Role of State Programs in NIBRS Data Quality: A Case Study of Two States

• NCJ Number: 221798
• Journal: Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2008 Pages: 18-31
• Author(s): Cynthia Barnett-Ryan; Gregory Swanson
• Date Published: February 2008
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study explored the question of how the organization of State programs might positively influence the data quality of the State’s incident-based reporting data and its National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data submissions.

Abstract

This study examined how the State programs in Tennessee and Vermont are using the information available in NIBRS to fulfill the data enhancement expectation contained in The Blueprint for the Future of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program: Final Report of the UCR Study. While these States are not representative of all State programs, they can serve as models for how State programs might implement quality control procedures. Both States took common steps in implementing the program. These steps include: both sought expertise outside its own agency to develop its IBR hardware and software; both took steps to provide packaged software for the agencies to use in the collection of IBR data; each manager brought analytical expertise to the job and managed a small staff to provide a variety of services to the State’s contributing agencies; and in both States, training and auditing either currently are or will be mandatory. Both State program managers agreed that NIBRS had positively affected data quality, with a reduction in certain errors and a reduced need to correspond with agencies regarding data quality questions from the national program. In addition, both States noticed an increase in attentiveness to the data on the part of their contributing agencies. The descriptive information from these two State programs can serve as a basis for a more structured and definitive study of the impact of NIBRS and State programs on data quality. Future research should focus on State programs with different organizational cultures to examine how they have approached quality control of NIBRS data. Table, figure, note, and references