The Uniform Crime Reporting Survey Essay - 1334 Words

Canada has two prominent statistics used to measure crime. Firstly, there is the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR), which is made of crimes recorded by the police. As Jason Ditton (1979), a Constructionist, once pointed out that crime reports â€Å"have little to do with the amount of crime† but rather it is simply just a constructed report by the police. On the other hand, we have the General Social Survey (GSS), a victimization survey, which is conducted over a six to twelve month period (Statistics Canada, 2016). The goal of this survey is to â€Å"shed light on which people failed to contact the police and why† by asking them questions regarding their living conditions, experiences of victimization and their thought on safety (Morden and Palys, 2015, pg 80). This paper will talk about how both statistics are measured, how they are different, how they are able to complement each other and lastly how accurate they are. The GSS is conducted every five years using the Random Digit Dialer (RDD) along with the Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) to obtain a random sample of the population (Morden and Palys, 2015) This survey last around forty to forty-five minutes and is voluntary. In 2013, the response rate seemed to be declining, therefore; the use of the internet was implemented to increase the response rates. Likewise, the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR) is solely composed of crimes reported by the police. The UCR initial goal was to provide a better and moreShow MoreRelatedMeasuring Crime Essay914 Words   |  4 Pages Measuring Crime Crime measurement and statistics for police departments are very important when it comes to money allotment, staffing needs or termination and it is also used to determine the effectiveness of new laws and programs. 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