Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 1983 - Bureau of Justice ...

AppendicesPopulation definitionsJ!f'PENDIX 2Crime in the United States-­Definitions of terms"NJTE: The following information has been excerpted from the U.S. ,?epartment of Justice, FederalBureau of Investigation, Crime in the tktited States, 1961 (Washlngton~ D.C.: U.S. GovernmentPrinting Office, 1982), pp. 1-4, 318, 319; and U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bure?u. ofInvestigation Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government PrintingOffice 1978)' pp. 5-33, 89-92. I\bn-substantive editorial adaptations have been made. See theH::mdbook fo~ further information on classification and counting rules.For purposes of statistical presentntion, the cities and c~untie~ inthe United States are divided into groups based on population size.The :>opulation group classifications used by the Uniform CrimeReporting Program are shown in Table I.Table I Population group, political label, and population coveragePopulation group Political label Population coverageICity250,000 and overIICity100,000 to 249,999IIICity50,000 to 99,999IVCity25,000 to 49,999VCity10,000 to 24,999VICityLess than 10,000VIII (Rural county) County_X_I_(~S_u_bu_r_b_an __ c_o_u_nt~y_) _______ C_o_u_nt __ y ._______________________The major source of Uniform Crime Reporti,ng (UCR) data is. theindividual police agenc),; therefore. "Ome population and geographicalaggregations may differ from st·Jndard U.S. Bureau of the Censusdefinitions to render them consistent to police reporting areas andjurisdictions. The. UCR program employs s!a~dar? city and StandardMetropolitan Statistlca~ Area (SMSA) classifications from the U.S.Bureau of the Census but rural and suburban areas are slightlychanged to match the r~porting area of the local police.Rural counties--Hural counties are those outside SMSAs. Theseareas represent 15 percent of the national population in 1981. Prior to1981, rural counties were referred to as rural areas.Suburban areas--These areas consist of cities with populationsaf less than 50,000 together with counties (unincorporated areas) thatare within a SMSA. Suburban areas can therefare be subdivided intosuburban cities and suburban counties.Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area--This includes a corecity or cities with a population of 50,000 or more in~abitants and. thesurrounding county or counties that share certam metropolitancharacteristics. SMSAs made up approximately 75 percent of the totalU.S. population in 1981. .Other cities--Othel' cities are urban places outSide SMSAs; mostof these areas are incorporated. These cities comprise 10 percent ofthe 1981 national population. . . .The following diagram illustrates the aforementioned diSCUSSIon ofthe comnunity types.CitiesCounties(unincorporated area)SMSACities over 50,000,Suburban citiesSuburban countiesI\bn-SNISAOther ruralRural countiesAs a general rule, sheriffs, county police, and many State policereport on crimes committed within ~he limits .of the .co~nties, ~toutside cities' local police report on Crimes comnltted within the citylimits (urba~ places). The number of ~ull-service law enforceme~tagencies serving the population groups varl~s from year to year •. ThiSphenomenon is caused through population growth,. geo-politlcalconsolidation, municipal incorporalion, etc. The follOWing toble showsthe number of agencies within each population group in 1981.Table 2 Population group and number of agenciesPopulation groupIIIIIIIVVVIV III (Rural area)IX (Suburban county)TotalNurnber of agencies571152976331,6357,7473,6741,53415,692Regions and divisionsThe United States is divided into four regions; these regions arefurther divided into nine divisions. The following is a list of Stateswithin divisions and regions.I\brtheust:New England--Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, NewHc:rnpshire, Rhode Island, VermontMiddle Atlantic--New Jersey, New York, PennsylvaniaNorth Cent ral: .East North Central--lIlinois, Indiana, Michigan, OhiO,WisconsinWest North Central--Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri,Nebraska, North Dakota, South DakotaSo.uth:South Atlantic--Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida,G20rgia, Maryland, I\brth Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, WestVirginiaEast South Central--Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi,TennesseeWest South Central--Arkansos, Louisiana, Oklahoma,TexasWest:Mountain--Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iv\ontana, Nevada, NewMeXico, Utah, WyomingPaclfic--Aloska, California, Howaii, Oregan, WashingtonPart I Offense Class and the Crime IndexA. The Crime IndexThe following offenser. and attempts to commit theseoffenses are used in compiling the Crime Index: (J) murder andnonnegligent manslaughter, (2) forcible rape, (3) robbery, (4)aggravated assault, (5) burglary, (6) larceny-theft, (7) matorvehicle theft, and (8) arson. Arson was added as the eighthIndex offense in October 1978. In situations where there aremultiple offenses, only the most serious ot:ense, based on a UC~hierarchy, is reported. However, arsan IS excluded from thiShierarchical prQCedure. All arsons, regardless of their occurre~cein canjunctian with another crime against property or crimeagainst a person, are counted.(NJTE--Manslaughter by negligence and simple or minorassaults are not inclu~