Like the U.S. Conference of Mayors, The American Society of Criminology (ASC) has publicly stated its opposition to the use of FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) data for city-by-city crime rankings, as exemplified by publications like CQ Press' annual City Crime Rankings. The ASC agrees with the USCM position that the rankings, which have received wide publicity in the mainstream media, are “invalid, damaging, and irresponsible." The executive board of the ASC passed a resolution to this effect at its annual meeting in 2007. At its 2008 meeting in St. Louis, the ASC assembled a panel to examine the issue in greater depth. The panel met Nov. 13.  You can view the entire panel discussion by clicking here.

You can also view each participant's presentation by clicking on their respective names listed below:

Ted Gest (President, Criminal Justice Journalists) click here

In opening the panel discussion, Mr. Gest suggested that the media will always be interested in reporting rankings, but said rankings with regard to crime need to be “reasonable." He said the panel would discuss whether the rankings assembled by CQ Press were indeed reasonable.

Richard Rosenfeld (Curators Professor, Dept. of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri, St. Louis) click here Prof. Rosenfeld said the rankings mislead the public about the real risk factors in crime. The rankings do more harm than good, he said -- especially to cities that can least afford the poor publicity. Eric Baumer (Professor of Criminology, Florida State University) click here Prof. Baumer said he makes use of crime rankings in his research, but cautioned that such rankings must be provided in a manner that does not mislead. James Noonan (Statistician, Federal Bureau of Investigation) click here Mr. Noonan emphasized that the FBI cautions the public against the use of their UCR data to make city-by-city crime rankings.  He noted that “arbitrary factors," such as where the boundary lines between city and suburb happen to lie in any given metropolitan area greatly influence the city's “crime rate" without actually affecting the volume of crime whatsoever. Jeff Rainford (Chief of Staff, St. Louis Mayor's Office) click here Mr. Rainford noted that the rankings provide a disincentive for cities to comply fully with the FBI's requests for data. Cities that don't comply can escape the lists altogether, he noted.  The rankings are arbitrary, he added, because they are so influenced by where a city's boundaries are drawn in relation to its suburbs. And despite its protests to the contrary, the publisher's real motives in publishing the lists are mercenary, he asserted. Audience Q&A click here Among those raising questions from the audience was an editor from CQ Press/SAGE Publishing, Doug Goldenberg-Hart, who defended the publication of the annual rankings. He said the rankings give the public helpful information that it would not otherwise have, and have prompted some cities to address crime more aggressively.  Panel members disputed his claims. Post-panel Interviews ·         Richard Rosenfeld (Curators Professor, Dept. of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri, St. Louis) click here ·         James Noonan (Statistician, Federal Bureau of Investigation) click here.

ASC Press Release

To view a brief summary of the panel's conclusions, click here.