THE USER'S GUIDE CONTAINS A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS CENTER HAS DONE IN PROCESSING THE ORIGINAL FILES, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CAPABILITIES OF THE STATISTICAL PACKAGE FOR THE SOCIAL SCIENCES, DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION ON THE AVAILABLE FILES, AND A DETAILED EXAMINATION OF PROBLEMS IN THE DATA. DATA COVER 1972-1976; DATA FOR SUBSEQUENT YEARS WILL BE ADDED IN A SUPPLEMENT AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE. FILES CONTAINING TOTAL OFFENSES FOR EACH CRIME CLASSIFICATION, TOTAL ARRESTS FOR EACH CRIME, AND TOTAL NUMBER OF POLICE OFFICERS KILLED OR ASSAULTED ARE AVAILABLE IN DIFFERENT FORMATS. THE FILES WHICH ARE SMALLEST AND EASIEST TO USE CONTAIN THE YEARLY TOTALS OF CRIMES FOR EACH COUNTY. OTHER FILES CONTAIN MONTHLY TOTALS FOR EACH LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY REPORT. EACH RECORD IN THE DATA FILES SUMMARIZES ALL THE DATA FOR THAT MONTH OR YEAR IN THE JURISDICTION FOR EACH TYPE OF OFFENSE. THE INCIDENT-LEVEL FILES CONTAIN DATA ON PROPERTY LOSSES, PERSONS ARRESTED, AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA ON HOMICIDES. ANNUAL COUNTY TOTALS FOR ALL 5 YEARS ARE INCLUDED ON SINGLE DATA FILES, ONE FOR EACH TYPE OF INFORMATION, WHILE THE MONTHLY AGENCY TOTALS AND THE INCIDENT-LEVEL DATA ARE AVAILABLE ON SEPARATE FILES FOR EACH YEAR, DUE TO THE LARGE NUMBER OF RECORDS INVOLVED. SEVERAL APPENDIXES DESCRIBE THE CODING SCHEMES FOR THE LARGER VARIABLES, INCLUDING A LIST OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WHICH SUBMITTED DATA DIRECTLY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT DURING THE PERIOD COVERED AND FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE CRIME CODES. EXAMPLES OF THE DIFFERENT REPORTING FORMS USED IN THE I-UCR PROGRAMS FORM 1972-1976 ARE ALSO APPENDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED --- RCB)