These tables report arrest statistics from the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). State and local police agencies provide the UCR program with data on 31 categories of arrests plus an additional category consisting of all other offenses.

Three distinct data sets provided by the UCR program have been used to produce tables for this presentation.

1) COUNTY-LEVEL DETAILED ARREST AND OFFENSE DATA. This is the primary source for tables on marijuana, drug, and other criminal offenses in which no data on age, sex, or race is provided. The accuracy of this UCR data varies according to reporting compliance from state and local agencies. In some cases the reported data is based on agency reports covering less than 100% of a state or county’s total population and consequently only provides a partial indication of total arrests for that area. However the UCR program also imputes or estimates data based on partial reports from some local agencies in order to provide a consistent basis for comparing data from year to year and between locations.

2) ARRESTS BY AGE, SEX, AND RACE. This is the primary source data for all tables in which age, sex, or race is used to categorize arrests. The original data set consists of agency level data which is totaled at the county, state, and national level and cross-referenced with US Census data to obtain arrest rates for each demographic category in each geographic area. The arrest totals presented in tables with age, sex, or race data reflect the number of arrests used in calculating the accompanying arrest rates for each category; they do not indicate the total number of arrests in an area but instead indicate the total number of reported arrests. Data on the age, sex, and race of arrests is limited to the population covered by the reporting agencies. Population coverage varies from county to county, and consequently from state to state. State population coverage for age, sex, and race data is provided in state tables on Marijuana Possession Arrests by Race. Because of incomplete reporting the arrest totals presented in tables with data on age, sex, and race will NOT always correspond to totals presented in other tables.

3) OFFENSES KNOWN AND CLEARANCES BY ARREST. This is the source of data on clearance percentages for major crimes, and is explained in more detail in the notes accompanying these tables.

State criminal justice agencies frequently publish their own compilations of UCR statistics. These reports provide updated statistics on arrests and are more accurate than the UCR program data, often because of reports received by state agencies after data has been forwarded to the national program.

Sources:

U.S. Census Bureau. CC-EST2006-ALLDATA- [STFIPS]: Annual County Resident Population Estimates by Age, Sex, Race and Hispanic Origin: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006.

U.S. Census Bureau. CC-EST2006-AGESEX-[ST_FIPS]: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Selected Age Groups and Sex for Counties in [STATE]: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006.

U.S. Census Bureau. SC-EST2006-AGESEX_RES: Annual Estimates of the Resident Population by Single-Year of Age and Sex for the United States and States: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006.

U.S. Census Bureau. SC-EST2006-ALLDATA6: Annual State Population Estimates by Demographic Characteristics with 6 Race Groups (5 Race Alone Groups and One Group with Two or more Race Groups): April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006.

U.S. Census Bureau. CC-EST2005-6RACE-[ST_FIPS]: County Population Estimates with Sex, 6 Race Groups (5 Race Alone and One Group with Two or More Race Groups) and Hispanic Origin: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2005.

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. NATIONAL SURVEY ON DRUG USE AND HEALTH, 2003 - 2006 [Computer files]. Research Triangle Park, NC: Research Triangle Institute [producer], Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor].

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. [Substance Use] Data by Geographic Area. http://oas.samhsa.gov/geography.cfm

U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies. TREATMENT EPISODE DATA SET (TEDS), 1992 - 2006 [Computer files]. Prepared by Synectics for Management Decisions, Incorporated. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor],

U.S. Dept. of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING PROGRAM DATA [UNITED STATES]: COUNTY-LEVEL DETAILED ARREST AND OFFENSE DATA, 1991 - 2007 [Computer files]. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor].

U.S. Dept. of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING PROGRAM DATA [UNITED STATES]: ARRESTS BY AGE, SEX, AND RACE, 1991 - 2007 [Computer files]. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor].

U.S. Dept. of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. UNIFORM CRIME REPORTING PROGRAM DATA [UNITED STATES]: OFFENSES KNOWN AND CLEARANCES BY ARREST, 2006 & 2007 [Computer file]. Compiled by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. ICPSR22400-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor].

Other Source Material

Gettman, Jon. Marijuana Drug Treatment Episodes. Bulletin of Cannabis Reform. October, 2008. http://www.drugscience.org/Archive/bcr5/bcr5_index.html

Gettman, Jon. Lost Taxes and Other Costs of Marijuana Laws. Bulletin of Cannabis Reform. October, 2007. http://www.drugscience.org/Archive/bcr4/bcr4_index.html

Bureau of Justice Statistics, Criminal Justice Expenditure and Employment Extracts (CJEE) Program Justice system expenditure, by character, State, and type of government, fiscal year 2005 . Filename: cjee0504.csv. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/eande.htm#selected

Office of National Drug Control Policy (2004). The Economic Costs of Drug Abuse in the United States, 1992-2002. Washington, DC: Executive Office of the President. http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/economic_costs/

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