1. Uniform Crime Reporting Bureau Texas Department of Public Safety
Moving Texas to NIBRS
Uniform Crime Reporting Bureau
Texas Department of Public Safety

3. Question #1:
What is NIBRS?

4. “NIBRS” stands for the National Incident-Based Reporting System.
Data is reported as incidents, wherein all aspects of the incident (offense, victim, offender, property, etc.) is included in the data.
Developed by the FBI in the 1980’s.
It is a fundamental change from the Summary (SRS) system in that there is no Hierarchy Rule, all offenses in the incident are reported.
Data is converted to Summary format prior to publication.
The conversion to Summary is being phased out.
Bullet 1 –
Bullet 2 - What is an “Incident”? The same details as what an officer puts into an offense report: crimes committed, victim & offender info, property stolen, etc.
Bullet 3 – 1980’s – When computers in law enforcement became relevant.
Bullet 4 – Be prepared for some folks to squirm in their seats or turn off when this is mentioned.
Bullet 5 – Currently this is the cased, you might want to mention that once NIBRS is the standard reporting system we will no longer be converting NIBRS to SRS. (The FBI is already publishing NIBRS data for CIUS)

5. Is NIBRS really better than summary?
Question #2:
Is NIBRS really better than summary?

6. NIBRS reports all incidents.
All data within each incident is interconnected.
The data collected in NIBRS is more detailed than that of its Summary counterpart. Which was developed in
By “interconnected” we mean that all the individual pieces of data within the incident connects together via the incident number.
SRS reports (RA, SRA, ASRs) are separate from each other and you cannot connect details between them.
The next slide illustrates some developments of 1927…

7. NIBRS Group A Offenses:
Aggravated Assault
Impersonation Fraud
Sex Assault with Object
All Other Theft
Incest
Shoplifting
Arson
Intimidation
Simple Assault
Assisting or Promoting Prostitution
Involuntary Servitude
Sodomy
Justifiable Homicide
Sports Tampering
Betting/Wagering
Kidnapping/Abduction
Statutory Rape
Bribery
Motor Vehicle Theft
Stolen Property Offenses
Burglary
Murder
Theft from Building
Commercial Sex Acts
Negligent Manslaughter
Theft from Coin-Op Machine
Counterfeiting/Forgery
Operating/Promoting Gambling
Theft from MV
Credit Card/ATM Fraud
Theft of MV Parts and Accessories
Destruction/Vandalism
Pocket-picking
Drug Equipment Violations
Pornography/Obscene Material
Weapon Law Violations
Drug/Narcotic Violations
Welfare Fraud
Embezzlement
Prostitution
Wire Fraud
Extortion/Blackmail
Purchasing Prostitution
Animal Cruelty *
False Pretense/Fraud
Purse-snatching
Computer Hacking *
Fondling
Rape
Identity Theft *
Gambling Equipment Violations
Robbery
The next series of slides are rather overwhelming, and they are meant to illustrate the level of detail NIBRS has over SRS.
The audience is not meant to read these slides, but to visually see the complexity of NIBRS. If you feel these slides will not help the audience, feel free to omit.
With the next slide, we breakout the SRS Part I crimes out of these NIBRS Group A offenses….

