Running Head: Quantitative Literacy Report – Utah Crime Statistics

Quantitative Literacy Report: Utah Crime Statistics

Christy Morton
Criminal Justice 1010
Julia Ellis
October 2, 2019
Running Head: Quantitative Literacy Report – Utah Crime Statistics

Abstract
This Quantitative Literacy Assignment explores data from the Uniform Crime Report for the year end
2015 Preliminary Crime in Utah Report. It focuses on the cities of Bluffdale and St. George, Utah and
factors that contribute to the difference in crime rates. It also includes a pie chart from the Part I crimes
that year from Utah as a whole, as well as, a percentage of Part II crimes that are drug related and why
they are related to property crime and crimes against persons. Also included are three crimes that saw an
increase in arrests from that year and why they increased.

Uniform Crime Report

Our Criminal Justice textbook states that each year the Department of Justice releases a Uniform
Crime Report (UCR), “which is an annual report compiled by the FBI to give an indication of criminal
activity in the U.S.”. They base their information on three measurements:
1. The number of persons arrested.
2. The number of crimes reported by victim’s, witnesses, or the police themselves.
3. The number of law enforcement officers.
Once this information has been sent to the FBI, the data presents in two important ways:
1. As a rate per 100,000 people. In 2010, the crime rate was 3,346. So, for every 100,000
inhabitants in the U.S., 3,346 Part I offences were reported to the FBI.
2. As a percentage change from the previous year or other time periods. From 2009 to 2010
there was a 6.5% decrease in violent crime rate and a 3.3% decrease in the property crime
rate. (Gaines & Miller, 2013)
Utah Crime Statistics 2015
The two cities that I’m comparing from the 2015 Preliminary Crime in Utah Report are Bluffdale
and Saint George, Utah. (Squires & Moffat, 2015)
Below is a table snapshot of the two cities.
Agency Pop Homicide Rape Robbery Aggravated Burglary Larceny Vehicle Arson Index Per
Assault Theft Totals 1000

Bluffdale 10,931 0 3 1 2 42 84 12 0 144 13.17

St. George 80,202 0 22 12 79 317 981 83 2 1496 18.65

I highly believe the biggest difference in crime for the two cities is because of the difference in
the population. St. George has almost 70,000 more residence than Bluffdale. This is not only because
there are more people, but because there are more people there is a greater chance of crime.
The CJ textbook states that there are three factors most often used by criminologists to explain
changes in the nation’s crime rate. One of those being the size of the youth population, because
those under the age of twenty-four years old tends to commit the majority of the crimes in the
United States. (Gaines & Miller, 2013)
Running Head: Quantitative Literacy Report – Utah Crime Statistics

Another reason for the higher crime rate in St. George could be that we were still trying to climb
out of the recession from 2008. The economy overall was doing better but there were areas of the country
that still struggled financially.
A CNN business report from January 2016 said that America lost its momentum at the end of
2015. The U.S. economy only grew 0.7% between October and December. It's the slowest pace
since the first quarter of 2015, when the economy grew at a 0.6% pace as parts of the country
battled with blizzards and businesses shutting down. For the year, the U.S. economy grew 2.4%
in 2015, matching the gains made in 2014. The slowdown in the last three months of 2015 is
more worrisome. A global economic slowdown appears to be finally weighing heavily on the
American economy. Despite a strong job market, other signs point to slowing growth. (Gillespie,
2016)
In 2015, St. George, UT had a median annual income of $50,744, whereas, Bluffdale, UT had a
median annual income of $89,454 in 2015. This was a significant difference between the two cities.
During that same year the median annual income across the United States was $53,899 and median
annual income across Utah was $60,727. (DATA USA Team, 2015)
Part I Crimes 2015
Below is a pie chart which shows each of the Part I crime arrests for the year 2015. “Part I
offenses include murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, and motor vehicle theft”.
(Squires & Moffat, 2015)

