"Crime Data Explorer, a website created to house crime data and test the sanity of users."
Reading BJS reports requires skill and the ability to notice subtle differences as to what's reported which is why so many get BJS data wrong or the fact that, for many, it's too intimidating for practitioners to use.
The FBI has now raised a similar bar for practitioners and crime writers. As you state, what used to be a simple process via their old system now requires immense effort and it's easy to misinterpret the data.
Federal crime data is now a nightmare on many levels. There was a national effort to create federal documents in plain language and it's noteworthy that the National Institute of Justice and the COPS office seems (in my opinion) to have embraced this.
BJS data can be a nightmare. They used to provide, from time to time, context from other research but no more.
But it's the FBI that has now transcended any effort to make their material easy to access or understandable. Your focus on city data may be the only way to understand urban crime.
Plain language and easy access to crime data seems to be a thing of the past.
Great article Jeff, I agree with Len. His statement "But it's the FBI that has now transcended any effort to make their material easy to access or understandable" is exactly what Jeff was writing about. My question is why would the caretaker of the data turn it into something very hard to access and translate? Why would they want that instead of the ease that was?
I note that you're eliding how something goes from an "incident" to a "clearance". Can you talk a little more about that process, and how it affects annual data? What happens if, say, there's a conviction that gets overturned on appeal? How, if at all, does that affect an agency's clearance rate?
I thought not. For that future post, by the way, I'm aware of at least this article that tries to move beyond clearance rates: https://dc.law.utah.edu/scholarship/213/
Might be useful if you haven't seen it already, though I'm sure you could find more.
Hi Jeff: My opinion:
"Crime Data Explorer, a website created to house crime data and test the sanity of users."
Reading BJS reports requires skill and the ability to notice subtle differences as to what's reported which is why so many get BJS data wrong or the fact that, for many, it's too intimidating for practitioners to use.
The FBI has now raised a similar bar for practitioners and crime writers. As you state, what used to be a simple process via their old system now requires immense effort and it's easy to misinterpret the data.
Federal crime data is now a nightmare on many levels. There was a national effort to create federal documents in plain language and it's noteworthy that the National Institute of Justice and the COPS office seems (in my opinion) to have embraced this.
BJS data can be a nightmare. They used to provide, from time to time, context from other research but no more.
But it's the FBI that has now transcended any effort to make their material easy to access or understandable. Your focus on city data may be the only way to understand urban crime.
Plain language and easy access to crime data seems to be a thing of the past.
Best, Len.
Great article Jeff, I agree with Len. His statement "But it's the FBI that has now transcended any effort to make their material easy to access or understandable" is exactly what Jeff was writing about. My question is why would the caretaker of the data turn it into something very hard to access and translate? Why would they want that instead of the ease that was?
CDE is a camel. It's a horse designed by committee.
I note that you're eliding how something goes from an "incident" to a "clearance". Can you talk a little more about that process, and how it affects annual data? What happens if, say, there's a conviction that gets overturned on appeal? How, if at all, does that affect an agency's clearance rate?
It doesn't. This may make for a good future post, but what happens once a case gets to the prosecutor office doesn't change the police clearance.
I thought not. For that future post, by the way, I'm aware of at least this article that tries to move beyond clearance rates: https://dc.law.utah.edu/scholarship/213/
Might be useful if you haven't seen it already, though I'm sure you could find more.