For the first time this year, the V.I. Police Department submitted official V.I. 2011 crime statistics to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for inclusion in its Uniform Crime Reporting program; the national criminal statistics clearing house, police officials announced Tuesday.
“More than 1700 law enforcement agencies submit crime statistics to the UCR,” Assistant Police Commissioner Raymond Hyndman said in a statement. “This reporting establishes a uniform guideline for criminal case classification as well as qualifies the Virgin Islands for certain Justice Department grants.”
The use of UCR classifications will eliminate the reporting of unofficial local crime figures, Hyndman said. Following FBI and UCR guidelines, local crimes are specifically categorized and uniformly reported.
"The VIPD has always collected statistics, but they have never submitted them to UCR; this is the first year they’ve submitted to them,” V.I. Police Department Public Information Officer Melody Rames said Tuesday. When asked why they had never submitted before, she said the statistics unit would be the responsible party for answering that question, but they had gone home for the day.
According to the FBI’s website, the UCR program was conceived in 1929 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police to create reliable, uniform crime statistics for the nation. In 1930, the FBI was tasked with collecting, publishing, and archiving those statistics. Today, several annual statistical publications, such as the comprehensive Crime in the United States, are produced from data provided by nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States. Within the UCR are two methods of collecting crime data: the traditional summary reporting system and the National Incident-Based Reporting System.
Rames directed detailed questions about the local methods to the department’s planning and research unit, which had left for the day. Far more agencies use summary reporting than use incident based reporting, which requires more resources, according to the FBI’s website. These two methods collect a vast amount of data that are accessible to the general public, researchers, media, and others regarding the levels of crime in the United States, according to the FBI.
FBI policy states that all law enforcement agencies must use standard UCR definitions for crimes when submitting information.
“The Virgin Islands Code is consistent to these national standards,” Hyndman said.
Under these guidelines, in 2011, the territory reported the following to the FBI UCR:
Murders
There were 41 murders recorded in the territory in 2011. This is a 26 percent reduction from the number recorded in 2010, which was 57 murders. Some local counts are higher because two killings were classified as justifiable homicides under UCR guidelines, and not counted as murders, according to police officials.
– St. Thomas recorded 16 murders in 2011. This is a decrease of 46 percent compared to the number recorded in 2010 which was 28 murders.
– St. Croix recorded 27 murders in 2011. This is a decrease of 6.9 percent compared to the number recorded in 2010 which was 29 murders.
– St. John did not record any murders in 2011 or 2010.
Robberies
There were 275 robberies recorded in the territory in 2011. This is a 2.83 percent reduction in the number of robberies recorded in 2010 which was 283.
-St. Thomas recorded 164 robberies in 2011. This is an increase of 1.23 percent compared to the number recorded in 2010 which was 162 robberies.
– St. Croix recorded 108 robberies in 2011. This is a decrease of 8.47 percent compared to the number recorded in 2010 which was 118 robberies.
– St. John recorded 3 robberies in 2011. Three robberies were also recorded in 2010.
Burglaries
In 2011 the territory recorded 1371 burglaries. This is an increase of 2.08 percent in the number recorded in 2010 which was 1343 burglaries.
– St. Thomas recorded 760 burglaries in 2011. This is an increase of 6.44 percent compared to the number recorded in 2010 which was 714 burglaries.
– St. Croix recorded 557 burglaries in 2011. This is an increase of 2.77 percent compared to the number recorded in 2010 which was 542 burglaries.
– St. John recorded 54 burglaries in 2011. This is a decrease of 37.93 percent compared to the number recorded in 2010 which was 87 burglaries.
“These figures show that the VIPD is making great strides in reducing violent crimes and crimes against property in the Virgin Islands,” Hyndman said. “With the continued commitment of the community to be the eyes and ears of the VIPD, these statistics will continue to improve.”
“Finally the VIPD is able to report official statistics, so this community, as well as national and regional populations can refer to these as the official numbers. These statistics will allow the VIPD to maximize our resources as well as compete for several law enforcement and crime prevention grants that may be available to us,” Hyndman said.