8. Summary Part I Offenses:
Aggravated Assault
Gambling Equipment Violations
Rape
All Other Theft
Robbery
Arson
Impersonation Fraud
Sex Assault with Object
Incest
Assisting or Promoting Prostitution
Shoplifting
Intimidation
Simple Assault
Betting/Wagering
Involuntary Servitude
Sodomy
Bribery
Justifiable Homicide
Sports Tampering
Burglary
Kidnapping/Abduction
Statutory Rape
Commercial Sex Acts
Motor Vehicle Theft
Stolen Property Offenses
Counterfeiting/Forgery
Murder
Theft from Building
Credit Card/ATM Fraud
Negligent Manslaughter
Theft from Coin-Op Machine
Destruction/Vandalism
Operating/Promoting Gambling
Drug Equipment Violations
Theft from MV
Pocket-picking
Drug/Narcotic Violations
Theft of MV Parts and Accessories
Pornography/Obscene Material
Embezzlement
Weapon Law Violations
Extortion/Blackmail
Prostitution
False Pretense/Fraud
Welfare Fraud
Purchasing Prostitution
Fondling
Wire Fraud
Purse-snatching
One thing to remember with this slide is that the Larceny-Theft offenses (Pocket-picking, Shoplifting, etc.) are broken out in NIBRS. In SRS they would simply be listed as Larceny-Theft, which is just another example of how detailed NIBRS truly is.

9. Locations: Air/Bus/Train Terminal Jail/Prison (penitentiary)
Camp/Campground
Bank/Savings and Loan
Lake/Waterway/Beach
Daycare Facility
Bar/Nightclub
Liquor Store
Dock/Wharf/Freight/Modal Terminal
Church/Synagogue/Temple (includes other religious)
Parking/Drop Lot/Garage
Farm Facility
Rental Storage Facility
Commercial/Office Building
Gambling Facility/Casino
Residence/Home
Construction Site
Industrial Site
Restaurant
Convenience Store
Military Installation
School/College
Department/Discount Store
Park/Playground
Service/Gas Station
Drug Store/Doctors Office/ Hospital
Rest Area
Specialty Store
School–College/University
Other/Unknown
Field/Woods
School–Elementary/ Secondary
Abandoned/Condemned
Government/Public Building
Amusement Park
Grocery/Supermarket
Shelter–Mission/Homeless
Arena/Stadium/Fairgrounds
Highway/Road/Alley (street)
Shopping Mall
ATM Separate from Bank
Hotel/Motel/Etc. (temporary lodgings)
Tribal Lands
Auto Dealership New/Used
Community Center
Again, we have an overwhelming list of data that NIBRS collects. In another slideshow the locations for SRS are listed first, then the NIBRS set.
Robbery (highway, convenience store, bank, etc.) and Burglary (residence, non residence) just to prove the depth of NIBRS. This might be something that is valuable to your agencies.

10. Property: Heavy Construction Industrial Equipment
Structures – Public/ Community
Identity – Intangible
Law Enforcement Equip
Household Goods
Structures – Storage
Lawn, Yard, Garden Equipment
Jewelry, Precious Metals
Structures – Other
Livestock
Tools
Logging Equipment
Merchandise
Trucks
Medical, Medical Lab Equipment
Money
Vehicle Parts, Accessories
Negotiable Instruments
Watercraft
Metals, Non-Precious
Nonnegotiable Instruments
Aircraft Parts, Accessories
Musical Instruments
Office-type Equipment
Artistic Supplies, Accessories
Pets
Other Motor Vehicles
Building Materials
Photographic, Optical Equipment
Purses, Handbags, Wallets
Camping, Hunting, Fishing Equipment, Supplies
Radios, TVs, VCRs, DVD
Portable Electronic Communications
Recordings – Audio, Visual
Chemicals
Recreational Vehicles
Collections, Collectibles
Recreational, Sports Equipment
Structures – Single Occupancy Dwellings
Crops
Documents, Personal or Business
Other
Structures – Other Dwellings
Trailers
Structures – Other Commercial/Business
Explosives
Watercraft Equipment,
Firearm Accessories
Parts, Accessories
Structures – Industrial, Manufacturing
Fuel
Weapons – Other
Identity Documents
Pending Inventory
Another case for possibly putting the SRS data set first (Currency, Jewelry, Clothing, Office Supplies, etc) first, then expanding out to the NIBRS data set. Helps drive home how detailed NIBRS is.

