NCJ Number
251427
Journal
Criminology & Public Policy Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2017 Pages: 1027-1048
Date Published
November 2017
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This article describes the nation's move to a crime-reporting system that is exclusively incident based.
Abstract
Such a change presents challenges for the "crime-reporting pipeline" and for researchers in managing and analyzing these more intricate data. The current article highlights the shortcomings of the dominant system, the Uniform Crime Reporting Program's Summary Reporting System (SRS), and argues that the advantages of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) qualify it to replace the SRS as one of the nation's primary sources for tracking and measuring crime. NIBRS is also discussed in light of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), a source that complements a system that relies on law-enforcement-generated crime data. This article argues that the timing is right for a nationwide move toward NIBRS. The shift from aggregate crime counts to details on each crime incident has broad implications for justice policy. Use of a national incident-based collection of crimes known to the police provides (a) a set of descriptive indicators of crime in the United States that is currently lacking, (b) benchmarking for progress and change, and (c) more purposeful comparisons across place and time. The shift also serves to professionalize the policing industry further and provides transparency on crime and how police respond to it. The greater understanding of the crime problem will allow programs, policies, and resource allocations to be more deliberate and responsive. (Publisher abstract modified)