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 52 offenses grouped in 23 crime categories. Specific facts about these offenses are gathered and reported to NIBRS. In addition to the Group A offenses, 10 Group B offenses are reported with only the arrest information.

History

Uniform Crime Reports The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program compiles official data on crime in the United States, published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). UCR is "a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of nearly 18,000 city, university and c ...

(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 (IACP) is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia (United States). It is the world's largest professional association for police The police are a Law enforcement organization, c ...

(IACP) in 1927, published the first version of the '' Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook''. With this initiative, the Uniform Crime Reporting program began under the jurisdiction of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...

. Over the years, the uniform 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 SRS and NIBRS

The general concepts, such as jurisdictional rules, of collecting and reporting SRS (Summary Reporting System) data sed by UCRare the same as in NIBRS. However, NIBRS goes into much greater detail than SRS. NIBRS include
24 Group A
crime categories whereas SRS only has 8 crime categories classified as Part I. In NIBRS, the definition of rape has been expanded to include male victims. SRS, until recently, defined rape as "the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will" but since has been expanded. Formerly in SRS, sex attacks against males were to be classified only as either assaults or "other sex offenses", depending on the nature of the crime and the extent of the injury. When multiple crimes are committed by a single person or group of persons during the same basic period of time and same basic location, SRS 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. SRS has only two crime categories: Crimes Against Persons (e.g., murder, rape, assault, robbery) and Crimes Against Property (e.g., car theft, burglary, larceny, arson). 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 SRS 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 ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because ...

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).

Reported offense categories

Group A offenses

Animal Cruelty Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or su ...

Arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...

Assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...

( Aggravated, Simple,

Intimidation Intimidation is to "make timid or make fearful"; or to induce fear. This includes intentional behaviors of forcing another person to experience general discomfort such as humiliation, embarrassment, inferiority, limited freedom, etc and the victi ...

) #

Bribery Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Cor ...

Burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murd ...

/Breaking and Entering #

Counterfeit To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...

ing/

Forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forb ...

#Destruction/ Damage/

Vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The ter ...

of Property #

Drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhala ...

/Narcotic Offenses (including drug equipment violations) #

Embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

Extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

Blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

Fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compen ...

(false pretenses/swindle/confidence game, credit card and ATM fraud,

impersonation An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Entertainment: An entertainer impersonates a celebrity, generally for entertainment, and makes fun of ...

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

and

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

) #

Gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

(betting, wagering, operating/promoting/assisting gambling, gambling equipment violations, sports tampering) #

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

(

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

and non-negligent

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

, negligent manslaughter,

justifiable homicide The concept of justifiable homicide in criminal law is a defense to culpable homicide (criminal or negligent homicide). Generally, there is a burden of production of exculpatory evidence in the legal defense of justification. In most countri ...

)
Human
Trafficking #

Kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

/Abduction #

Larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

(pocket picking, purse snatching, shoplifting,

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for som ...

and all other larceny) #

Motor vehicle theft Motor vehicle theft (also known as a car theft and, in the United States, grand theft auto) is the criminal act of stealing or attempting to steal a motor vehicle. Nationwide in the United States in 2020, there were 810,400 vehicles reporte ...

Pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

/ Obscene Material #

Prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

Offenses (prostitution, assisting or promoting prostitution) #

Robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

# Sex Offenses, Forcible (

forcible rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

, forcible

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''s ...

, sexual assault with an object, forcible fondling) #Sex Offenses, Non-forcible (

incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity ( marriage or stepfamily), ado ...

statutory rape In common law jurisdictions, statutory rape is nonforcible sexual activity in which one of the individuals is below the age of consent (the age required to legally consent to the behavior). Although it usually refers to adults engaging in sexual ...

) #Stolen Property Offenses/

Fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...

#Weapon Law Violations

Group B offenses

#Bad Checks #

Curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

/Loitering/Vagrancy Violations #Disorderly Conduct #Driving Under the Influence #

Drunkenness Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main p ...

#Family Offenses, Nonviolent #Liquor Law Violations #

Peeping Tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly reme ...

Trespass Trespass 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, woundi ...

of Real Property #All Other Offenses

Use of NIBRS in the U.S.

As of October 31, 2020, 8,742 law enforcement agencies representing 48.9 percent of the population were reporting NIBRS data to the UCR program. At that time, 43 states were NIBRS-certified as having records management systems that meet the FBI's requirement for collecting crime data according to established technical specifications. BIref> 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

text format. There are 8 segments in the NIBRS system (numbered 0–7). Each segment is represented in a single line in the text file. Lines are separated with a

newline Newline (frequently called line ending, end of line (EOL), next line (NEL) or line break) is a control character or sequence of control characters in character encoding specifications such as ASCII, EBCDIC, Unicode, etc. This character, or ...

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.

Offender segment

Each offender's age, sex and race are reported using the Level 5 segment.

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

disposition A disposition is a quality of character, 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 bu ...

code for arrestees under 18 years of age.

Group B arrest segment

Each person arrested under a Group B offense is reported using a Level 7 segment. The arrestee's age, sex, race, ethnicity and resident status are reported along with any weapons with which the arrestee was armed. A disposition code for arrestees under 18 years of age is also reported.

References

*''Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook'', 2004 edition *''National Incident-Based Reporting System – Volume 2: Data Submission Specifications'', May 1992 edition

External links

SRS to NIBRS The Path to Better UCR Data
FBI
Justice Research and Statistics Association's Incident-Based Reporting Resource CenterNIBRS Pre-Certification (validation) Tool
{{Authority control Law enforcement databases in the United States Sex offender registration United States Department of Justice