Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-09-13
Crime Reporting
Possible
In 50 10 90 Days
Funds for New Setup
Available Once ills
Approved Barrett Says

HPPsOVSuS OOtICtt SOyS
The proposed new crime re-
porting system can 60 into OPP
Grafton at Police Headquarters
within 60 to 80 days after the
Commissioners approve Police
Chief Robert J. Barrett's recon-
mendations, Maj. Barrett said
today.
He said sufficient funds were
available to pay the salaries of
supervisory personnel, print the
forms and provide for the other
changes required for the proposed
central complaint room.
The Board Of Commissioners Is
due to meet Tuesday and Maj.
Barrett said he hoped for 60
ahead signal from that meeting.
The proposed changes, calling for
an overhaul of the departments
crime reporting and communications
systems, were made public yester-
day.
Says Young Is Every Satisfied"
Maj. Barrett said today that Com
missioner John Russell Young, to
whom the report was submitted, had
told him he was very satisfied with
the report and recommendations and
wants the best for Washington"
At the same time, Maj. Barrett
explained in detail why the tabula-
ton of crime offenses prepared by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation
varied so much from the compilation
made by the Police Departments
statistical bureau on offenses re-
ported between January /, 1947, and
June 81, 1947. The comparative
figures were part of Maj. Barrett's
report to Commissioner Young.
Maj. Barrett said the FBI had ex-
planned how it arrived at its figures
before turning in the report. He
accounted for the variations on these
scores:
l. The FBI's uniform crime re-
porting system counts attempts and
intent to commit an offense as
the crime itself. The Statistical
Bureau counts only crimes that
have actually been committed.
Grimes Classified Differently.
2. The FBI does not include purse
Snatching, film fam" and pick
pocket thefts as robbery but includes
them under larcenies. The Stats
tical Bureau, following the District
code, counts these offenses as rob-
berries.
3. The FBI counts all larcenies,
regardless of the amount of money
involved. The Statistical Bureau
does not receive reports on larcenies
under $25 because Of police orders
keeping the smaller larcenies in the
precincts. Therefore, the Statistical
Bureau does not include them.
4. The FBI counts as an Tag
gravated assault" any assault made
with a dangerous or deadly weapon,
regardless of whether the charge
placed against the offender is simple
assault or assault with a deadly
weapon. The Statistical Bureau does
not get cases of simple assault, be-
cause these too, are handled in the
precincts. Frequently, a fight involv-
ing a bottle may be resolved with
charge of simple assault. The FBI
would count that as aggravated
assault" In addition, if defendant
is charged in the precinct with
assault with deadly weapon" and
the charge is changed in court to
simple assault, the Statistical Bureau
would change its count to simple
assault" The FBI counts the offense
as aggravated assault"
Figures Vary From 66 to 261ee.
AS result of these differences in
the variation in the fig
ures between the Statistical Bureau
and the FBI ranged from 66 per
cent to PSI per cent. Only a small
percentage of the cases were
marked held" in the precinct and
not forwarded to the Statistical
Bureau when they should have been
reported, the FBI report showed.
The great majority of the cases
were those which, under present
police regulations, were dealt with
in the precinct.
Maj. Barrett said, however, that
in the future the cases would be
broken down in such a way that
the Statistical Bureau could supply
the FBI with the figures it needs
in conformance with uniform
crime reporting
For the present, he said, he has
assigned two men to each precinct
to make the special TALES necessary
to get the figures the FBI wants.
AS soon as the new centralized
crime reporting system is set ur. he
said, he will call again on the FBI
for help in making the Districts sys-
tenn of counting crimes conform to
that of the FBI.
THE new reporting system" he
will mean a lot more
crimes will be included in our fig
(See POLICE, Page A-8D