supporting statement.wpd

Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

Violent Criminal Apprehension Program Crime Analysis Report

OMB# 1110-0011

A. Justification

1. The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) Unit, a part of the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC), Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Justice (DOJ), administers the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program as authorized by Title 28, Section 534, of the United States Code. The NCAVC is authorized by 28 U.S.C. 534 to collect, classify, analyze, and preserve records on violent crimes, victims, and their offenders.

2. ViCAP is a computer-assisted database of homicides and sexual assaults in the United States. The data collection instrument if the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) Crime Analysis Report, form FD-676. Data submitted by law enforcement agencies across the United States is encoded for input into the ViCAP database and compared with all other submitted cases for similarities, national trends, and victim/offender patterns. Once a trend or case linkage is detected, the submitting law enforcement agencies are contacted by ViCAP staff to advise that agency of the existence of a similar-pattern offense in another jurisdiction. Based upon Privacy Act guidelines, the substance of the cases remain within the purview of the FBI and are not disseminated without prior approval fo the submitting agency.

3. Law enforcement agencies are able to forward case data to ViCAP by submitting a hard copy, Software developed by VICAP, and distributed without charge to state and local law enforcement and running in their desktop computer, allows case data to be forwarded electronically on diskette, zip drive, CD, through the internet as routine email, or encrypted as a part of the Law Enforcement Officers Online (LEO) secure intranet funded by the FBI. Software developed by ViCAP allows participating law enforcement agencies to eliminate hard copy in their own jurisdiction by permitting direct, electronic entry of case data into the jurisdiction own database. The data can then be forwarded electronically as outlined above.

4. ViCAP is aware that some local law enforcement entities created organic systems with few variables designed to serve agency needs. The different systems could not communicate across jurisdictional lines. ViCAP provides a standard for data collection. When legacy databases are encountered they are converted to the ViCAP system. Legacy databases were converted to ViCAP for the City of Los Angeles, CA, Police Department, the Dallas, TX, Police Department, the Houston, TX, Police Department, and the Philadelphia, PA, Police Department.

5. ViCAP collects information about violent crime. Violent crime, specifically homicide and sexual assault, occurs in communities with a population of 50,000 or less. Commission of these violent crimes has a negative impact on small agency resources, personnel allocations, scheduling, etc. Completion of the ViCAP form, estimated at one hour per incident, requires a very small fraction of the resources expended in violent crime investigation.

6. Data is collected as the crime(s) occur. Cases not submitted to the database on a timely basis are cases missed when analysis is performed and comparisons are drawn to other cases. A cessation of data collection means the end fo the ViCAP program.

7. Participation in ViCAP is voluntary.

8. 60-day and 30-day notices were published in the Federal Register an the FBI received no comments for the public.

9. No payments of gifts are authorized.

10. The Attorney General of the United States has exempted the NCAVC system of record from subsections (3), (d), (e) (1), (e) (4), (G) and (H), (F) and (g) fo the Privacy Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C.552a (j) (2) and (k) (2).

11. The VICAP Crime Analysis Report is a victim-driven system. It captures behavioral information concerning the offense for murder and sexual assault. To the extent that the commission of murders or sexual assaults includes sexual behavior, that is a part of the method of operation (MO) with which the crime was committed. See 10, above, for assurances of confidentiality concerning the MO of a case. Consent of deceased victims is not sought for collection of information concerning their homicide.

12. It is estimated that 10,000 respondent will submit one response annually. Each response will require 1.0 hour or less. This response time estimate is based upon consultations with the ViCAP Advisory Board and experience with the existing homicide reporting form, the ViCAP Crime Analysis Report. The total burden times, based on voluntary submissions, is about 10,000 hours annually.

13. There are no estimated capital or start-up costs.

14. ViCAP is an evolving program. It is estimated that the annualized cost to the federal government is $2,560,205. The method used to determine this cost included the salary of seventeen full-time ViCAP Crime Analysis to analyze case data collected at a cost of $1,420,900, four part time SSA's at a cost of $284,889 and three contract employees paid for by ViCap at a cost of $839,416. Printing cost for the FD-676 is $15,000. The ViCAP Crime Analysis Report will be available electronically to state and local law enforcement through LEO, making printing and distribution costs negligible.

15. There is no increase in burden on the individual respondents; however, the overall annual burden hours have decreased. This is attributable to the number of respondents that have transitioned to electronic submission of data.

16. ViCAP is a computer-assisted database of homicides and sexual assaults in the United States. The data collection instrument if the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP) Crime Analysis Report, form FD-676. Data submitted by law enforcement agencies across the United States is encoded for input into the ViCAP database and compared with all other submitted cases for similarities, national trends, and victim/offender patterns. Once a trend or case linkage is detected, the submitting law enforcement agencies are contacted by ViCAP staff to advise that agency of the existence of a similar-pattern offense in another jurisdiction. Based upon Privacy Act guidelines, the substance of the cases remain within the purview of the FBI and are not disseminated without prior approval fo the submitting agency. No publication plan or schedule is needed.

17. The viCAP Program will display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.

18. The ViCAP Program does not request an exception to the certification of this information collection.

B. Not applicable.