Murder Data Comparison

Murder Data Comparison

Crime is a behavioral trait inherent to the human species that causes an individual or group of individuals to conduct themselves in a manner that violates laws as set by the governing  branch of societal structure (Schmalleger, 2012). Historical records of mankind indicates various methods of tracking criminal activity, and development of a hierarchy of criminal behavior intensity. For example, theft is normally considered a lower intensity crime than murder. In modern society, law enforcement agencies track criminal activity to provide statistical support for staffing models, budgeting, and comparison to similar crimes over a specified period of time, and against other crimes. This permits law enforcement with better ways to plan strategic reponses, perform research and development, and implement new policies to address criminal activities based on the level of priority (Schmalleger, 2012).

Data collected on local levels is also shared with other government agencies to produce larger comparison models that are used to understand the reasons for variations of similar crimes in different cities. Reasons for variations can be the result of higher staffing levels in local law enforcement staffing, differences in socioeconomic conditions, cultural differences, and other factors that directly influence specific types of crime (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2011). A major concern for accurate statistic reporting is commonly referred to as the dark figure of crime. The dark figure of crime relates to the unknown variable of unreported or unnoticed crimes that take place on a regular basis (Schmalleger, 2012). This variable may be less prominent in particular crimes like murder, but the potential for a murder to go unreported is viable.

The Uniform Crime Report

The uniform crime report resulted from the need to develop a federal tracking method of criminal activity in the United States. Initiated by the International Association of Chiefs of Police in 1929, the process was assigned to the Federal Bureau of Investigations in 1930 (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2012). The program, appropriately named the Uniform Crime Report involved collecting, compiling, and archival of criminal statistics received from various law enforcement agencies throughout the United States (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2012). The program relies on data collected from 18,000 law enforcement agencies that range from various levels of state and federal levels, and includes data from tribal nations (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2012). These reports include data related to specific crime categories and are sorted by locality on an annual basis. The report is used by law enforcement to detect effectiveness of operational policies and procedures, develop new programs, and adapt policy changes designed to reduce criminal activity (Schmalleger, 2012). The report compares criminal activity ranging from auto theft to murder, and geographic information like city, state, and population (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2012).  Since the inception of the program, multiple variations of the report have been developed to include issues like hate crimes, human trafficking, and new definitions of existing crimes like rape (Federal Bureau of  Investigations, 2012).

Murder Statistics for Honolulu and San Jose

Considering most people choose to look up reports related to their primary geographic location, I chose to compare two cities from two different states from where I reside. The primary consideration for the selection was population and location of the cities. In 2011, Honolulu and San Jose had almost identical populations, but very different crime statistics. The population of Honolulu in 2010 was 953,297 and 963,465 in 2011 (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2012) and San Jose was 945,942 in 2010 and 957,062 in 2011(Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2012), but the murder rates showed a dramatic difference with Honolulu recording 19 cases in 2010 and 7 cases in 2011 (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2012), whereas San Jose recorded 20 cases in 2010 and 39 cases in 2011 (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2012). Reports indicate that murder rates in Honolulu were reduced whereas the population increased, and in San Jose the murder rate increased as did the population (Federal Bureau of Investigations, 2012).

Influences on Differences

An important factor to consider when reviewing these reports is that they only include statistics of crimes that have been solved or removed from active status for lack of enough supporting evidence to make an official arrest (Schmalleger, 2012). Another important consideration are the factors like criminal activity going unreported, or drunk driving that also influence the statistical data of murders recorded in these two cities. The third major consideration is the legal definition of the crime as reported. One must differentiate between legal and illegal justifications for taking the like of another human being. For example, an individual how knowingly and willingly stabs another person to death for no justifiable reason would be committing an act of murder, whereas an individual who shoots and kills a home invader during and assault would be committing an act of legal self-defense (Schmallger, 2012).

Conclusion

Criminal activity is an issue that has plagued society since the earliest recordings of organized civilization. The definition of criminal activity may vary based on societal and cultural norms for a specified time period. For example, in ancient Rome, murder was regular practice, whereas in modern day society, the same activities would be illegal. Tracking crime has evolved along with society, and the demands for new forms of reporting grow as definitions of crime change, and new methods of addressing criminal activity are implemented. Tools like the uniform crime report are just one, but a very important tool used by law enforcement to determine specific crime rates, provide historical tracking data, and develop new techniques related to crime reduction.

References

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (2012). Uniform crime reporting. Retrieved August 23, 2013, from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr

Federal Bureau of Investigations. (2011). Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics: Their Proper Use. Retrieved from http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/ucr-statistics-their-proper-use

 Federal Bureau of Investigations. (2012). Uniform crime reporting statistics: Honolulu, Hawaii. Retrieved from http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/Local/RunCrimeOneYearofData.cfm

 Federal Bureau of Investigations. (2012). Uniform crime reporting statistics: San Jose, California. Retrieved from http://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/Local/RunCrimeOneYearofData.cfm

Schmalleger, F. (2012). Criminology today: An Integrative introduction. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.