As of January 1, 2021, the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) became the national standard for law enforcement crime data reporting in the United States. The transition to NIBRS represents a significant shift – and improvement – in how reported crime is measured and estimated by the federal government.
NIBRS captures detailed data about the characteristics of criminal incidents, including:
- a broad array of offenses
- types and amount of property lost
- demographic information about victims, offenders, and persons arrested
- what type of weapon, if any, was used in the incident.
NIBRS data more accurately reflect the types of crime addressed by police agencies, like simple assault, animal cruelty, destruction of property, intimidation, and identity theft. The broad scope of the information collected in NIBRS will greatly improve the nation’s understanding of crime and public safety.
Measuring Crime Reported to Law Enforcement using NIBRS Data
The 2021 data year will mark the first time that the FBI and BJS estimate reported crime in the United States based solely on NIBRS data. Those crime estimates will be derived from data submitted by states and local agencies that were certified to report data in the 2021 data year.
As of June 2022—
- all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia are certified to report crime data to NIBRS
- 66% of the U.S. population is covered by NIBRS-reporting law enforcement agencies
- 62 NIBRS-certified agencies serve cities with a population of 250,000 or more, covering a total population of more than 37 million persons.
The map below depicts the percentage of the population covered by NIBRS-reporting agencies in 2021, by state.
NIBRS Multimedia
Podcast
Listen as Erica Smith (BJS) and Edward Abraham (FBI) discuss the significant improvements the transition to the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) offers in this Justice Today podcast.