Target population

Noninstitutionalized persons age 12 and older in the United States

Crime incidents occurring in the United States

Crime incidents occurring in the United States

Unit of observation

Individual

Law enforcement agency

Crime incident

Estimated coverage

Nationally representative sample

94.2 percent of United States population covered by agencies active in UCR reporting

Approximately 25 percent of United States population covered by agencies reporting in NIBRS format

Types of victimization covered

Criminal Homicide

No

Yes

Yes

Other Index Crimes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Geographic areas identified

Region

Yes

Yes

Yes

State

Yes

Yes

Yes

County

Yes

Yes

Yes

Census Tract

Yes

No

No

Demographic coverage

Age

Yes

No

No

Race

Yes

No

Yes

Sex

Res

No

Yes

Ethnicity

Res

No

Yes

Vulnerable groups

Children

12 & older

No

Yes

Immigrants (native born)

No

No

No

Disabled (learning disability only)

No

No

No

Elderly

Yes

No

No

Timeliness of data availability

Time between reference period and data availability

Pre-announced schedule

Yes

Yes

Yes

Fixed schedule

Yes

Yes

Yes

Accuracy and quality

Sampling error

Routinely estimated

Unmeasured

Unmeasured