The NIBRS transition: coverage, quality, and fitness for use as statistical data

• In Event: The New National Standard for Reported Crime Data: Estimating Crime Based on NIBRS

Abstract

The FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program has collected information on crimes known to law enforcement since 1929, with the Summary Reporting System (SRS) being the premier source of reported crime data. Over the course of this long-lived data collection, the FBI has been able to garner participation in voluntary contributions of data that exceed 90 percent for many years. Now that the UCR has transitioned to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) as the national standard for law enforcement crime reporting, participation rates hover at about two-thirds of agencies, lower than the typical SRS rates.

This presentation will provide an overview of the current and anticipated levels of coverage for offense reports, the outlook for the continuing implementation of NIBRS among remaining non-reporting agencies, and implications of agency reporting patterns on the use of NIBRS data for national estimation. The presentation will also discuss the quality and completeness of the NIBRS data, the fitness for use as a source of official statistical data, and how the federal estimation work will assess and account for changes in the composition of reporting agencies over time.

Author

• Cynthia Barnett-Ryan, Federal Bureau of Investigation