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Data collection question

MrWonka

MrWonka

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I was looking at crime statistics recently, and something confused me a bit. I was wondering if anyone could offer clarity. According to the FBI's website...

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/persons-arrested/persons-arrested

"The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program counts one arrest for each separate instance in which a person is arrested, cited, or summoned for an offense."

If I'm understanding that correctly it would mean that if 1 individual person was arrested for murdering 5 people they would count that as 5 arrests because it's technically 5 murders and it's clearing 5 cases. Is that the correct interpretation?

So for example: In 2012 a white person was arrested for 4,955 murders. Does that mean there were 4,955 white people who committed a murder and got arrested for it, but at least some of those people may have killed more than one so it's actually over 5,000 murders? Or is it possible that only 4,000 white people were arrested in connection with 4,955 murders, but since some of those people killed more than one person it counts as multiple arrests?
 
Don't know. Someone can initially be arrested for one crime, but later charged with additional crimes after a thorough investigation.
 
MrWonka said:
I was looking at crime statistics recently, and something confused me a bit. I was wondering if anyone could offer clarity. According to the FBI's website...

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2015/crime-in-the-u.s.-2015/persons-arrested/persons-arrested

"The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program counts one arrest for each separate instance in which a person is arrested, cited, or summoned for an offense."

If I'm understanding that correctly it would mean that if 1 individual person was arrested for murdering 5 people they would count that as 5 arrests because it's technically 5 murders and it's clearing 5 cases. Is that the correct interpretation?

So for example: In 2012 a white person was arrested for 4,955 murders. Does that mean there were 4,955 white people who committed a murder and got arrested for it, but at least some of those people may have killed more than one so it's actually over 5,000 murders? Or is it possible that only 4,000 white people were arrested in connection with 4,955 murders, but since some of those people killed more than one person it counts as multiple arrests?
Click to expand...

I think they intend one arrest to be one arrest regardless of how many crimes may have been committed or how many people may have been victims. The linked site did state that they were only showing the number of arrests and not how many of those arrests resulted in charges, arraignment, indictment, number of counts, conviction, and/or sentences.
 
AlbqOwl said:
I think they intend one arrest to be one arrest regardless of how many crimes may have been committed or how many people may have been victims. The linked site did state that they were only showing the number of arrests and not how many of those arrests resulted in charges, arraignment, indictment, number of counts, conviction, and/or sentences.
Click to expand...

That's what I would have thought, but I'm not so sure. Some of these numbers seem at odds with each other, and I also saw this on that site...

"Because a person may be arrested multiple times during a year, the UCR arrest figures do not reflect the number of individuals who have been arrested; rather, the arrest data show the number of times that persons are arrested"

This indicates that at a very minimum. If someone is arrested, released, and then arrested again for the same crime that would appear to show up the same as two different people being arrested for the same crime.
 
MrWonka said:
That's what I would have thought, but I'm not so sure. Some of these numbers seem at odds with each other, and I also saw this on that site...

"Because a person may be arrested multiple times during a year, the UCR arrest figures do not reflect the number of individuals who have been arrested; rather, the arrest data show the number of times that persons are arrested"

This indicates that at a very minimum. If someone is arrested, released, and then arrested again for the same crime that would appear to show up the same as two different people being arrested for the same crime.
Click to expand...

That is the way I took it. The number of arrests is the number of arrests regardless of whether it is one person arrested 100 times or 100 people arrested one time each. It would be counted as 100 arrests.
 
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