How is Delinquency
Measured?
vs.
Men’s Basketball
Sat @ 3pm
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Ways to Measure
Delinquency
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Official Statistics
Self-Report Data
Victimization Data
Official Statistics
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FBI Uniform Crime Report (UCR)
– http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm
– Go to “Crime in the United States; 2005;
“Offenses known to the police”
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Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Program (OJJDP)
– http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/
– Go to “Tools for you section”
Official Statistics: The UCR
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Focuses on crimes reported and/or
cleared by the police
Divided into 2 parts (pg. 24 of text)
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Part I Offenses (Index Crimes)
– Crimes of Violence
– Crimes of Property
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Part II Offenses
Strengths of the UCR
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Standardized definitions
Collected from all over the U.S.
Provide long-term info. on crime
trends
Limitations/Criticisms of the
UCR
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Underreporting
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Dark figure of crime
Police do not catch or arrest offender
Bias in Reporting
Not all crimes are recorded
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This is changing w/ the development of the
NIBRS
Self-Report Data
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Designed to reveal and measure
undetected and unreported instances
of juvenile delinquency.
Questionnaires & Interviews
Example
– National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
(NLSY)
Self-Report Data: Strengths
Helps w/underrepoting issue
 More detailed information can be
obtained

Self-Report Data:
Weaknesses

Subject bias

Money & Time
Self-Report Data:
Weaknesses Continued

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Underestimate
serious delinquency
Limited Subject
Pool/Sample Bias
Victimization Data
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Asks people about their experiences as
victims
National Crime Victimization Survey
(NCVS)
– Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
Victimization Data:
Strengths


Helps w/ the underreporting issue
More detailed information on:
– characteristics of crimes
– characteristics of victims
– perceived characteristics of the offender
– circumstances surrounding the crime
– rates of reporting
Victimization Data:
Weaknesses
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Limited Scope
Interviewer Bias
Subject Bias