cjrc-sponsored research

  • Project:
  • Crime in Ohio: Analyses of OIBRS Data

  • Investigator:
  • Michael D. Maltz (Sociology & CJRC)
  • Lauren J. Krivo (Sociology & CJRC)
  • Danielle C. Payne (Sociology, Bowling Green State University)
  • Ruth D. Peterson (Sociology & CJRC)

  • Sponsor:
  • Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (funded: 2004-2005)

  • Abstract:
  • The primary objective of this study was to develop techniques to explore crime incident data sent by Ohio police agencies to the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services under the Ohio Incident-Based Reporting System (OIBRS). OIBRS crime data are more complete than the crime data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of its Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. The categories in the UCR program are too broad to provide an indication of what might have caused the crime to occur or what type of control prevention strategy might be most useful on the part of the police or other organizations, objectives that may be achievable using OIBRS.

  • Using OIBRS data for just three Ohio cities, we developed a system for extracting the original data from Microsoft Access which allows one to create queries—or new data files—that link individual data segments. This permits researchers and law enforcement to benefit from the complex relational structure of the OIBRS data. Researchers are able to engage in broad analytical endeavors that go beyond the seven categories of UCR crime counts to examine and classify crime through a lens that takes all of its aspects into account. Using the techniques developed, we investigated patterns of criminality for a range of personal crimes (homicides, assaults, and domestic violence), and conducted a preliminary analysis of larcenies, the most frequent property crime. Even with the small number of cities, we were able to identify useful patterns regarding the character of different types of crime. We concluded that OIBRS data can be used in furtherance of problem-oriented policing, and that by tracking patterns over time, the efficacy of different policies (e.g., increasing the frequency of arresting batterers or the number of domestic violence shelters) can be ascertained.

  • Products:
  • Report:
  • Payne, Danielle C., Michael D. Maltz, Lauren J. Krivo, and Ruth D. Peterson. 2005. “Crime in Ohio: Analyses of OIBRS Data,” A Report to the State of Ohio’s Office of Criminal Justice Services, Criminal Justice Research Center, The Ohio State University. Available here.