NIBRS Supporting Statement.B (Submitted)

B. Statistical Methods

1. Universe and Respondent Selection

The potential respondent universe includes the 9,213 LEAs throughout the nation eligible to submit crime statistics via NIBRS in 2019.  The FBI UCR Program received 1-12 months of crime statistics via NIBRS from 8,500 of those agencies.  The remaining 713 LEAs eligible to submit data under NIBRS did not report any to the FBI UCR Program in 2019.  The table below shows the number of LEAs eligible to submit data via NIBRS and the number of months submitted. 

Number of Agencies by Number of Months of Data Submitted, 2019
Number of Months	Number of Agencies
0 months	713
1 month	90
2 months	72
3 months	65
4 months	68
5 months	79
6 months	84
7 months	110
8 months	115
9 months	117
10 months	213
11 months	370
12 months	7,117
Total	9,213

Of the 8,500 agencies voluntarily reporting NIBRS data to the FBI UCR Program in 2019, nearly 84 percent (7,117) submitted 12 months of information. The remaining participating agencies (1,383) submitted 1-11 months of data.

LEAs consist of federal, state, local, and tribal agencies serving all population group sizes having diverse attributes. The areas served include various characteristics which may impact crime, such as population density and degree of urbanization; various compositions of population, particularly youth concentration; population movement with respect to residents’ mobility, commuting patterns, and transient factors; diverse economic conditions including median income, poverty level, and job availability; areas with different modes of transportation and highway systems; various cultural factors and educational, recreational, and religious characteristics; family conditions with respect to divorce and family cohesiveness; climate; effective strength of law enforcement; policies of other components of the criminal justice system; citizens’ attitudes toward crime; and crime reporting practices of the citizenry. The table below shows the number of participating NIBRS agencies and population covered by population group size.

	Population Group	Number of Agencies	Population Covered
Cities	Group I (250,000 inhabitants and more)	41	24,641,000
	Group II (100,000 to 249,999 inhabitants)	101	14,633,113
	Group III (50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants)	217	15,133,927
	Group IV (25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants)	433	15,064,531
	Group V (10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants)	922	14,675,349
	Group VI (Less than 10,000 inhabitants)1,2	4,256	11,985,245
Counties	Group VIII (Nonmetropolitan County)2	1,573	15,787,839
	Group IX (Metropolitan County)2	957	34,652,976
	Total	8,500	146,573,980
1 Includes universities and colleges to which no population is attributed. 2 Includes state police to which no population is attributed.

2. Procedures for Collecting Information

Since data collected in NIBRS are considerably more comprehensive than those of the traditional SRS, agencies planning to participate in NIBRS should have computerized data systems capable of processing the information. The NIBRS data are designed to be generated as a byproduct of existing incident-based automated record systems. An agency can build its own IBR system to suit its individual needs (i.e., it can have a different file structure than the FBI UCR Program and include additional data elements and data values). In preparation for submitting data to the FBI UCR Program, LEAs participating in NIBRS extract only the data required from their IBR system for submission to the FBI.

Full participation in NIBRS necessitates meeting all the reporting guidelines and requirements set forth by the FBI UCR Program. Before a local agency begins submitting NIBRS data directly to the FBI, the agency will be asked to demonstrate its ability to meet reporting requirements for NIBRS by submitting test data to the FBI. If a local agency is going to participate indirectly through its state UCR program, it is the state’s responsibility to ensure the local agency is able to fulfill NIBRS data submission requirements.

While some agencies have permission to submit data quarterly, semiannually, or annually, most data are received from FBI UCR Program participants on a monthly basis. Monthly submissions should be received by the FBI no later than the seventh day of each month. Annual deadlines are designated in order to assess receipt of monthly submissions. Special circumstances may cause an agency to request an extension which the FBI UCR Program has the authority to grant.

3. Methods to Maximize Response

Of the 9,213 LEAs eligible to report via NIBRS, 77.2 percent submitted 12 months of data to the FBI UCR Program and 15.0 percent reported 1-11 months of information in 2019. The remaining 7.7 percent of those eligible LEAs did not submit any data.

The FBI UCR Program actively liaisons with LEAs to encourage participation in UCR data collections. The FBI UCR Program staff have a strong understanding of contextual challenges agencies face in reporting valid and reliable data and regularly work to overcome no-response issues when such challenges occur. Through frequent liaisons with state UCR programs and individual LEAs, FBI UCR Program staff assist agencies with maximizing response rates and strive to collect 12 months of data from all LEAs. To encourage the submission of data, lists of missing reports are sent to the state UCR programs and individual LEAs semiannually, after which follow-up contact is made to those agencies to further encourage the submission of missing data.

Of the 42 states certified to report data under NIBRS, 18 include agencies reporting all of their crime statistics via IBR. Twenty-three states report both SRS and NIBRS data. Eight states currently report only SRS data, but are working to establish a NIBRS-only state UCR program. One state, which is NIBRS certified at the state level, is developing a NIBRS-capable state UCR Program with guidance from the FBI UCR Program. Based on commitments, the FBI UCR Program expects 75 percent of reporting agencies to be submitting data via NIBRS by 2021, representing 83 percent of the nation’s inhabitants.

4. Testing of Procedures

After submitting data to the FBI, the state UCR programs expect a timely response regarding any errors. Monthly submissions should be received by the FBI no later than the seventh day of each month. Annual deadlines are designated in order to assess receipt of monthly submissions. In order for the FBI to conduct a thorough quality review and provide a prompt response, the data should be submitted according to FBI UCR Program standards and deadlines.

The FBI UCR Program is developing the capability of operating a machine-to-machine data transfer system which uses the XML submission platform. This will allow individual agencies participating in the FBI UCR Program to submit data directly to, and receive information directly from, the CJIS data collection servers. Over time, these direct submissions will decrease the time it takes to accurately process and store the data, thereby increasing the efficiency of the data collection procedure.

5. Contacts for Statistical Aspects and Data Collection

Trudy L. Ford

Global Law Enforcement Support Section (GLESS) Chief

tlford@fbi.gov

304-625-3690

Michael J. McKeown

GLESS Assistant Section Chief

mjmckeown@fbi.gov 

304-625-2966 
 
Amy C. Blasher 

CSMU Chief 

acblasher@fbi.gov 

304-625-4840 

 

Cynthia Barnett-Ryan 

Statistician, CSMU 

cbarnett-ryan@fbi.gov 

304-625-3576 

 

Malissa C. Vavra

Statistician, CSMU

mcvavra@fbi.gov

304-625-3010

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