National Incident Based Reporting System
Encyclopedia
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) is an incident-based reporting system used by law enforcement agencies in the United States for collecting and reporting data on crimes. Local, state and federal agencies generate NIBRS data from their records management systems. Data is collected on every incident and arrest in the Group A offense category. These Group A offenses are 46 specific crimes grouped in 22 offense categories. Specific facts about these offenses are gathered and reported in the NIBRS system. In addition to the Group A offenses, eleven Group B offenses are reported with only the arrest information.
(UCR) began in the late 1920s when the Committee on Uniform Crime Records, established by the International Association of Chiefs of Police
(IACP) in 1927, published the first version of the Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook
. With this initiative, the Uniform Crime Reports program began under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Over the years, the uniforme crime report developed into a broad utility for summary-based reporting of crimes. By the late 1970s, the law enforcement community saw the need for a more detailed crime reporting program that would meet the needs of law enforcement agencies in the 21st century.
Testing for the new NIBRS system began in South Carolina. The new system was approved for general use at a national UCR conference in March, 1988.
In NIBRs, the definition of rape has been expanded to include male victims. UCR defines rape as "the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will". Sex attacks against males are to be classified as either assaults or "other sex offenses", depending on the nature of the crime and the extent of the injury.
UCR does not differentiate between completed and attempted crimes while NIBRs does.
When multiple crimes are committed by a single person or group of persons during the same basic period of time and same basic location, UCR uses a "Hierarchy Rule" (see UCR
for details) to determine which offenses will be reported for that incident. Only the most serious offense is reported. For example, if a criminal burglarizes a residence and assaults the inhabitant, only the assault is reported as it takes precedence over the burglary on the "Hierarchy Rule". NIBRs reports all offenses involved in a particular incident.
UCR has only two crime categories: Crimes Against Persons (e.g., murder, rape, assault) and Crimes Against Property (e.g., robbery, burglary, larceny). NIBRs adds a third category titled Crimes Against Society for activities such as drug or narcotic offenses and other activities prohibited by society's rules.
Finally, agencies submit UCR data in written documents that must then be hand entered into a computer system for statistical analysis. NIBRs data are submitted electronically in the form of ASCII
text files. These files are then processed without the need for a person to input the data (except at the originating agency's initial filing of the report into their computer system).
population and 16% of the crime statistics data collected by the FBI. At that time 26 state programs had been certified by the FBI. Twelve states were in various stages of testing their NIBRs solutions and either other states were planning or developing NIBRs solutions.
A number of states, such as Texas and South Carolina, use a customized version of NIBRs. These versions return the basic data required by the FBI, but include additional data required by the state. This additional data are supplied with an additional segment type (see below for information on data segments) or appended to the appropriate segment line. For example, the Texas system (TIBRs) includes an additional segment (Segment Level 8) with additional data elements such as number of drug labs or fields seized, precursor drug chemicals involved and family violence data. The South Carolina system (SCIBRs) includes data like second location type, victim's usage of drugs or alcohol and space for additional offenses on arrests (other than the specific offense for which the person was arrested). These data are appended to the appropriate segment type.
text format. There are 9 segments in the basic NIBRs system. Each segment is represented in a single line in the text file. Lines are separated with a newline
character.
code for arrestees under 18 years of age.
History
Uniform Crime ReportsUniform Crime Reports
The Uniform Crime Reports are published by the United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program...
(UCR) began in the late 1920s when the Committee on Uniform Crime Records, established by the International Association of Chiefs of Police
International Association of Chiefs of Police
The International Association of Chiefs of Police was founded in Chicago in 1893 as the National Chiefs of Police Union. The primary goal of this organization was to apprehend and return criminals who had fled the agency jurisdictions in which they were wanted...
(IACP) in 1927, published the first version of the Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook
Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook
Frequently referred to as The Green Book due to its green cover, the Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook is a publication of the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation...
. With this initiative, the Uniform Crime Reports program began under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Over the years, the uniforme crime report developed into a broad utility for summary-based reporting of crimes. By the late 1970s, the law enforcement community saw the need for a more detailed crime reporting program that would meet the needs of law enforcement agencies in the 21st century.
Testing for the new NIBRS system began in South Carolina. The new system was approved for general use at a national UCR conference in March, 1988.
