The Implementation and Migration from UCR to NIBRS.

The National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X) is an effort to expand the FBI’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 7,000 agencies that currently report to NIBRS, 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 FBI’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 FY2019 solicitation furthers the goals of the NCS-X initiative by providing funding to the remaining states and local agencies in the NCS-X sample in order to assist them transition to NIBRS reporting.

The Augusta Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (ARCSO) is staffed by 571 sworn personnel, 94 civilian personnel, and serves a resident population of 201,800. The ARCSO shares its RMS with the Richmond County Marshal’s Office, Hephzibah Police Department, and Blythe (GA) Police Department. ARCSO is the host agency; Hephzibah Police Department is another NCS-X sample agency that has not previously applied. The agencies have entered into data exchange and user agreements.

Utilizing funding under the current award, ARCSO will upgrade their RMS to bring it into compliance with the NIBRS reporting requirements. This will include technical assistance for agency staff in collecting and processing incident-based data.

CA/NCF