Crime data usually refers to offense known to law enforcement, but many people don’t report crimes that occur to them.
According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, crime reporting varies by race and also by type.
The nation is reliant on the Uniform Crime Reporting Program. The program is voluntary and departments participate in the program in varying degree. The Summary Reporting System collected monthly summary-level crime data from agencies that was retired in 2021. The new National Incident-based Reporting System collects more details on the incident level was introduced in 1988. Because of the transition, 40% of police agencies did not report data in 2021.
Data can be found on the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer.
Be honest to the reader — be transparent that we don’t know a lot about crime data. Clearance rate (i.e., rate of solving an investigation) was incredibly low during the pandemic. Crime rates are incredibly intersectional based on age, disability, race, etc.
Don’t have to rely on data to report on criminal justice. Instead, investigate how much funding police agencies get, labor rates of police officers during the pandemic (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
The project tracks the number of police stops that occur throughout the nation. This can be used to find biases in demographics of stops.
The threshold test allows us to test if police drivers search black drivers more often than white drivers based on the same level of evidence.
The veil of darkness test: it’s harder to infer the race of a driver at night, when a “veil of darkness” masks one’s races. Share of black drivers stopped at night dropped considerably.
Is there bias or discrimination? The difference is important to note. Flawed policing is not the same as outwardly discriminating.
What is the volume of the number of calls to 911 or 311?
The Washington Post’s fatal force database, red light cameras as an opportunity to generate tickets and revenue.
Who are cops employing? The BJS surveys 3,500 local law enforcements.
The Federal Audit Clearinghouse — there are particular audits of police agencies. Non-profits and institutions get audited by the federal government if they receive money from the government.
Big Local News: certification data, Community Law Enforcement Accountability Network