Similarities and differences between UCR and NIBRS
The general concepts, such as jurisdictional rules, of collecting and reporting UCR data are the same as in NIBRs. However, NIBRs goes into much greater detail than the summary-based UCR system. NIBRs includes 46 Group A offenses whereas UCR only has eight offenses classified as Part I offenses.In NIBRs, the definition of rape has been expanded to include male victims. UCR defines rape as "the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will". Sex attacks against males are to be classified as either assaults or "other sex offenses", depending on the nature of the crime and the extent of the injury.
UCR does not differentiate between completed and attempted crimes while NIBRs does.
When multiple crimes are committed by a single person or group of persons during the same basic period of time and same basic location, UCR uses a "Hierarchy Rule" (see UCR
Uniform Crime Reports
The Uniform Crime Reports are published by the United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program...
for details) to determine which offenses will be reported for that incident. Only the most serious offense is reported. For example, if a criminal burglarizes a residence and assaults the inhabitant, only the assault is reported as it takes precedence over the burglary on the "Hierarchy Rule". NIBRs reports all offenses involved in a particular incident.
UCR has only two crime categories: Crimes Against Persons (e.g., murder, rape, assault) and Crimes Against Property (e.g., robbery, burglary, larceny). NIBRs adds a third category titled Crimes Against Society for activities such as drug or narcotic offenses and other activities prohibited by society's rules.
Finally, agencies submit UCR data in written documents that must then be hand entered into a computer system for statistical analysis. NIBRs data are submitted electronically in the form of ASCII
ASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
text files. These files are then processed without the need for a person to input the data (except at the originating agency's initial filing of the report into their computer system).
Group A Offenses
- ArsonArsonArson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
- AssaultAssaultIn law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
(AggravatedAggravation (legal concept)Aggravation, in law, is "any circumstance attending the commission of a crime or tort which increases its guilt or enormity or adds to its injurious consequences, but which is above and beyond the essential constituents of the crime or tort itself."...
, Simple, IntimidationIntimidationIntimidation is intentional behavior "which would cause a person of ordinary sensibilities" fear of injury or harm. It's not necessary to prove that the behavior was so violent as to cause terror or that the victim was actually frightened.Criminal threatening is the crime of intentionally or...
) - BriberyBriberyBribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
- BurglaryBurglaryBurglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
/Breaking and Entering - CounterfeitCounterfeitTo counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
ing/ForgeryForgeryForgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or... - Destruction/DamageProperty damageProperty damage is damage to or the destruction of public or private property, caused either by a person who is not its owner or by natural phenomena. Property damage caused by persons is generally categorized by its cause: neglect , and intentional damage...
/VandalismVandalismVandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
of Property - DrugDrug-Related CrimeIn the United States, Illegal drugs are related to crime in multiple ways. Most directly, it is a crime to use, possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse...
/Narcotic Offenses (including drug equipment violations) - EmbezzlementEmbezzlementEmbezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
- ExtortionExtortionExtortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
/BlackmailBlackmailIn common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats... - FraudFraudIn criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
(false pretenses/swindle/confidence game, credit card and ATMAutomated teller machineAn automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
fraud, impersonation, welfareWelfare fraudWelfare fraud refers to various intentional misuses of state welfare systems by withholding information or giving false or inaccurate information. This may be done in small, uncoordinated efforts, or in larger, organized criminal rings...
and wire fraudWire fraudMail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Together, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1346 reach any fraudulent scheme or artifice to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services with a nexus to mail or wire communication....
) - GamblingGamblingGambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
(betting, wagering, operating/promoting/assisting gambling, gambling equipment violations, sports tampering) - HomicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
(murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
and non-negligent manslaughterManslaughterManslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
, negligent manslaughter, justifiable homicideJustifiable homicideThe United States' concept of justifiable homicide in criminal law stands on the dividing line between an excuse, justification and an exculpation. It is different from other forms of homicide in that due to certain circumstances the homicide is justified as preventing greater harm to innocents...
) - KidnappingKidnappingIn criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
/Abduction - LarcenyLarcenyLarceny is a crime involving the wrongful acquisition of the personal property of another person. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of England into their own law. It has been abolished in England and Wales,...
