NCJ Number
139475
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 61 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1992) Pages: 15-18
Date Published
1992
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article describes the recently developed National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), a revision of the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR), which views a crime and all its components as an "incident."
Abstract
The UCR, which was established in the 1920's, has involved a nationwide cooperative effort to provide a reliable set of criminal statistics for use in law enforcement administration, operation, and management. Throughout its first 60 years of operation, the UCR Program remained virtually unchanged in terms of the data collected and disseminated. In the late 1970's, the law enforcement community called for a thorough evaluation of UCR, with the objective of recommending a revised UCR Program to meet law enforcement needs into the 21st century. The new system offers law enforcement more comprehensive data than ever before available for management, training, and planning. The new NIBRS is an incident-based reporting system. This means that law enforcement agencies collect data on each single occurrence by viewing a crime and all its components as an "incident." NIBRS collects data on each incident and arrest within 22 crime categories, including 46 specific offenses. For each offense reported, law enforcement agencies obtain facts about the crime, for example, victim and offender characteristics, type of property stolen, weapons used, and location, depending on the availability of such information. Information on persons arrested will be obtained for an additional 11 offense categories. NIBRS heightens an agency's ability to document and easily retrieve information on crime known to law enforcement, leaving less room for speculation. It also enhances data quality assurance and virtually eliminates opportunities for inconsistent reporting from one jurisdiction to another.