Crime is defined as an act in which a person offends or violates the law and is liable to be punished by law. There are many tools used to measure crime in everyday activities. In the United States crime is mainly measured by the police department or the FBI. The FBI uses several mechanisms to measure crime such as the National Crime Victimization Survey, Uniform Crime Reporting, and the National Incident Based Reporting System. The National Crime Victimization Survey provides information on crimes that are not reported to law enforcement. Uniform Crime Reporting provides information on the annual number of incidents and reported crime rate in the United States. The National Incident Based Reporting System allows you to collect information on every crime that occurs and expands the list of crimes that occur. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The main purpose of these crime measurement mechanisms is to collect information about crimes committed to counteract the acts that cause crime. It also helps gather information about who is and where the crime is being committed. This is the way to track crime statistics, so that law enforcement can develop different ways to handle crime in certain areas. Therefore, a successful crime reporting program is one that has accurate information. For this, when the crime is reported to the agencies, it is necessary that it is reported in the program, which would then help in analyzing and providing results on the possible crimes. However, there are some problems with measuring crime. This can profoundly affect the governance mechanism of the system. The crime rate is basically the number of crimes committed in an area compared to the ratio of population per 1,000 inhabitants per year. Crime rates can be misleading based on several factors including the type of crime, the type of offender, and where the crime is committed. Another factor leading to the crime rate deception is the increase in youth crime and property crimes. Additionally, changes in policies and mandatory laws that come into effect affect the crime rate. This data collection system in the United States does many things and serves the country to the best of its ability. But even with these better systems there are methodological problems of detection in general and particular problems are deviance, the measurement of illicit and deleterious activities. These activities include difficulties associated with asking relevant questions, false reporting, under-reporting, sampling issues, and many other factors involved in surveying individuals to implement the official data reporting system. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper now from our expert writers. Get a Custom Essay This crime measurement mechanism certainly influences public opinion as the crime data system has and continues to play a central role in the public's ability to understand crime. However, there are better ways to measure crime as there are barriers to deriving information using these data systems. The classic survey sampling method has the problem of relocation and coverage. The different nature of the different types of crime also suggests that policy makers present a single system for measuring crime. A larger budget is needed for crime data collection,.