Overview

Criminal justice systems are tasked with responding to a wide range of activities deemed to be illegal and against public interest. Subtle distinctions in offense descriptions reflect deep differences in offense severity, potential motive, risk to public safety, and optimal responses by law enforcement. Accurately classifying offenses helps us to better understand the nature of crime, allow policy makers to evaluate the effectiveness of criminal justice policies, and provide the research community and the public a common measurement system to effectively analyze crime trends over time and across jurisdictions. Organizing and classifying criminal activity is a core premise of well-functioning system of criminal justice.