2-2 Worksheet: Gather Criminal Data Dianne Morrison Southern New Hampshire University PSY 310: Criminal Psychology Professor Mark Perez January 21, 2024
Southern New Hampshire University PSY 310 Criminal Data Worksheet PART I 1. Review the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) website. What type of criminal data can you gather from this website? The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) website is authored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and is a reliable tool to view crime statistics. The UCR contains compiled data from criminal incidents reported to the FBI from law enforcement agencies across the United States. The following is a list of the types of data that can be found on this website: Topical Crime Reports - cargo thefts, federal crime, and human trafficking. National Use-of-Force Data Hate Crime Data - number of incidents, victims, and offenders involved in crimes classified as hate and bias. Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted - provides data on law enforcement officers who were accidentally, feloniously assaulted while on duty. National Incident-based Reporting System - put in place to improve the quality and quantity of crime data collection by law enforcement. Crime in the United States of America - contains data on the volume and rate of violent and property crimes, both state-wide and nationally. Crime Data Explorer - Accessed by the public and law enforcement to search and better understand the UCR data published by the FBI. 2. Using the Criminal Data Guide document as a guide, what do you notice about the information that you should ask about? Where should you look for this information? The information I notice that should be asked about is what I like to call the "five W's": Who, What, Where, When, and Why? Who committed the crime or wrong doing? What did the
Southern New Hampshire University do or what has happened? Where did the incident occur? When did the incident take place? Why did the incident occur? The "why" is important to look for, as it will let us in on the motivational factor in the incident. To find the answers to the five W's, I can utilize the UCR to find a data on crime. I can also look into news reports, public court documents, and use the crime data explorer as well. 3. Is there a typical profile for terrorists? Explain. There is not a typical profile for terrorists because terrorists come from vastly different backgrounds, races, cultures, and belief systems. There is not a certain personality trait across all terrorists, and though many of their profiles do show histories of abuse and trauma, these are not great enough to describe any particular motivation behind the attacks of terrorists (Borum, 2004). In his article, Psychology of Terrorism, Randy Borum asserts that people become terrorists for largely different reasons and one thing that is common among terrorists is that there is a perceived injustice. PART II Lisa is accused of luring a group of men into a park where they are attacked by a criminal