizes each separate crime under those offenses. I have selected to discuss the crime of larceny theft for the two (2) metropolitan areas of Washington D.C., Washington, and Chicago, Illinois. In the following I will identify the number of occurrences, what the rates were, did the rates change over time, and what factors could explain a change for both areas. First, larceny theft is typically defined as the taking of almost anything of value without the consent of the owner, with the intent to permanently deprive him or her of the value of the property taken. The two areas for the purposes of this paper do not include weapons used to commit the theft. Most states recognize degrees of theft, such as "grand" or "petty," which usually relate to the value of the property taken (Your Dictionary, 2007). For the two areas I have chosen, identity theft is included for the intention of data calculated under larceny theft. Wile researching the UCR, I was able to find statistics for the calendar years of 2001 until 2005 for both metropolitan areas. Below is a table for each area for viewing purposes only in which the year, population, and statistics for the crime are listed.
Chicago-Illinois
Year Population Larceny Theft
2001 2,910,707 97,496
2002 2,938,297 96,380
2003 2,898,224 96,779
2004 2,882,515 93,375
2005 2,873,130 83,373
2006 2,842,150 83,507
Washington
Chicago-Illinois
Year Population Larceny Theft
2001 2,910,707 97,496
2002 2,938,297 96,380
2003 2,898,224 96,779
2004 2,882,515 93,375
2005 2,873,130 83,373
2006 2,842,150 83,507
Washington
References: 1. Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2007 retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/rankingmessage.htm 2. District of Columbia Crime rates 1960-2006 retrieved from http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/dccrime.htm 3. Uniform Crime Reports and Index of Crime in Chicago in the State of Illinois enforced by Chicago Police from 1985 to 2005 retrieved from http://www.disastercenter.com/illinois/crime/3111.htm 4. Your Dictionary 2007 retrieved from http://www.yourdictionary.com/larceny