(pocket picking, purse snatching, shoplifting, theftTheftIn common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
and all other larceny) - Motor Vehicle Theft
- PornographyPornographyPornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
/Obscene MaterialObscenityAn obscenity is any statement or act which strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time, is a profanity, or is otherwise taboo, indecent, abhorrent, or disgusting, or is especially inauspicious... - ProstitutionProstitutionProstitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
Offenses (prostitution, assisting or promoting prostitution) - RobberyRobberyRobbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
- Sex Offenses, Forcible (forcible rape, forcible sodomySodomySodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
, sexual assault with an object, forcible fondling) - Sex Offenses, Non-forcible (incestIncestIncest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, statutory rapeStatutory rapeThe phrase statutory rape is a term used in some legal jurisdictions to describe sexual activities where one participant is below the age required to legally consent to the behavior...
) - Stolen Property Offenses/FenceFenceA fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage .Fences...
- Weapon Law Violations
Group B Offenses
- Bad Checks
- CurfewCurfewA curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
/Loitering/Vagrancy Violations - Disorderly Conduct
- Driving Under the Influence
- DrunkennessDrunkennessAlcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
- Family Offenses, Nonviolent
- Liquor Law Violations
- Peeping TomVoyeurismIn clinical psychology, voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other activity usually considered to be of a private nature....
- Runaway
- TrespassTrespassTrespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...
of Real Property - All Other Offenses
Use of NIBRS in the U.S.
As of 2004, 5,271 law enforcement agencies submitted NIBRs data. That amount represents 20% of the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
population and 16% of the crime statistics data collected by the FBI. At that time 26 state programs had been certified by the FBI. Twelve states were in various stages of testing their NIBRs solutions and either other states were planning or developing NIBRs solutions.
A number of states, such as Texas and South Carolina, use a customized version of NIBRs. These versions return the basic data required by the FBI, but include additional data required by the state. This additional data are supplied with an additional segment type (see below for information on data segments) or appended to the appropriate segment line. For example, the Texas system (TIBRs) includes an additional segment (Segment Level 8) with additional data elements such as number of drug labs or fields seized, precursor drug chemicals involved and family violence data. The South Carolina system (SCIBRs) includes data like second location type, victim's usage of drugs or alcohol and space for additional offenses on arrests (other than the specific offense for which the person was arrested). These data are appended to the appropriate segment type.
Data format
NIBRs data are submitted in an ASCIIASCII
The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is a character-encoding scheme based on the ordering of the English alphabet. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text...
text format. There are 9 segments in the basic NIBRs system. Each segment is represented in a single line in the text file. Lines are separated with a newline
Newline
In computing, a newline, also known as a line break or end-of-line marker, is a special character or sequence of characters signifying the end of a line of text. The name comes from the fact that the next character after the newline will appear on a new line—that is, on the next line below the...
character.
Zero-reporting segment
The Level 0 segment is only filed if an agency does not have any criminal offenses or arrests to report during a given reporting period.Administrative segment
The Level 1 segment contains administrative information for a single incident. This information includes the incident number, date, time and a list of offenses. Only one Level 1 segment is submitted for each incident with an offense in the Group A category. For each Level 1 segment, there may be one or more segments from Levels 2 through 6.Offense segment
A Level 2 segment is submitted for each offense and provides details on the offense such as the UCR offense code, whether or not the offense was completed, the location type, number of premises entered (only valid for burglaries), type of criminal activity and the type of weapon or force used in the crime.Property segment
Any property involved in an offense is recorded in the Level 3 segment. The loss type (stolen, recovered, burned, seized, damaged, etc.), value, description and recovery date (only for recovered property) are provided as well as data on stolen and recovered motor vehicles and seized drugs.Victim segment
Every victim involved in the incident is detailed in the Level 4 segment. The victim's age, sex, race, ethnicity, relationship to the offender(s), type of injury and special circumstances for certain offense types are recorded.Arrestee segment
The Level 6 segment is filed for each person arrested under a Group A offense. The data submitted via this segment includes the arrest date, type and offense code. The arrestee's age, sex, race, ethnicity and resident status (whether or not the arrestee is a resident of the arresting agency's jurisdiction) are reported along with any weapons with which the arrestee was armed and a dispositionDisposition
A disposition is a habit, a preparation, a state of readiness, or a tendency to act in a specified way.The terms dispositional belief and occurrent belief refer, in the former case, to a belief that is held in the mind but not currently being considered, and in the latter case, to a belief that is...
code for arrestees under 18 years of age.