IRE and NICAR offer data, stories and tipsheets to help cover breaking news events
Resources for covering the Northern Illinois University campus shooting
Feb. 14, 2008
Data
FBI Uniform Crime Reports: Comprised of six databases, the Uniform Crime Reports includes crime information reported to the FBI by law enforcement agencies around the country. This includes some, not all, campus police agencies. The database includes the Supplemental Homicide Report, showing several details of all reported homicides in the United States since 1980. Most of the other data tables consist of the "index" crimes: murder, nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, motor-vehicle theft and arson.
U.S. Department of Education campus crime: This data set contains campus crime statistics from the U.S. Department of Education collected under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. It includes alleged criminal offenses reported to campus police or security and local law enforcement. The Clery Act requires colleges and universities to disclose certain timely and annual information about campus crime and security policies. All public and private institutions participating in federal student aid programs are subject to it. Crimes are reported in the seven major categories, including murder and manslaughter. Others include: sex offenses, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, auto theft and arson.
Federal firearms licensees: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms federal firearms licensee database lists all federally approved gun dealers in the United States. That includes stores, rifle clubs, museums and individuals who want to own guns that require a ATF permit. After Congress enacted the Brady bill, licenses for dealerships became quite expensive and, consequently, the number of licensees has fallen noticeably. Current as of September 2006, the data includes 64,447 records of licensed dealers, from Wal-Mart to Kmart to Texas EZPAWN.
Uplink and The IRE Journal
IRE members can search
the indexes of The IRE Journal and Uplink.
Back issues of The IRE Journal and Uplink may be purchased
for $10 each. There is an additional $10 user fee for nonmembers. Check
with the Resource Center at 573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org
for availability.
Stories
Several stories, available through the IRE
Resource Center, deal with violence and crime on campus:
- Story no. 7434: USA Today investigates the extent of crime on the nation's college campuses; uses computer to gain comprehensive statistical account of crimes; ranks schools for safety and efforts to combat crime, September - December 1990."
- Story no. 21871: This WMAR-Baltimore investigation into the amount of crime on Maryland college campuses was prompted by the stabbing death of a Johns Hopkins University student while he slept in his dorm. The TV station wanted to take a more in-depth look into campus crime, so it analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education's Clery Act to determine a rate of crime at state college campuses. The investigation also showed footage of campus crimes after a series of challenging negotiations with some college campuses to release surveillance video under state open records laws.
- Story no. 18601 : In this four-part series, advanced journalism students from the University of Connecticut examine rising crime statistics and the various new types of crime at the UConn campus at Storrs. Using data from the university's police department and Uniform Crime Reports, reporters found that the UConn police department was greatly understaffed despite increasing student numbers and rising crime..
The IRE Resource Center also has tipsheets that deal with covering electric utilities. For instance:
- Tipsheet#2515: Tragedies & Journalists. This is a guide published by the Dart Center to help journalists cover catastrophic events better, and to survive them in better shape. Chapters deal with such subjects as interviewing victims and rescue workers, being among the first responders to a terrorist act, and dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Tipsheet#2504: An outline of typical responses to trauma and how media intervention affects grief. It also lists rights a victim should have when dealing with journalists and what reporters can do to be aware of victim issues
- Tipsheet#1656: Marcel Dufrense of the University of Connecticut provides tips on where to search for information on campus crime, security and law enforcement, completed with a list of web sites covering campus crime.
- Tipsheet#241:"Access to Campus Crime Reports" is a booklet produced by the Student Press Law Center to inform journalists of their rights to obtain information from universities and colleges about on-campus crime; includes strategies for obtaining crime reports and other data, specific laws as they vary from state to state and federal laws pertaining to the topic.
- Tipsheet#1549: Stuart Watson of WCNC-Charlotte, N. C., covers 10 breaking news scenarios and web sites that go with them and provides links that can help in reporting on accidents, wrecks, crashes, fires, spills and school/workplace violence.
- Tipsheet#2448: News researcher Carolyn Edds' guide to backgrounding people on the internet. It covers everything from newspaper archives to property records and personal licenses. Edds concludes her tipsheet with some google search tips and a list of helpful websites.
- Tipsheet#1187: A list of 10 tips for backgrounding a person on deadline.
Internet Resources
- Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma
- Center for Prevention of School Violence
- Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence
- U.S. Department of Education Campus Crime Web site
| For more information, contact: | |
| Jeremy Milarsky Database Library Director IRE and NICAR E-mail: jeremy@ire.org Voice: 573-882-1982 Fax: 573-884-5544 |
Beth Kopine Research Director IRE Resource Center E-mail: beth@ire.org Voice: 573-882-6668 Fax: 573-884-8151 |
