UCR and NCVS
The Uniform Crime Reporting program and National Crime Victimization Survey are different
and somewhat alike to each other. UCR program has been the starting place for laws
enforcements, executives, students of criminal justice, researchers, members of the media, and
the public at large seeking information on crime in the nation. National Crime Victimization
Survey is the nation’s key source of information on criminal victimization. They both are
somewhat alike because they deal with crime. The UCR collect its data because its either
submitted to them or directly to the FBI’s UCR program. NCVS data is obtained from a
nationally representative sample of about 90,000 households, comprising nearly 160,000
persons, on the frequency, characteristics, and consequences of criminal victimization in the
United States. The data of these measures are reliable, because all crime are being reported. A
strength of UCR is that it measures homicides and arrests and that is a consistent, national
sample. The weakness of UCR is that it omits crimes not reported to police, omits most drug
usage, and contains reporting errors Data is collected from a large national surgery. A strength of
NCVS includes crimes not being reported to the police, it uses careful sampling techniques, and
is a yearly survey. The weakness of NCVS relies on victim’s memory and honesty and it omits
substance abuse.
UCR: https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/crimestats
NCVS: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid=245