Law Enforcement Transition to NIBRS to Improve Hate Crime Reporting

The IJIS Institute Team proposes to implement the “Law Enforcement Transition to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) to Improve Hate Crime Reporting” project to increase the number of local law enforcement (LE) agencies reporting data to the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and to improve hate crime reporting by providing funding, technical assistance and training to agencies and service providers to assist their transition to NIBRS using the Rapid Deployment Model (RDM). This approach will expedite the number of agencies transitioning to NIBRS reporting by working directly with the service providers to transition a large number of their client agencies in close coordination with the LEAs and State UCR Programs rather than working with agencies individually.

An Environmental Scan will be conducted to determine what proportion of each state’s population is covered by non-NIBRS LE agencies and what percentage of each state’s population they represent. To achieve BJS’ goals, the Scan will be cross-referenced with information about which RMS service providers operate within and across the identified states and agencies.

In coordination with BJS and the FBI,  the IJIS Team will execute the RDM for the states and agencies identified to ensure the greatest impact on the populations served by the number of large LE agencies selected. The Team in coordination with the FBI UCR Program, will train UCR programs and LE agencies on the procedures required for reporting bias-motivated (hate crime) offenses and LE employees in identifying and classifying hate crimes.

Expected outcomes include: advancing the rule of law, integrity, and public safety through improved reporting of hate crimes; increasing the number of agencies reporting NIBRS data; and increased reporting of hate crimes. This approach collects more detailed data on hate crimes by assisting states and local LE agencies in making the NIBRS transition to support the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act.

Beneficiaries include the LE agencies that will begin NIBRS (and Hate Crime) reporting, the communities they serve by providing better overall crime and hate crime data, and the nation will benefit from the larger representation of agencies reporting NIBRS and hate crime data.

Subrecipient of this effort, Research Triangle Institute, will utilize their experience from the BJS NIBRS National Estimation Project to develop an updated landscape of state NIBRS coverage as of 2022, including newly added LE agencies that have transitioned, and then refine it based on information from stakeholders.