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WORK AND FUNCTIONS OF THE DIVISION OF INVESTIGATION CRIME STATISTICS FUNCTIONS In accordance with an Act of Congress approved June 11, 1930, the Division of Investigetion began the compilation of uniform crime statistics. The collection of such crime data had been initiated by the Committee on Uniform Crime Records of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in Januzry of that year in response to a long-felt need for comparable crime statistics on a nation-wide scale. The system of uniform crime réporting includes monthly and annuel reports of offenses known and offenses cleared by arrest and an annual report of the number of persons charged, 1.e., held for prosecution, by the police. This Division provides the necessary re- turn forms en¢ telly sheets, and return envelopes which require no postage. There is also available for distribution to interested law- enforcezent agencies the Manual, "Uniform Crime Reporting,” which includes detailed instructions with reference to the preparation of the crime reports, and in a:dition describes and illustrates the police record forms which, if mainteined, will make available the data desired in the monthly and annual crime returns submitted to the Division. In order to supplement the statistics obtained from the records described above, the Division periodically makes tabulations of date from the fingerprint cards currently received from law-en- forcement officials throughout the country. The information tabu- lated from these records pertains particularly to the age and pre- vious criminel history of persons arrested and fingerprinted. This informetion, together with the data obtained from the uniform crime reports, is published in a quarterly bulletin which is mailed to all interested law-enforcenent officials, as well as others having a special interest in stetistics of this character. Due in no small meesure to the cooperation of police de- pertments anc other similar agencies throushout the country the . project of collecting uniform crime reports has shown continued progress during the past three years. In 1930 monthly returns were received from 1,127 cities, representing a total population of J? 45,929,965; in i931, returns were received from 1,511 cities, repre- | , senting ea total poptlation of 51,145,734; during. 1932 there vere ; 1,573 cities, with en aggregete populetion of 55,212, 230,. and during J m~ the first 913 months of 1923 there <ere 1,586 cities, with a total . popul:tion of approxinstedy 54,000,000, which contributed the crime. reports. <A majority of the Lergéer - eitles throughout the country send. these reports regularly to the, ,Pivision. Any lew-enforcement officials who are not now contributing euch’ reports are invited to do so, and ‘ f came er 13 or - coe - ae en cat we, a the necessary blank forms may be obteined without cost from this Division.