11. Summary NIBRS Homicide Homicide Rape Robbery
This slide was setup using this scenario:
“Man and woman parked at a remote location are surprised by a stranger who attempts to rob the couple. He kills the man when he resists and rapes the woman.”
The first click shows the Homicide reported for both, but the second and third clicks introduce the Rape and Robbery on the NIBRS side to illustrate that NIBRS reports all offenses committed in the crime.
The next series of clicks introduce the Victims, Offenders, then age/sex/race/ethnicity, and the final click shows all the rest of the data types.
Also, for Family Violence, you might change the stranger to be the woman’s ex-spouse, that would show as Family Violence.

12. How do I report NIBRS data?
Question #3:
How do I report NIBRS data?

13. The Circle of Life for a NIBRS file Errors Identified Agency Resolves
Agency Generates Electronic File From RMS
DPS & FBI Publish Data
Agency Sends File to DPS
The
Circle of
Life for a
NIBRS file
Files Are Exported to the FBI
Errors Identified
Agency Resolves
Error-Free File is Moved to Repository

14. Current System:
Data is extracted (flat file) directly from a NIBRS-capable Records Management System.
Extracted file is ed to DPS for upload into the state Repository.
Data errors are visible within the state Repository. Correction by agency must be made prior to moving to the FBI.
When data is correct, it is then forwarded to the FBI.
Here is where we give a brief explanation of the current process of reporting NIBRS data.
The next slide will illustrate the new system that we are building (this will probably be more appropriate for most audiences since it will be online by the time most agencies will be coming on to NIBRS)

15. New System (online June 2017):
DPS is building a new repository system. This system will allow agencies to have total control over their data during all steps of the process.
Agencies will upload their NIBRS data directly into the system.
Edits will validate the data during upload.
All data passing the validations will continue into the repository.
This is the first of two slides. The next slide spells out if there is errors in the agency’s data.

16. New System
Data found in error will not continue and a detailed error report will be returned via to the uploader.
Agencies will be required to make corrections within their RMS to the data that is in error.
Once corrections have been made, a new flat file will need to be generated and uploaded.
One thing to remember is that data not passing the edit checks will be deleted from our system and will be as if we never received it. This allows the agency to go back into their RMS to address the found errors and create a new text file that will contain only the data they updated. This will keep their system when generating duplicate data, and our system from rejecting duplicate data.

17. New System IMPORTANT ITEMS TO REMEMBER
Minimum Windows 7 with Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome internet browsers.
must be a governmental, university, or ISD.
Applies to both NIBRS and Summary Reporting.
Training through Webex sessions
January 1, Paperless

18. What data is reported in NIBRS?
Question #4:
What data is reported in NIBRS?

19. Segments
Data segments are like chapters in a book, each segment holds a specific part of the incident:
Level 1 – Administrative Segment
Level 2 – Offense Segment
Level 3 – Property Segment
Level 4 – Victim Segment
Level 5 – Offender Segment
Level 6 – Arrestee Segment
Level 7 – Group B Arrest Segment
Level 0 – Zero Report Segment
Level 8 – Texas-Centric Segment
We begin with explaining the data that is reported by breaking it down into segments and elements.

20. Elements
Within each segment are data elements. These are the “building blocks” within the segment that comprise all data in the incident.
Data elements within each segment provide needed information to allow the fullest picture of the incident for statistical purposes.
Each segment level has specific data elements that pertain to the data contained in that segment.
There are also mandatory data elements, that are required by the state of Texas to be submitted with your NIBRS report each month.
Here is the explanation of “element”. The next slide will select two segments (the Segment Level 2 –Offense and Segment Level 4 – Victims) to illustrate the data elements in each.
WARNING! This is as deep into the weeds as the presentation gets. If y’all think it is too detailed, please edit accordingly as this level of detail may not work for some agencies. So if you think that it is too much, please go ahead and delete the next few slides. Or, simply list the data types from only one segment, or maybe simplify them by taking out all the element’s variables and just list the element names.

21. Data Values
A data value is a characteristic of an object (such as sex of a person) or a parameter of a data element.

