The National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X) is an effort to expand the FBIs National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) into a nationally representative system of incident-based crime statistics. BJS and the FBI are implementing NCS-X with the support of other Department of Justice agencies, including the Office for Victims of Crime. The goal of NCS-X is to enroll a sample of 400 scientifically selected law enforcement agencies to submit data to NIBRS; when these 400 new NIBRS-reporting agencies are combined with the more than 6,300 agencies that reported to NIBRS as of 2013, the nation will have a nationally representative system of incident-based crime statistics drawn from the operational data systems of local police departments. These incident-based data will draw upon the attributes and circumstances of criminal incidents and allow for more detailed and transparent descriptions of crime in communities. The current mechanism by which local law enforcement (LE) agencies report data to the FBIs NIBRS, in general, is for local LE agencies to submit data to their state UCR reporting program, and then for the state UCR program to report those data to the FBI. While the FBI does accept NIBRS data directly from a small number of law enforcement agencies, the highly preferred route of reporting is through the state UCR program. Funding from 2016 National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X) Implementation Assistance Program will help states to expand their current capacity to report incident-based crime data to the FBIs NIBRS. The plan to transition local agencies to NIBRS reporting requires enhancing the state pipeline in order to ensure that each states Uniform Crime Reporting program is capable of receiving and processing local incident-based crime data. For states that currently have no NIBRS program, the primary goal is to help them design and/or implement a NIBRS-certified incident-based reporting (IBR) program and begin reporting NIBRS data from at least one agency from the NCS-X sample. For states with a NIBRS component but have less than 80% reporting, the primary goal of this funding is to help the state program expand their capacity to receive and process additional IBR data and begin reporting NIBRS data from at least one agency from the NCS-X sample. Funding will also support state programs to conduct readiness assessments with sampled agencies with the state.
BCI is the designated agency responsible for the collection and sharing of criminal justice data in the state of Minnesota. In 2013, BCI began efforts to transition the state to reporting incident-based data, with the goal of becoming NIBRS certified to report those data to the FBI. Currently, 97% of the LE agencies in the state report only Summary UCR data. Two local agencies are participating in the states current IBR pilot project, and both are expected to transition to NIBRS by the end of 2016.
Funding under the current grant would allow MN-BCI to develop a certified NIBRS program at the state level, including establishing a NIBRS data repository, working with local agencies to develop processes for submitting incident data to the state, and establishing a technical specification for the transmission of the data. During the project period, BCI will evaluate protocols for working with local agencies as those agencies establish NIBRS-compliant systems that include the validation rules and edit checks. In addition, the state program has completed readiness assessments (RAs) with all 9 of the NCS-X sample agencies in the state, and has included in their project the cost estimates for converting those agencies to IBR. MN BCI would serve, as the pass-through agency for funding to support transition to IBR/NIBRS for the NCS-X sample agencies in the state, including the Minneapolis PD, one of the largest agencies in the sample.
(CA/NCF)
