HomeMy Public PortalAboutLTC 108-2015 - Bal Harbour Police Department - Uniform Crime Reporting ProgramSAL H OUR
F L O R. D A' S P A R A D I S E
OFFICE OF THE VILLAGE MANAGER
NO. LETTER TO COUNCIL
108-2015
TO: Mayor Martin Packer and Members of the Village Council
FROM: Jorge M. Gonzalez, Village Manager
DATE: June 19, 2015
SUBJECT: Bal Harbour Police Department — Uniform Crime Reporting Program
The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program has been the starting place for law enforcement
executives, students of criminal justice, researchers, members of the media, and the public at
large seeking information on crime in the nation. The program was conceived in 1929 by the
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) to meet the need for reliable uniform crime
statistics for the nation. The UCR Program collects statistics on violent crime (murder and non -
negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and property crime
(burglary, larceny -theft, and motor vehicle theft).
The Uniform Crime Reporting Program in Florida is under the oversight and authority of the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). FDLE's Uniform Crime Report (UCR) system allows us
to provide standardized reports on crime statistics based on data gathered from across the state.
Reports that provide both summary and detail information are issued semi-annually and annually.
The UCR Program's primary objective is to provide a reliable set of criminal justice statistics for
law enforcement administration, operation, and management. The classification of crimes for the
UCR are based on a strict criteria of elements that categorize how the crime is to be reported. In
other words, to ensure this data is uniformly reported, the FBI provides contributing law
enforcement agencies with a handbook that explains how to classify and score offenses and
provides uniform crime offense definitions. Acknowledging that offense definitions may vary from
state to state, the FBI cautions agencies to report offenses not according to local or state statutes
but according to those guidelines provided in the handbook.
Chief Overton believes that in the past, the Bal Harbour Police Department (BHPD) has made a
good faith effort to comply with established guidelines. However, upon taking command of the
police department in early 2014, Chief Overton noted some deficiencies in the quality and
accuracy of the process and system that was in place to capture and report the data as required.
Those deficiencies were corrected and implemented in time for the 2014 reporting season.
Nevertheless, it is important for those reviewing UCR data to remember that the FBI's primary
objective is to generate a reliable set of crime statistics for use in law enforcement administration,
operation, and management. The FBI does not provide a ranking of agencies, but merely
alphabetical tabulations of states, metropolitan statistical areas, cities, metropolitan and
nonmetropolitan counties, colleges and universities, and state, tribal, and other enforcement
agencies. Law enforcement officials use this information for their designed purposes. Additionally,
the American public relies on this data for information on the fluctuations in the level of crime from
year to year, and criminologists, sociologists, legislators, city planners, the media, and other
students of criminal justice use it for a variety of research and planning purposes. Since crime is
a sociological phenomenon influenced by a variety of factors, the FBI discourages ranking the
agencies and using the data as a measurement of law enforcement effectiveness.
Page 2 of 3
The Chief's philosophy is that the true value of tracking crime is to identify crime trends as quickly
as possible, and use that data to identify strategies and solutions to eliminate either the
opportunity or the desire for those individuals to continue to commit crime within the jurisdictional
boundaries of the Village. Therefore, in addition to UCR reporting, every incident that occurs
within this community is carefully analyzed to determine the root cause of the problem and
measures are taken to address the incident to either solve the crime or put resources in place to
prevent re -occurrence.
Attached for your review are the 2013, 2014, and the semi-annual 2015 UCR reports. You will
note an increase in reported crimes for 2014 as compared to 2013. This deviation could be due
to a more effective and efficient reporting system. Nevertheless, each incident in 2014 was
carefully analyzed and the only trend noted was a series of burglaries occurring in the Bal Harbour
Shops, with no other concerning trends identified. The 2015 semi-annual report notes a slight
decrease in reported crime. Again, each incident has been carefully analyzed and no discernable
patterns have been identified. The police department as a whole has been making more arrests
which is the result of a more consistent and proactive patrol philosophy and strategy.
If you have any questions or need any additional information, please contact me or the Chief
directly.
JMG/MNO
Page 3 of 3
UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING PROGRAM — 2013/2014 Comparison
OFFENSE
2013
2014
+/- MEX
CHANGE
ROBBERY
I
I
-
AGG.
ASSAULT
0
0
-
BURGLARY
4
9
+5
LARCENY
34
48
+14
AUTO THEFT
2
2
-
MURDER
0
0
RAPE
0
0
TOTAL
ROBBERY
41
0
60
l
+19
+1
ASSAULT
0
3
+3
BURGLARY
0
4
+4
LARCENY
9
14
+5
AUTO THEFT
2
1
-1
DOMESTIC
0
0
-
NARCOTICS
3
5
+2
FRAUD
2
1
-1
DUI
0
2
+2
MISC
0
19
+19
TOTAL
16
50
+34
UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING PROGRAM —1st HALF OF 2014/2015
ROBBERY
0
0
-
AGO.
ASSAULT
0
0
-
BURGLARY
10
7
-3
LARCENY
47
31
-16
AUTO THEFT
2
1
-I
MURDER
0
0
-
RAPE
0
0
-
TOTAL
ROBBERY
59
0
39
0
-20
-
ASSAULT
3
3
-
BURGLARY
4
2
-2
LARCENY
7
15
+8
AUTO THEFT
0
0
-
DOMESTIC
0
0
-
NARCOTICS
5
10
+5
FRAUD
l
5
+4
DUI
2
l
-I
MISC
19
8
-I1
TOTAL
41
44
+3