22. Segments Level 1 – Administrative Segment Level 2 – Offense Segment
Level 3 – Property Segment
Level 4 – Victim Segment
Level 5 – Offender Segment
Level 6 – Arrestee Segment
Level 7 – Group B Arrest Segment
Level 0 – Zero Report Segment
Level 8 – Texas-Centric Segment

23. Level 2 – Offense Segment
ORI: The nine digit agency identifier. TX
Incident Number: Up to 12 characters.
UCR Offense Code: All offenses within the incident from the list of 52 specific reportable Group A crimes.
Offense Attempted/Completed: “A” or “C”.
Offender Suspected of Using: Offender under the influence of drugs, alcohol or using computer equipment.
Bias Motivation: If the offense was motivated by the offender’s bias, what was the bias type?
Notice that the numbers listed do not run sequentially, that is because these are the actual data element numbers and not just a listing of elements.

24. Level 2 – Offense Segment (Con’t)
Location Type: 58 location types.
Number of Premises Entered: Up to 99 separate premises.
Method of Entry: Either Force or No Force.
Type Criminal Activity/Gang Info: Specific crimes (drugs, pornography, gambling) with activities like: possessing, buying/receiving, cultivating, transporting, etc.
Type Weapon/Force Involved: 16 types available.
Automatic Weapon Indicator: Add “A” to weapon.

25. Will NIBRS increase my crime numbers?
Question #5:
Will NIBRS increase my crime numbers?
As you well know, this is a HUGE concern for agencies reluctant to move to NIBRS. In the next couple of slides we try to dispel that idea.

26. The short answer: Maybe, but probably not. If so, not by very much.
Since there is no Hierarchy Rule in NIBRS, all crimes committed in the incident are reportable in NIBRS. NIBRS does require you to document more crime than Summary.
NIBRS data is converted to the Summary format (applying the Hierarchy Rule and other edits) prior to publishing by the FBI.
The FBI has begun a program to also publish NIBRS data for CIUS.
The short answer may not be very eloquent, but it is the gospel truth. We need to hit this head-on and be as transparent as possible when presenting it to agencies

27. Agency
Pop
Report Type
Murder
Rape
Robbery
Aggravated Assault
Burglary
Larceny
MVT
Total
San Saba
3,086
NIBRS 1 6 28 33 2 70
SRS
Agency
Pop
Report Type
Murder
Rape
Robbery
Aggravated Assault
Burglary
Larceny
MVT
Total
Amarillo
196,577
NIBRS 9
231
242
827
1,804
5,708
702
9,523
SRS
214
821
1,816
5,643
695
9,440
Agency
Pop
Report Type
Murder
Rape
Robbery
Aggravated Assault
Burglary
Larceny
MVT
Total
Fort Worth
789,035
NIBRS 48
560
1,261
2,607
8,279
23,714
2,386
38,855
SRS
523
1,256
2,593
8,316
23,557
2,399
38,692
The key to this slide is that these are actual published numbers from the FBI. Of course, they got those numbers from us, so this is a real-world example of what converted NIBRS numbers looks like.
On the top row, the numbers as they appeared in the agency’s NIBRS submissions. The bottom row is what those numbers looked like AFTER conversion.
We start with a small agency, move to a medium sized one, and finally arrive at the largest NIBRS agency in Texas.
In most cases, the difference is smaller (not larger as most fear) when the numbers are converted. This is due predominately to the fact that lower hierarchy crimes are absorbed by higher ones when the hierarchy rule is applied.
In the case of numbers in red (burglary and MVT) those numbers are reported to NIBRS as single crimes, but are broken out individually (“number of premises entered” and “number of vehicle stolen”) in the conversion process.
The important thing to demonstrate is that we are showing that crime does not increase by very much, if at all, using NIBRS.
Numbers in red represent the breakout of premises entered during burglaries of self-storage facilities, and individual motor vehicles stolen in an incident.

