Boston's NCS-X Implementation Assistance Program

The National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X) is an effort to expand the FBIÂ’s 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 FBIÂ’s 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. The FY2016 Phase III solicitation furthers the goals of the NCS-X initiative by providing funding to the largest agencies in the NCS-X sample in order to assist these agencies to transition to NIBRS reporting or to develop a comprehensive plan for transitioning to NIBRS reporting via the state pipeline. Specifically, funding under this solicitation targeted the NCS-X sample of agencies with 750 or more sworn officers that are not currently reporting crime data to NIBRS.

Massachusetts is NIBRS certified. However, Boston is one of only two agencies in the state that does not participate in NIBRS and instead continues to submit their crime data in SRS format. Under the current award, Boston Police Department (BPD) will engage in a comprehensive project, focusing on updating the RMS (which is already NIBRS compatible), training officers and staff, developing a comprehensive communication plan to message the need for NIBRS and to explain changes in crime statistics that may result from the transition, and getting NIBRS certification through the state UCR program, which is the central goal of the NCS-X solicitation. Specifically, BPD will: 1) modify the existing RMS to enhance collection of IBR data where offenses are linked to victims, arrests, etc; 2) train officers to enter NIBRS compliant data into the RMS, where data validation also occurs; 3) modify the interface of the RMS for field reporting purposes; and 4) address staffing deficiencies in the Field Report Office, the office responsible for verifying correct entry of offense codes into field reports and serving in the critical role of ensuring data quality and overseeing data validation.

(CA/NCF)