NCJ Number
231661
Date Published
2000
Length
20 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this special edition of CJIS is to assist law enforcement personnel in understanding the problems likely to be encountered in making the transition from reporting crime data under the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) system to reporting under the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).
Abstract
In comparing the summary system of the UCR, which was introduced in 1929, to the NIBRS, the first article notes that the UCR Program "pales next to the capabilities and potential of the NIBRS." Whereas, the UCR system captures limited data on seven index crimes (arson was added as an eighth offense in 1972), the NIBRS takes advantage of the capacity of modern police information and data-processing systems to capture a myriad of details about crimes and criminals through incident-based reporting (IBR). The second article reviews Delaware's "long road to certification" for use of NIBRS. Problems addressed included funding for the significant and underestimated costs of converting to a NIBRS-compatible system; programmer error; the learning curve for programmers (at least 1 year required); and the State's decision to implement an entirely new statewide Criminal Justice Information System. The problems were resolved largely due to the FBI's NIBRS training sessions and the work of the FBI's Quality Assurance Review team. Another article reports on Connecticut's conversion to the NIBRS system from the perspective of police officers. This article notes that from the first weeks of using the new NIBRS, police managers were able to analyze incident types and patterns from the greater detail offered under the NIBRS datasets. This facilitated more proactive and efficient deployment of resources. Other article review the NIBRS conversion experiences of Austin, TX; New York; and three cities selected for pilot projects. Other articles address conversion funding and NIBRS on the Internet.