28. Is NIBRS difficult to learn?
Question #6:
Is NIBRS difficult to learn?

29. Actually there are less moving parts to NIBRS than Summary:
With NIBRS there is no need for any paper forms (Tally Book, Return A, Supplement to the Return A, etc.) which means less time spent hand- compiling data.
Depending on how it is constructed, the RMS may assign the NIBRS offense code automatically, or may require assignment of offense codes manually.
The RMS will take care of all scoring and other data compiling.
This pretty much boils down to three things:
Less work (time) for you staff since there are no forms.
The only possible interaction that your staff may experience is if the RMS vendor requires you to manually select the NIBRS offense code (vs automatically assigning it based on our code table)
The RMS does all the work

30. Summary is already incorporated into NIBRS.
NIBRS has more crimes to choose from.
NIBRS has more weapons, locations and property types available than Summary.
NIBRS has only a few variations from SRS.
Just more warm fuzzies for agencies on the fence about all this NIBRS stuff.

31. What do I need to report NIBRS?
Question #7:
What do I need to report NIBRS?

32. Certification process.
A Records Management System (RMS) that is capable of producing NIBRS data.
Vendor training.
NIBRS training.
Certification process.
Preparation for changes in your long range trends that might appear after you begin reporting NIBRS.
Bullet 1 – Choosing a vender is very important. A “known” vendor (what we used to call an “approved” vendor) needs only to reach a 4% or less error rate for only one month of Summary/NIBRS. A “new” vendor (or, one that is not currently “known” or “doing business” with us) requires three months of 4% or less submissions.
Bullet 2 – an agency cannot just “start” reporting NIBRS. They must first complete three steps:
Submit a test text file (flat file) that properly ingests into our system. The chances of this being successful are greatly enhanced if the agency goes with a known vendor who has already completed this test and has shown the ability to create a successful flat file.
Receive a comprehensive one day training from DPS on details of the NIBRS system, and
Complete their required 4% or less testing period.
Bullet 3 – The agency needs to be ready for possible changes in their short term crime numbers.

33. What benefit will NIBRS be to my agency?
Question #8:
What benefit will NIBRS be to my agency?

34. NIBRS participation may tie into new grant funding streams.
Better transparency.
Paperless reporting.
Immediate feedback on errors produced during report submission.
Immediate retrieval of data for statistical purposes.
Here is where we really need to sell this… “What’s in it for me?”
All bullets are pretty self explanatory, but the last bullet should be fleshed out to address the changes in the attitude for law enforcement agencies by the public. NIBRS offers a chance to have crime numbers be consistent from agency to DPS to the feds. The new system we are developing will allow the public to access in near real time data submitted to the agency qand will allow for queries to be made instantly against those data.
All of this leads to a more transparent process that assists the agency’s public personae and builds trust in the numbers that are being reported.
One more thing to bear in mind, with the SRS system there is a lot of places where errors can be made in the manual shuttling of data through human interaction. The computer eliminates that room for error and allows the data to be traced from source to published reality.
Of course you can decide on how detailed you want to be when presenting this to the agencies, but it is a significant benefit of NIBRS.

35. Will NIBRS Become The Standard?
Question #9:
Will NIBRS Become The Standard?

36. Yes!
Texas House Bill sets a goal of all-NIBRS reporting for Texas LEAs by 2019.
The FBI has announced that it will cease accepting Summary data in 2021.
NIBRS will become the only UCR reporting method.

37. How Can I Learn More About NIBRS?
Question #10:
How Can I Learn More About NIBRS?

38. To learn more about how to transition to Incident-Based Reporting, please contact the Department of Public Safety Uniform Crime Reporting Bureau: By By phone: …or, contact your UCR field rep! By
You can modify this to have your name, and phone number if you like!

39. Where to Find More Information about NIBRS:
(NIBRS / TIBRS)

40. Questions