I was a homicide detective in the 1990s when the Metropolitan Police Department transitioned from straightforward crime reporting to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting standard. While statistically speaking the UCR numbers are misleading, the approach has its merits. Before UCR, the success of the police department was based only upon current-year case closures, so detectives were given little incentive to pursue prior-year cases. After UCR, every case counted, freeing detectives to put their focus where needed. For families of past victims, it made an enormous difference. And for the detective, UCR allowed for a truer picture of actual productivity and success.
Gregory R. Sullivan, Great Falls
The writer was a homicide detective and vice patrolman with Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department for 19 years, ending in 2009.
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