Improving Police-Community Relations through More Meaningful Data on Public Safety and Community Wellness

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

The Law Enforcement Incident-Based Statistics Unit at the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in partnership with the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division, is engaged in activities to promote submission of detailed, comprehensive crime data from more law enforcement agencies to the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). First, BJS launched the National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X) Initiative, to expand NIBRS reporting in a sample-based way in order to generate national estimates of crime using incident-based law enforcement data. Second, BJS established the Crime Indicators Working Group (CIWG), comprised of law enforcement leaders brought together to discuss how agencies can improve transparency and foster dialogue within communities by improving the indicators of crime and public safety they use. This presentation will provide background information on both of these core activities, discuss the ways in which both NCS-X and CIWG directly support federal efforts to strengthen partnerships with state and local stakeholders, and showcase how improvements in crime data realized through these two programs will facilitate more innovative assessments of approaches to addressing prevention and intervention strategies in criminal and juvenile justice.

Sub Unit

• Area VIII: Policing / 54: Police, Communities, and Legitimacy

Individual Presentations

• Addressing the Myths about the Impact of Transitioning to Incident-Based Crime Reporting - Andrea Burch, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice; Alexia Cooper, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice

• Assessing the Quality of NIBRS Data for Generating Valid and Reliable Estimates of Crime by Place - Alexia Cooper, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice; Kimberly Martin, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice

• Examining the Nature of Sexual Assault on College Campuses using Law Enforcement Data on Reported Victimizations - Erica L. Smith, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice; Alexia Cooper, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice; Kimberly Martin, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice

Chair

• Erica L. Smith, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice

Discussant

• Howard Snyder, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice