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pdfBJS National Crime Statistics – Exchange Project
Agency Survey Generic Clearance Package
Table of Contents
Page Number
Attachment
Document Title
1
Attachment A
FBI/BJS Joint Statement of Support for NCS-X
3
Attachment B
Brief Overview of the NCS-X
4
Attachment C
IACP CJIS Committee Resolution of Support
7
Attachment D
NCS-X Final Agency Survey Draft
24
Attachment E
Sample Design Tables
25
Attachment F
Graphical Representation of Data Collection
Procedures
26
Attachment G
Agency Survey Lead Letter
27
Attachment H
Agency Survey Cover Letter
28
Attachment I
Agency Survey Follow-up Letter – sent to Chief
31
Attachment J
Agency Survey Follow-up Letter – sent to Chief’s
proxy
33
Attachment K
Online Survey Sample Screenshots
The National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X)
OVERVIEW
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is
spearheading the National Crime Statistics
Exchange (NCS-X), an effort aimed at generating
nationally-representative, incident-based data
on crimes reported to law enforcement agencies.
NCS-X will leverage the existing data compiled
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National
Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) by
recruiting a carefully selected sample of law
enforcement agencies to join the more than 5,000
agencies currently reporting NIBRS data. When
completed, this
program will
This program will increase our
increase our
nation’s ability to monitor, respond
nation’s ability
to, and prevent crime…
to monitor,
respond to, and
prevent crime by allowing NIBRS to produce
timely, detailed, and accurate national measures of
crime incidents.
NCS-X is a collaborative undertaking, supported
by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other
Department of Justice agencies. Support from
the law enforcement community is essential to
ensure the success of NCS-X. The procedures
promoted by NCS-X to extract incident-based
data from existing records management systems
will be efficient and minimally burdensome
to participating agencies. In addition, NCS-X
will provide incentives to agencies and to
state reporting programs to encourage their
participation in NCS-X.
A team of organizations — including RTI
International, the International Association of
Chiefs of Police, the Police Executive Research
Forum, the Integrated Justice Information
Systems Institute, and SEARCH, the National
Consortium for Justice Information and
Statistics — is responsible for
developing the implementation
plans for NCS-X. This includes
coordinating efforts with local
law enforcement, state
reporting programs, and the software industry.
An Executive Steering Committee comprised
of law enforcement and criminal justice
experts and consultants will review design and
implementation options to ensure the maximum
benefit to participants and key stakeholders.
HOW DOES NCS-X AFFECT
MY AGENCY?
NCS-X Phase I activities are focused on assessing
the program’s viability and the implementation
costs. Tasks include (1) recruiting a sample of
400 law enforcement agencies for participation,
(2) reaching out to stakeholders and existing
state NIBRS reporting programs to gain their
insight and support, (3) identifying barriers and
developing incentives and resources that will
encourage candidate agencies to participate in
NCS-X, and (4) developing cost and feasibility
guidelines for implementation.
The NCS-X project team will begin contacting
candidate law enforcement agencies in 2013
to introduce the NCS-X initiative, provide
background on the program, and gather
information about each agency’s current
operations and incident-based reporting
capabilities. BJS will explore a variety of options
to assist agencies in participating in the program,
including potentially expanding reporting
capabilities, technical solutions, analytic tools, and
other customized incentives intended to enhance
the operational capabilities of the NCS-X agencies.
More Information
For more information regarding NCS-X, or if you
have any questions, please contact the following:
Howard N. Snyder, PhD
Deputy Director
Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice
Howard.Snyder@usdoj.gov
(202) 307-0765
Kevin J. Strom, PhD
NCS-X Project Director
RTI International
kstrom@rti.org
(919) 485-5729
IACP Supports the National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS‐X) Feasibility Study
October 23, 2013
WHEREAS, in 2012 the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced its National Crime Statistics
Exchange (NCS‐X) initiative to study the feasibility of increasing participation in the Federal Bureau of
Investigation’s (FBI) National Incident‐Based Reporting System (NIBRS) so that NIBRS will have the
coverage to generate statistically‐sound national estimates of crime known to law enforcement
agencies;
WHEREAS, the NCS‐X will be designed to expand participation in the FBI's existing NIBRS so that the
resulting data can be used to produce detailed national estimates of crime known to law enforcement;
WHEREAS, the NCS‐X is not being designed to replace or interfere with the Uniform Crime Reporting
(UCR) or to establish a new and separate crime data system;
WHEREAS, the NCS‐X anticipates increasing law enforcement agency participation in NIBRS through
NCX‐S by at least 400 agencies;
WHEREAS, because some agencies will elect not to participate in NIBRS, BJS will identify additional
local, state, and tribal agencies that may elect to participate, thereby enabling NCS‐X to reach the
necessary minimum number of agencies required to produce national estimates of crime;
WHEREAS, BJS, along with other components within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will explore
funding opportunities to support and encourage these selected agencies to begin their NIBRS reporting;
WHEREAS, BJS has committed to working together with the FBI and other organizations and advisory
bodies to explore the feasibility of "enter once, use many" strategies, such as extracting NIBRS data
from any agency's N‐DEx (Law Enforcement National Data Exchange) submissions, a process that
would not require agencies to enter data into each system independently;
WHEREAS, it is anticipated that NCS‐X will provide more meaningful analytic information to law
enforcement, policymakers and criminal justice planners on topics important in the 21st Century and
will provide local, state, and tribal law enforcement along with state UCR programs with technology‐
based tools to analyze and compare data within NIBRS;
WHEREAS, the BJS has agreed to participate and collaborate with the CJIS Advisory Policy Board
and law enforcement agencies and organizations in developing any new national picture of crime
that is based on local law enforcement agency reports;
WHEREAS, the FBI and BJS have entered into an agreement consistent with the IACP CJIS Committee
recommendations to the BJS;
WHEREAS, the BJS has committed to implementing a communications plan to provide a clear and
consistent message regarding the feasibility study, the NCS‐X, and the process being used;
WHEREAS, subject to budgetary constraints, BJS plans to make a substantial commitment each year
from 2014 through 2016 to encourage selected local, state and tribal departments to provide incident
level data to state UCR programs, to assist state UCR programs to handle this increased responsibility,
and to cover some of the individual agency costs of participating in the national program;
RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police supports the BJS in conducting a
feasibility study to implement the NCS‐X.
D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
National Pretrial Reporting Program
Jurisdictional Capacity Survey
On behalf of the Bureau of Justice Statistics – the statistical research arm of the
U.S. Department of Justice – the Urban Institute (UI), a non-profit research
organization located in Washington, D.C., and the Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI)
are exploring the feasibility of collecting nationally representative statistics on
pretrial outcomes and performance. This effort is known as the National
Pretrial Reporting Program (NPRP). Generating nationally representative
statistics on pretrial practice is crucial for understanding national trends in
criminal case processing and identifying ways to improve system efficiency and
defendant outcomes.
To develop the data collection methods for NPRP, UI and PJI are fielding a survey to understand both
the variation in pretrial practices across jurisdictions and the information jurisdictions have available
about their pretrial populations. Your jurisdiction is one of several jurisdictions selected across the
country to participate in this jurisdictional capacity survey (JCS). Enclosed is a letter from the National
Association of Pretrial Services Agencies (NAPSA) and the National Association of Counties (NACo)
endorsing this survey.
Although this survey is voluntary, we appreciate your cooperation to make the results comprehensive,
accurate, and timely. Your feedback will be invaluable to our effort in identifying the types of pretrial
data that should be collected at the national level as well as the feasibility of collecting such data
elements. All answers, including your contact information, will be kept strictly confidential. Under the
BJS Use of Data Statute (42 U.S.C. § 3735): “Data collected by the Bureau shall be used only for
statistical or research purposes, and shall be gathered in a manner that precludes their use for law
enforcement or any purpose relating to a private person or public agency other than statistical or
research purposes.”
If you have questions about this survey or need assistance, please e-mail UI at NPRP@urban.org or call
UI at 1- 855-709-0870. Also, please feel free to contact Tracey Kyckelhahn, the BJS Project Manager, at
Tracey.Kyckelhahn@ojp.usdoj.gov should you have any questions about this project. Thank you for
your cooperation in this important data collection effort.
Sincerely,
Bureau of Justice Statistics
William J. Sabol, Ph.D.
Acting Director
Bureau of Justice Statistics
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
Instructions for Completing the Survey
1. The survey consists of 37 questions, some of which may require you to look up information or
consult with another agency in your jurisdiction. We do not expect that your agency will be able
to answer all or even the majority of the questions. This survey is simply intended to provide
feedback about the types of data elements that jurisdictions like yours collect about their
pretrial population and the effort required to compile such data. Therefore, any information
you provide will be useful; we are equally interested in learning about which questions you
cannot answer as we are in receiving completed responses. We also recognize that pulling
together this data may be a time-consuming process. Please complete all the questions that
you are able to and let us know how long each one took – the survey will prompt you to report
this information. Again, all of this feedback will be invaluable to us as part of the NPRP process.
2. We acknowledge that technical definitions for common terms relating to pretrial case
processing may vary widely across jurisdictions. Some of the legal and procedural terms used in
this survey may not be entirely clear or applicable to your jurisdiction. Please answer all
questions in a way that most closely reflects pretrial operations in your jurisdiction. Should you
need to give an explanation for an answer or define any of the terms used as they specifically
relate to your jurisdiction, please use the space provided at the end of the survey.
3. Please return the survey by Month-Day, 2014.
4. If you need assistance to answer any question, please email NPRP@urban.org or call UI at 1855-709-0870.
2
D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
Survey Completed By:
First Name
Last Name
Position Title
_______________________ ________________________ _______________________________
Organization Name
Organization Type (e.g. jail, sheriff’s office, etc.)
_______________________________________
_________________________________________
Official Address
___________________________________________________________________________________
Telephone
Email
____________________________________________
____________________________________
SECTION A: PRETRIAL ORGANIZATION
A1. Is your agency responsible for reporting to another entity or authority on matters related to the
management of the pretrial population?
☐Yes
☐No
☐Other _____________
If yes, please list all the entities to which you report.
Entity Name
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Point of Contact
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Email and/or Telephone
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
A2. Is your agency responsible for the supervision and/or treatment of pretrial defendants (in other
words, is your agency considered a pretrial agency)?
☐Yes
☐No
A3. Does your agency have access to case-level data regarding pretrial defendants?
☐Yes (skip to Section B)
☐No (skip to A4)
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
A4. If your agency is not responsible for pretrial defendants or your agency does not have access to
case-level data, please provide the following information for the agency/agencies that is/are
responsible for collecting and/or maintaining information on your jurisdiction’s pretrial population and
case-level data.
Entity Name
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Point of Contact
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Email and/or Telephone
_______________________
_______________________
_______________________
[Thank you for your time. You are now done with the survey. We will contact the appropriate agency
to complete the survey using the contact information you provided above.]
4
D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
SECTION B: PRETRIAL POPULATION
B1. Please indicate the stages at which pretrial defendants are referred, or otherwise made known, to
your agency (check all that apply).
☐Arrest
☐Booking
☐Initial appearance
☐Arraignment
☐Preliminary hearing
☐Other _________________
Arrest
Booking
Initial
Appearance
Arraignment
Preliminary
Hearing
B2. Does the above figure closely reflect the general case flow of pretrial defendants in your
jurisdiction?
☐Yes
☐No
If no, please explain.
B3. Indicate the stages at which your agency collects or obtains access to case-level data on pretrial
defendants (check all that apply).
☐Arrest
☐Booking
☐Initial appearance
☐Arraignment
☐Preliminary hearing
The first stage you indicated above makes up your working definition of the pretrial population for
the remainder of this survey.
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
B4. In your jurisdiction, do the police issue a citation, or summons, to appear in court to an arrestee
accused of committing the following (check all that apply):
☐Traffic infractions
☐Petty offenses
☐Misdemeanors
☐Felonies
☐None of the above
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
SECTION C: PRETRIAL FUNCTIONS
C1. Does your jurisdiction use an actuarial risk assessment tool to assess the risk of pretrial defendants?
☐Yes
☐No
C1a. If yes, what is the name of the actuarial risk assessment tool that your jurisdiction uses?
_____________________________
C1b. How is information from the actuarial risk assessment tool maintained? (Check all that apply.)
☐Electronically
☐Paper files
☐Other _________________
C2. Please indicate the available supervision and treatment options for the pretrial population in your
jurisdiction. (Check all that apply.)
☐Curfews
☐Electronic monitoring
☐Supervision is not provided
☐Other (please specify) _________________
C2a. Please indicate the available treatment options for the pretrial population in your jurisdiction.
☐Substance abuse treatment
☐Mental health treatment
☐Treatment is not provided
☐Other (please specify) _________________
C3. Please indicate the financial release mechanisms that your jurisdiction offers.
☐Cash
☐Deposit bond
☐Surety bond
☐Property bond
☐Other (please specify) _________________
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
C3a. Please indicate the non-financial release mechanisms that your jurisdiction offers.
☐Citation
☐Release on recognizance
☐Unsecured bond
☐Supervised release
☐Other (please specify) _________________
C4. Does your jurisdiction allow defendants to be released on financial bond while under pretrial
supervision?
☐Yes
☐No
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
SECTION D: PRETRIAL RELEASE DECISION
D1. What was the caseload of the pretrial population (as defined in B3) for 2012?
___________
For questions D2 – D4
• Please report data for the total population only if it is not possible to distinguish
between felony and misdemeanor charges.
• If exact numbers are not available, please provide best estimates. Indicate that
you have provided an estimate by checking the “Est.” box.
• If you are not able to provide an estimate, please write “-99” in each box.
D2. While awaiting case adjudication, how many of the defendant population in 2012, as reported in
D1, were:
Felony (#)
Released
(Most serious charge)
Est.
☐
Detained
☐
Misdemeanor (#)
(Most serious charge)
Est.
☐
Total (#)
☐
Est.
☐
☐
D3. While awaiting case adjudication, how many defendants reported in D2 were released by the
following mechanisms:
Financial release (total)
Felony (#)
Misdemeanor (#)
(Most serious charge) Est. (Most serious charge) Est. Total (#) Est.
☐
☐
☐
Cash
☐
☐
☐
Deposit
☐
☐
☐
Surety
☐
☐
☐
Property
☐
☐
☐
☐
☐
☐
Citation
☐
☐
☐
Release on recognizance
☐
☐
☐
Unsecured bond
☐
☐
☐
Supervised release
☐
☐
☐
Non-financial release (total)
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D R A F T [February 2014]
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D4. While awaiting case adjudication, how many defendants reported in D2 were
Felony (#)
(Most serious charge)
…detained on financial bail?
Est.
☐
…detained without bail?
☐
Misdemeanor (#)
(Most serious charge)
Est.
☐
Total (#) Est.
☐
☐
☐
Now that you have answered questions D2-D4, the next couple of questions ask about the level of
effort in completing these questions.
D5. What is the total number of labor hours for all persons involved in answering items D2-D4?
___________
D6. What challenges, if any, did you experience when completing items D2-D4?
☐1. All items were completed without challenges.
☐2. Information is not collected.
☐3. Information is collected, but not accessible due to legal or administrative complications.
(please explain below)
☐4. Information is collected and accessible, but not easily extracted. (please explain below)
☐5. Information is available for reporting, but is too labor-intensive to provide.
☐6. Other (please explain below)
If you faced any challenges when completing these items, please explain further.
Now let’s continue with questions about pretrial processes. After a set of substantive questions, we
will repeat questions about the level of effort and challenges in completing those questions for the
remainder of this survey.
D7a. What was the average bail amount (in dollars) for released pretrial defendants in 2012?
______________
D7b. What was the average bail amount (in dollars) for pretrial defendants in 2012 who were not
released?
______________
D8. What is the total number of labor hours for all persons involved in answering items D7a-b?
_____________
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
D9. What challenges, if any, did you experience when completing items D7a-b?
☐1. All items were completed without challenges.
☐2. Information is not collected.
☐3. Information is collected, but not accessible due to legal or administrative complications.
(please explain below)
☐4. Information is collected and accessible, but not easily extracted. (please explain below)
☐5. Information is available for reporting, but is too labor-intensive to provide.
☐6. Other (please explain below)
If you faced any challenges when completing these items, please explain further.
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
SECTION E: PRETRIAL MISCONDUCT SECTION
For question E1
• If exact numbers are not available, please provide best estimates. Indicate that
you have provided an estimate by checking the “Est.” box.
• If you are not able to provide an estimate, please write “-99” in each box.
E1. How many of the defendant population released while awaiting case adjudication in 2012 – as
specified in item D2:
Count (#)
…failed to appear (FTA) in court?
…were arrested?
…violated the terms of supervision?
Est.
☐
☐
☐
E2. Through your data system, is it possible to track whether FTA cases are brought back into court?
☐Yes
☐No
E2. Through your data system, is it possible to identify whether those arrested were arrested for a
felony offense or a misdemeanor?
☐Yes
☐No
E4. What is the total number of labor hours for all persons involved in answering question E1?
____________
E5. What challenges, if any, did you experience when completing question E1?
☐1. All items were completed without challenges.
☐2. Information is not collected.
☐3. Information is collected, but not accessible due to legal or administrative complications.
(please explain below)
☐4. Information is collected and accessible, but not easily extracted. (please explain below)
☐5. Information is available for reporting, but is too labor-intensive to provide.
☐6. Other (please explain below)
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
If you faced any challenges when completing these items, please explain further.
SECTION F: PRETRIAL SUBPOPULATION BREAKDOWN
For question F1
• If exact numbers are not available, please provide best estimates. Indicate that
you have provided an estimate by checking the “Est.” box.
• If you are not able to provide an estimate, please write “-99” in each box.
F1. Please provide the number of detained defendants for the following subpopulations:
Count (#)
Race
Age
Gender
Offense Charged
(most serious)
Est.
Non-Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native
☐
Non-Hispanic, Asian
☐
Non-Hispanic, Black or African American
☐
Hispanic or Latino
☐
Non-Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
☐
Non-Hispanic, White
☐
More than one race
☐
17 or below
☐
18 - 24
☐
25 - 39
☐
40 - 54
☐
55 or above
☐
Male
☐
Female
☐
Violent Crime
☐
Property Crime
☐
Drug Crime
☐
Motor Vehicle/DUI
☐
Other
☐
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
F2. What is the total number of labor hours for all persons involved in answering item F1?
________________
F3. What challenges did you experience when completing item F1?
☐1. All items were completed without challenges.
☐2. Information is not collected.
☐3. Information is collected, but not accessible due to legal or administrative complications.
(please explain below)
☐4. Information is collected and accessible, but not easily extracted. (please explain below)
☐5. Information is available for reporting, but is too labor-intensive to provide.
☐6. Other (please explain below)
If you faced any challenges when completing these items, please explain further.
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
For questions F4 – F5
• If exact numbers are not available, please provide best estimates. Indicate that ou
have provided an estimate by checking the “Est.” box.
• If you are not able to provide an estimate, please write “-99” in each box.
F4. Please provide the number of defendants who failed to appear in court while released pretrial by
the following populations:
Count (#)
Race
Age
Gender
Offense
Charged
(most serious)
Release Type
Est.
Non-Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native
☐
Non-Hispanic, Asian
☐
Non-Hispanic, Black or African American
☐
Hispanic or Latino
☐
Non-Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
☐
Non-Hispanic, White
☐
More than one race
☐
17 or below
☐
18 - 24
☐
25 - 39
☐
40 - 54
☐
55 or above
☐
Male
☐
Female
☐
Violent Crime
☐
Property Crime
☐
Drug Crime
☐
Motor Vehicle/DUI
☐
Other
☐
Financial (e.g., cash, surety bond)
☐
Non-financial (e.g., supervised release, release on recognizance)
☐
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
F5. Please provide the number of defendants arrested for a new crime while released pretrial by the
following populations:
Count (#)
Non-Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native
☐
Non-Hispanic, Asian
☐
Non-Hispanic, Black or African American
☐
Hispanic or Latino
☐
Non-Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
☐
Non-Hispanic, White
☐
More than one race
☐
17 or below
☐
18 - 24
☐
25 - 39
☐
40 - 54
☐
55 or above
☐
Male
☐
Female
☐
Violent Crime
☐
Property Crime
☐
Drug Crime
☐
Motor Vehicle/DUI
☐
Other
☐
Financial (e.g., cash, surety bond)
☐
Non-financial (e.g., supervised release, release on recognizance)
☐
Race
Age
Gender
Offense
Charged
(most serious)
Release Type
Est.
F6. What is the total number of labor hours for all persons involved in answering items F4-F5?
________________
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D R A F T [February 2014]
The Urban Institute
F7. What challenges did you experience when completing items F4-F5?
☐1. All items were completed without challenges.
☐2. Information is not collected.
☐3. Information is collected, but not accessible due to legal or administrative complications.
(please explain below)
☐4. Information is collected and accessible, but not easily extracted. (please explain below)
☐5. Information is available for reporting, but is too labor-intensive to provide.
☐6. Other (please explain below)
If you faced any challenges when completing these items, please explain further.
SECTION G: GENERAL COMMENTS
Please use the space below to add any comments or suggestions about how to make the gathering of
pretrial information easier and how to encourage participation among jurisdictions when the National
Pretrial Reporting Program (NPRP) is fielded in the future. Thank you for completing the survey!
17
NCS-X Sample Design Stratum
Stratum
NIBRS
No. Officers
Government
Type
All
All
State
State/Municipal
1
2
3
4
Yes
No
No
No
Zero or more
More than 749
1-749
Zero
5
No
36-749
6
No
0-35
7
No
112-749
County &
Township
County &
Township
Municipal
8
No
67-111
Municipal
9
10
11
12
No
No
No
No
36-66
1-34
Zero or more
Zero or more
Municipal
Municipal
All others
Tribal
Description
NIBRS 2011
Non-NIBRS, more than 750 officers
Non-NIBRS, 1-749 officers, State
Non-NIBRS, zero officers, State &
Municipal Agencies
Non-NIBRS, 36-749 officers, County
& Twnp
Non-NIBRS, 0-35 officers, County &
Twnp
Non-NIBRS, 112-749 officers,
Municipal
Non-NIBRS, 67-111 officers,
Municipal
Non-NIBRS, 36-66 officers, Municipal
Non-NIBRS, 1-34 officers, Municipal
Other
Non-NIBRS, Tribal
Expected Number of Sampled Agencies per Stratum
Stratum Description
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
NIBRS 2011
Non-NIBRS, more than 750 officers
Non-NIBRS, 1-749 officers, State
Non-NIBRS, zero officers, State & Municipal Agencies
Non-NIBRS, 36-749 officers, County & Twnp
Non-NIBRS, 0-35 officers, County & Twnp
Non-NIBRS, 112-749 officers, Municipal
Non-NIBRS, 67-111 officers, Municipal
Non-NIBRS, 36-66 officers, Municipal
Non-NIBRS, 1-34 officers, Municipal
Other
Non-NIBRS, Tribal
Total
Sample Size
Allocation
5,410
72
12
3
69
22
74
18
23
94
5
8
5,810
Figure 1. Data Collection Procedures.
November 25, 2013
«Agency Head»
«Agency Name»
«Address1», «Address2»
«City», «STATE» «Zipcode»
Dear «Agency Head»,
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), in collaboration with the FBI, is implementing the National Crime
Statistics Exchange (NCS-X). The NCS-X is not a new reporting program. It is a collaborative undertaking,
supported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other Department of Justice agencies, to expand law
enforcement participation in the FBI’s National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). More than 5,500 law
enforcement agencies across the country currently contribute NIBRS information to the FBI, but these data are
not nationally representative. With the addition of data from 400 scientifically-selected law enforcement agencies,
NIBRS will be able to generate national estimates of crime incidents that will provide timely, detailed, and
accurate national crime statistics to law enforcement agencies and policy makers across the country.
[AGENCY NAME] has been selected as one of the 400 agencies needed to make NIBRS an authoritative
national information resource. Through NCS-X, incentives will be available to the selected agencies to support
the increased use of incident-based data and to address other funding and technical assistance needs required to
enable the transition to reporting NIBRS data. The first step is better understanding your agency’s current
reporting capabilities. To that end, we will be sending you a survey asking about how your agency collects crime
incident data, your record management system, your participation in crime data reporting programs, and resources
you need to become a NIBRS reporter.
It is important to note that participating in this survey is voluntary and does not obligate your agency to
ultimately participate in NCS-X or contribute data to NIBRS. Your participation is critical however, to help us
identify barriers to reporting to NIBRS and what resources BJS can provide to assist agencies.
The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) is administering the survey on behalf of BJS. The information you
provide will only be used to help implement NCS-X and will not be released publicly. You should receive the
survey in approximately 2 weeks.
In addition to BJS and PERF, the NCS-X implementation team includes RTI International, the International
Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the Integrated Justice Information Sharing (IJIS) Institute, and the
SEARCH Group For your information, I have attached 1) the FBI/BJS joint statement of support for NCS-X, 2) a
resolution of support for NCS-X approved by IACP at its recent annual conference in Philadelphia, and 3) a short
description of the NCS-X initiative.
If you have any general questions about the NCS-X, please feel free to contact RTI International (1-800-3441389; ncsx@rti.org), Amy Blasher at the FBI (304-625-4830, amy.blasher@ic.fbi.gov), or me directly. For
questions about the survey, please contact Mary Beth Lombardo at PERF (202-454-8329;
mlombardo@policeforum.org).
Sincerely,
Dr. Howard N. Snyder
Deputy Director
Bureau of Justice Statistics
U.S. Department of Justice
Howard.Snyder@usdoj.gov
(202) 307-0765
November 25, 2013
«Agency Head»
«Agency Name»
«Address1», «Address2»
«City», «STATE» «Zipcode»
Dear «Agency Head»,
Approximately 2 weeks ago, you were sent a letter from Dr. Howard Snyder, Deputy Director of the
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), about the National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X). The NCS-X is
a collaborative initiative, supported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other Department of
Justice agencies, to expand law enforcement participation in the FBI’s National Incident Based Reporting
System (NIBRS). The NCS-X project is designed to understand reporting barriers, to deliver incentives to
participating states and agencies, and ultimately to increase participation in NIBRS. One of the key
objectives is also to identify specific ways in which state and local agencies can receive value from the
analysis of incident-based data.
As part of the first step of NCS-X, a selected sample of 400 state and local U.S. law enforcement agencies
is being asked to participate in a survey about collecting crime incident data, record management systems,
and participation in crime data reporting programs. Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) is working
with RTI International on behalf of BJS to conduct the NCS-X survey.
[AGENCY NAME] has been selected as a part of the NCS-X sample. Participating in this survey is
voluntary and does not obligate your agency to ultimately participate in NCS-X or contribute data to
NIBRS. Your participation is critical to helping us identify barriers to reporting NIBRS and ways the
system can be improved.
We ask that you first review the survey at http://onlinesurvey.policeforum.org/BJSNCSX.html and
identify the individual in your agency who is most qualified to complete it and serve as a point of contact
for future correspondence with the NCS-X team. Once you have reviewed the survey and identified the
correct contact person, please send an e-mail to ncsx@rti.org and provide this individual’s contact
information to the NCS-X implementation team. Instructions for completing the survey are below and this
letter can be provided to them.
There are two ways to complete the survey:
1. Internet: Complete the survey at the following URL:
http://onlinesurvey.policeforum.org/BJSNCSX.html. When you complete the questionnaire via the
Internet, you will be prompted to enter your username, «participantID» and password, «Password».
You will also have to enter your ID number «ID##» in the space labeled “ID NUMBER” located at
the top right corner of the screen. Without entering your agency’s unique username, password, and ID
#, you will not be able to complete the survey online. These identifiers provide a secure location to
submit your survey.
2. Hardcopy: If you are unable to complete the survey online, you may request a hardcopy version.
Please contact Mary Beth Lombardo at PERF at 202-454-8329 or e-mail
mlombardo@policeforum.org. Once you have received the hardcopy survey, you can return it in one
of three ways:
•
E-mail: E-mail the scanned, completed survey to the Police Executive Research Forum at
mlombardo@policeforum.org.
•
Fax: Fax the completed survey to the Police Executive Research Forum at 202-466-7826.
•
Mail: Mail the completed hardcopy survey to:
Police Executive Research Forum
Attn: Mary Beth Lombardo
1120 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 930
Washington, DC 20036
Please note that the information you provide will only be used to help implement the NCS-X and will not
be released publicly. We do need your cooperation in order for NCS-X to be successful.
Thank you in advance for your participation in this survey. If you have any general questions about the
NCS-X or NIBRS reporting, please contact RTI International (800-344-1389; ncsx@rti.org) or Amy
Blasher at the FBI (304-625-4830, amy.blasher@ic.fbi.gov). For questions about the survey, please
contact Mary Beth Lombardo at PERF (202-454-8329; mlombardo@policeforum.org).
Sincerely,
Chuck Wexler
Executive Director
Police Executive Research Forum
November 25, 2013
«Agency Head»
«Agency Name»
«Address1», «Address2»
«City», «STATE» «Zipcode»
Dear «Agency Head»:
We recently contacted you regarding the National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X) that is
being implemented by The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Your agency was selected as part
of a national sample of 400 agencies to participate in NCS-X and was asked to complete a
survey that will help us better understand your agency’s capabilities for reporting incident-based
data. As of <>, we have not received your completed survey.
We respectfully ask that you complete the survey by <>. If you or someone at
your agency has already submitted or returned the survey, please accept our sincere thanks and
disregard this letter. If not, please know that the information you provide will only be used to
help implement the NCS-X.
Participating in this survey is voluntary and does not obligate your agency to ultimately
participate in the NCS-X; however, the information you provide will greatly assist us if your
agency does choose to participate.
There are two ways to complete the survey:
1. Internet: Complete the survey at the following URL:
http://onlinesurvey.policeforum.org/BJSNCSX.html. When you complete the questionnaire
via the Internet, you will be prompted to enter your username, «participantID» and
password, «Password». You will also have to enter your ID number «ID##» in the space
labeled “ID NUMBER” located at the top right corner of the screen. Without entering your
agency’s unique username, password, and ID #, you will not be able to complete the survey
online. These identifiers provide a secure location to submit your survey.
2. Hardcopy: If you are unable to complete the survey online, you may request a hardcopy
version. Please contact Mary Beth Lombardo at PERF at 202-454-8329 or e-mail
mlombardo@policeforum.org. Once you have received the survey, you can return it in one of
three ways:
•
E-mail: E-mail the scanned, completed survey to the Police Executive Research
Forum at mlombardo@policeforum.org.
•
Fax: Fax the completed survey to the Police Executive Research Forum at 202-4667826.
•
Mail: Mail the completed hardcopy survey to:
Police Executive Research Forum
Attn: Bruce Kubu
1120 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 930
Washington, DC 20036
Thank you in advance for your participation in this survey. If you have any general questions
about the NCS-X, please contact RTI International (800-344-1389; ncsx@rti.org). For questions
about the survey, please contact Mary Beth Lombardo at PERF (202-454-8329;
mlombardo@policeforum.org).
Sincerely,
IACP, BJS, whomever agencies will best respond to
November 25, 2013
«Proxy Head»
«Agency Name»
«Address1», «Address2»
«City», «STATE» «Zipcode»
Dear <>:
We recently contacted your agency regarding the National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X)
that is being implemented by The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Your agency was selected
as part of a national sample of 400 agencies to participate in NCS-X and to complete a survey
that will help us better understand your agency’s capabilities for reporting incident data. As of
<>, we have not received your completed survey.
The head of your agency has nominated you as the person most qualified to complete the
survey and receive correspondence about the NCS-X. We respectfully ask that you complete the
agency survey by <>. If you or someone at your agency has already submitted or
returned the survey, please accept our sincere thanks and disregard this request. If not, please
know that the information you provide will only be used to help implement the NCS-X project.
Participating in this survey is voluntary and does not obligate your agency to ultimately
participate in the NCS-X; however, the information you provide will greatly assist us if your
agency does choose to participate.
There are two ways to complete the survey:
1. Internet: Complete the survey at the following URL:
http://onlinesurvey.policeforum.org/BJSNCSX.html. When you complete the questionnaire
via the Internet, you will be prompted to enter your username, «participantID» and
password, «Password». You will also have to enter your ID number «ID##» in the space
labeled “ID NUMBER” located at the top right corner of the screen. Without entering your
agency’s unique username, password, and ID #, you will not be able to complete the survey
online. These identifiers provide a secure location to submit your survey.
2. Hardcopy: If you are unable to complete the survey online, you may request a hardcopy
version. Please contact Mary Beth Lombardo at PERF (202-454-8329;
mlombardo@policeforum.org). Once you have received the survey, you can return it in one
of three ways:
•
E-mail: E-mail the scanned, completed survey to the Police Executive Research
Forum at mlombardo@policeforum.org.
•
Fax: Fax the completed survey to the Police Executive Research Forum at 202-4667826.
•
Mail: Mail the completed hardcopy survey using the included postage-paid envelope
to:
Police Executive Research Forum
Attn: Bruce Kubu
1120 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 930
Washington, DC 20036
Thank you in advance for your participation in this survey. If you have any general questions
about the NCS-X, please contact RTI International (800-344-1389; ncsx@rti.org). For questions
about the survey, please contact Mary Beth Lombardo at PERF (202-454-8329;
mlombardo@policeforum.org).
Sincerely,
BJS, IACP, or whomever agencies will respond best to
BJS National Crime Statistics – Exchange Project
Agency/Survey
RTI/PERF
RTI and the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), with funding by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), are
conducting a survey to obtain critical information about law enforcement agencies' crime data collection, reporting, and technical capabilities. This
survey is part of a larger program, the National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X) program, which is an effort aimed at expanding the sample of
agencies reporting NIBRS data to the FBI and generating nationally-representative, incident-based data on crimes reported to law enforcement
agencies. Specifically, the data from this study will be used to learn more about how agencies collect and store crime data and to determine what
barriers exist that prevent agencies from reporting incident-based data. Neither personal nor specific agency information will be identified in any
final reports.
Please assign a person knowledgeable about your agency's database administration and crime data reporting practices to complete the survey. In
most cases, this assigned staff member will need to consult with others in your agency to complete all the questions.
Your participation is vital to our goal of achieving as close to a 100 percent response rate as possible. Thus, although your participation is voluntary,
our receipt of your completed survey is critical to the achievement of our goal.
If you have questions about the NCS-X project, please contact RTI (1-866-354-4992, ncsx@rti.org) or Alexia Cooper at BJS (202-307-0582,
alexia.cooper@usdoj.gov). If you have questions about the survey itself, please contact Mary Beth Lombardo at PERF (202-454-8329,
mlombardo@policeforum.org).
1. Agency Name:
Agency ORI Number:
Please provide the date your agency completed this survey (MM/DD/YYYY):
Please provide your agency's complete mailing address:
Street:
City:
State:
Zip Code:
Next
Offense/Incident Data Collection, Processing, and Reporting
We would like to learn more about how your agency collects, uses, reports, and shares
crime offense/incident information for such crimes as homicide, rape, robbery, assault,
burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft, and other offenses.
5. How do officers in your agency collect and record crime offense/incident reports? Mark all that apply.
Officers manually complete a paper offense/incident report form
Officers enter the offense/incident report information directly into an automated
system, such as a laptop computer, tablet, MDT (mobile data terminal), or other
digital device
Other (please specify):
All of the above
If your agency manually records some offenses/incidents and automates others, please briefly describe the
differences in collecting and recording practices.
Previous
Next
Contributing Data to Incident-Based Reporting Systems
In this section, we are interested in learning about why agencies have chosen not to
contribute their incident-based data to a regional, a state, or a federal incident-based
reporting system and what might be done to ease their transition to contributing to these
types of systems.
22. Below is a list of reasons some agencies have given for why they are reluctant to contribute
their incident-based data to other reporting systems. Please indicate the extent to which your
agency agrees or disagrees with the following statements.
Strongly
disagree
It would require costly new software and/or hardware to implement
Our officers are not trained in how to collect data according to incident-based reporting
system requirements
We lack the necessary data entry personnel
The regional or state incident-based reporting systems impose additional data collection
requirements, which pose an extra burden
The data entry process is too complex
Because of the way incident-based reporting systems record crime, the incidence of crime in
our jurisdiction will appear to increase
We have concerns about reporting rape/sexual assault incidents to other reporting systems
given the sensitive nature of these crimes
Our agency feels the data we are currently collecting are sufficient
An incident-based reporting system designed for statistical reporting is not an effective tool
for investigative support
The additional time and effort needed to collect these data will cause lost officer patrol time
Our current RMS does not collect or store information in a way that meets the reporting
requirements of regional, state, or federal incident-based reporting programs
Data editing requirements to ensure compliance with regional, state, or federal incidentbased reporting represents an undue burden on our agency
Please describe any reasons or factors not mentioned above that have led your agency to choose not
to contribute to an incident-based reporting system, or directly to NIBRS.
Previous
Next
Disagree
Neither agree
nor disagree
Agree
Strongly
agree
| File Type | application/pdf |
| Author | coopera |
| File Modified | 2014-02-11 |
| File Created | 2013-11-25 |