Addressing the Myths about the Impact of Transitioning to Incident-Based Crime Reporting

• In Event: Improving Police-Community Relations through More Meaningful Data on Public Safety and Community Wellness

Abstract

A key barrier to the nationwide adoption of incident-based crime reporting is the perception among police executives that its implementation will produce an increase in crime rates, potentially provoking an escalated fear of crime among the public and a loss of confidence in the ability of local agencies to control crime. This concern is driven by the fact that incident-based systems record up to ten offenses per incident rather than applying the traditional “hierarchy rule” that counts only the most serious offense occurring during an incident. Using crime data from agencies reporting to NIBRS between 2004 and 2014, trends in property and violent crime rates calculated using the hierarchy rule will be compared to rates calculated using incident-based data incorporating all offenses in an incident. The presentation will also examine these differences in crime rate calculations across multiple levels of geography and will conclude by discussing the implications of the findings for how agencies and local governments can benefit from and proactively manage the transition to incident-based crime reporting.

Authors

• Andrea Burch, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice

• Alexia Cooper, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice