Which assaults matter?
Another important question facing journalists is how to interpret the data. The epicenter of a recent debate was in Detroit, where two television news broadcasts used the FBI data and came up with different numbers.
A key concern is assaults. While Detroit's WDIV-TV counted both aggravated and simple assaults in its local crime analysis, rival WJBK-TV used only aggravated assaults, resulting in much smaller totals. WDIV's approach, created with NICAR's help, mirrored the FBI's format in its electronic data. WJBK's, on the other hand, corresponded with the FBI "crime index" categories presented in the text version of the data and in Bureau press releases.
"In a big city environment, I wouldn't pay much attention to simple assaults," said Josh Barbanel, a reporter for the New York Times. "Peoples' idea of danger concerns moving in a public space."
But in some areas, such as the Detroit suburbs, simple assault statistics might be more relevant, Barbanel said.
The FBI has no official position on how the statistics are used, as long as they are used accurately, Omohundro said. "Generally, aggravated assault is reported exclusive of simple assault," he said. "(But) if someone wants to use the two categories, we just ask they make the distinction clear."
There are many aspects of FBI data that journalists should clarify for their readers. The database represents only reported crime; actual crime is higher. Statistics on violent crimes are more reliable and uniform than those for lesser crimes. Some crimes, such as spousal abuse and child abuse, are not included at all. Others are excluded because the FBI lists only the most serious crime to occur during a single incident.
FBI will revamp system
The FBI, aware of the database's weaknesses, is well on its way to implementing a new system. The National Incident Based Reporting System promises to provide data free of the above problems, possibly by the year 2000. Omohundro just hopes journalists will be ready. "It will give a clearer picture of crime in this country," he said. But the FBI analyst is steeling himself for journalists who misread the numbers. "The disadvantage is, the media will go crazy. They'll say crime increased 300 percent."