244 Part I Offenses

30
7
433
70

1718
1163

Murder/NonNegligent Manslaugter
10103 Rape
Negligent Manslaughter
Robbery
Assault
Burglary
Larceny
Vehicle Theft

448 Other Assaults

Arson
18434
Running Head: Quantitative Literacy Report – Utah Crime Statistics

Part II Drug Crimes 2015

“Part II offences are all crimes recorded by the FBI that do not fall into the category of Part I
offences. Part II offenses are measured only by arrest data and are over 5 times more common than a Part
I offense”. (Gaines & Miller, 2013) Of the Part II offenses, drug abuse violations outweigh any of the
other arrests. In 2015, the Crime in Utah Report states there were 15,269 arrests for drug related offenses.
That’s 18.07% of all Part II arrests, 84,480 in total. (Squires & Moffat, 2015)
I believe that drug abuse violations contribute to other offenses especially property crime and
crimes against persons because drug and narcotic abusers tend to not be able to hold down a steady
income and because the drugs affect their thinking and reasoning. With these reasons, a person addicted
to drugs would be more likely to rob another person for money or goods.
Crimes Increases in 2015
Three crimes I saw with an increase from 2014 to 2015 are negligent manslaughter (40%),
possession of opium/cocaine or derivatives (22%), and sale of opium/cocaine or derivatives (73%).
It’s obvious the drug related crimes are related, but I also believe manslaughter by negligence is
related as well. According to our textbook, manslaughter is homicide committed without malice toward
the victim and negligence is a failure to exercise the standard of care that a reasonable person would
exercise in similar circumstances. (Gaines & Miller, 2013). It is well known that drug abuse impairs our
judgment to think and act clearly, therefore, it’s not hard to imagine two crack heads getting into an
argument and one accidentally killing the other or an individual being so heavily intoxicated they hit and
kill a family on their way home from a party.
Summary
I’ve never experienced being arrested or going to jail, but I have firsthand knowledge of the
affects it can have on a person and their family/friends. Growing up I lived in a family that had more than
a few incidents with the cops being called due to fighting while being intoxicated. Luckily the
consequence usually was my parents being given a warning or one of them being taken to “sleep it off” in
the drunk tank overnight. We were also lucky the few times they were “fine” to drive home from a party
that we made it safely home and didn’t cause harm to another.
I have another family member that was so addicted to opioids he tried to rob a pharmacy one
night. He was arrested and convicted shortly after. He had to spend about 8 months in jail and was under
house arrest before the trial and after he was released while on parole and during rehab. Things seemed to
snowball for him and had a really hard life for about 10 years; his wife left him, he lost his job, he
struggled getting a new job, was unable to travel out of state for a few years during his parole, which
hinder some of his job prospects, etc... He is now clean and sober with a great job but lives with his
parents and only sees his daughters on the weekends. And thank goodness my parents have decided to
clean up their act as well. They make better choices and haven’t had any run-ins with the law for about 20
years. These have been great examples to my kids and I of why we don’t do drugs and of why we think
before we make choices that may affect another.
Running Head: Quantitative Literacy Report – Utah Crime Statistics

References

DATA USA Team. (2015). DATA USA : St. George, UT & Bluffdale, UT. Retrieved from DATA USA:
https://datausa.io/profile/geo/st.-george-ut/?compare=bluffdale-ut
Gaines, L. K., & Miller, R. L. (2013). Defining and Measuring Crime. In S. L. College, CJ 1010 Criminal
Justice (pp. 75-76, 83, 92). Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning.
Gillespie, P. (2016, January 29). U.S. economy grinds to near halt at end of 2015. Retrieved from CNN
Business: https://money.cnn.com/2016/01/29/news/economy/us-economy-gdp-fourth-
quarter/index.html
Squires, K. D., & Moffat, A. (2015). 2015 Crime in Utah Report. Retrieved from Utah Department of
Public Safety: https://site.utah.gov/dps-criminal/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2017/12/2015-
Crime-in-Utah-1222017.pdf