The Nation’s Move to NIBRS: Formulating the Future of Crime Data in Policing – Workshop Proceedings

• NCJ Number: 300070
• Date Published: June 2021
• Length: 30 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2017-BJ-CX-K054
• Agencies: BJS-Sponsored

Annotation

This report summarizes proceedings from a 1-day workshop held in December 2019, sponsored by the U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to obtain input from police practitioners, researchers, and crime and data analysts on ways to leverage incident-based data that will improve tactical and strategic analysis, as well as to improve policing practice and build community trust in the nationwide transition to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).

Abstract

This summary addresses workshop key themes, a compilation of innovative analytical approaches identified by the workshop participants, and activities that could promote and accelerate the use of NIBRS data to assist law enforcement practitioners and researchers. One major area of workshop discussion and recommendations pertained to leveraging incident-based crime data for data-driven policing. Topics addressed in this area included streamlining data collection and improving internal access to data, expectations of and impacts on data quality, informing tactical and strategic decision making, and evaluating resource allocation. A second major area addressed by the workshop was the assessment and evaluation of agency strategy and policies. Topics covered in this area were the assessment of agency performance and the evaluation of departmental initiatives. A third major area addressed was improving transparency with the public through comprehensive crime data. Discussions and recommendations focused on communicating with the media about NIBRS, communicating directly with the public, dissemination channels, and connecting with other jurisdictions and the research community. Two other major topic areas discussed by workshop participants were 1) promotion of the expansion of incident-based data collection and submission and 2) proactive ways that law enforcement agencies can support the transition to NIBRS and promote incident-based crime data collection. 4 references and appended list of workshop participants and the NIBRS workshop agenda