Examining National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) Data

Published date01 December 2015
AuthorJohn P. Jarvis
Date01 December 2015
DOI10.1177/1525107115623506
Subject MatterCommentaries
Commentary
Examining National
Incident-Based
Reporting System
(NIBRS) Data:
Perspectives From a
Quarter Century of
Analysis Efforts
John P. Jarvis
1
Abstract
The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) has been a repository for
crime data for almost 25 years. This work explores the uses and applications of these
data to shed light on a variety of crime and policing issues since the data became
available in the early to mid 1990s. Specific attention and discussion is devoted to
some of the advances that NIBRS data affords as well as some of the limitations that
have been discovered. Documenting both the challenges and opportunities that
NIBRS data have provided was the aim of this work. Both the research and practice
communities can profit from further data collection and analysis of this important
source of information relative to crimes that become known to the police.
Keywords
police, crime data, research, analysis
1
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Critical Incident Response Group, Behavioral Research and Instruction
Unit, Quantico, VA, USA
Corresponding Author:
John P. Jarvis, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Critical Incident Response Group, Behavioral Research and
Instruction Unit, Quantico, VA, USA.
Email: john.jarvis@ic.fbi.gov
Justice Research and Policy
2015, Vol. 16(2) 195-210
ªThe Author(s) 2016
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/1525107115623506
jrx.sagepub.com
Eighty-five years ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated an effort
to systematically collect information about crimes that came to the attention of
police. This effort, termed the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, began
in earnest in the 1930s. By 1960 (about 30 years later), this effort reached a level
of reliability and validity for use in national estimates that led to the annual FBI
publication of Crime in the United States. Sometime during the mid-1980s, an
effort to gain even more detail on individual incidents of criminal offending was
initiated. This resulted in the advent of the National Incident-Based Reporting
System (NIBRS) in 1989, which for the past 25 years has yielded incident-
level data for use in describing and explaining criminal offending and victimiza-
tion. This article is devoted to two goals: (1) to provide an overview of some of
the advances that NIBRS data have afforded and (2) to highlight some of the les-
sons learned from attempting to leverage incident-based data to better describe
and understand criminal activity. Particular emphasis is given to the challenges
and opportunities the NIBRS data provide the research and practitioner commu-
nities in efforts to combat crime.
One motivation for this article is the fact that researchers are increasingly turning to
NIBRS to study a wide variety of issues. NIBRS has been employed to support various
scholarly efforts including but certainly not limited to the following topics: crimes
against children (Clifford et al., 2015; Finkelhor & Ormrod, 2001; H. Snyder, 2000),
examinations of police responses to homicide (Addington, 2007; Regoeczi & Jarvis,
2013), cyberbullying (Addington, 2013), legal and illegal guns and crime (Hass, Jarvis,
Jefferis, & Turley, 2007; Stolzenberg & D’Alessio, 2000), crimes against the elderly
(Chu & Kraus, 2004), lethality of violent incidents (Weaver, Clifford Wittekind,
Huff-Corzine, Petee, & Jarvis, 2004), race and crime (D’Alessio & Stolzenberg,
2003; D’Alessio, Stolzenberg, & Eitle, 2002), hate crimes (Strom, 2001), juvenile
crime (Finkelhor & Ormrod, 2000), co-occurring sexual assaults (Addington & Renni-
son, 2008), and the demographics of victims, offenders, and arrestees (Chilton & Jarvis,
1999a, 1999b; Snyder, 1999). One of the main reasons for the increa sed use of NIBRS
data is the fact that researchers are capitalizing on the strength of NIBRS in terms of
the detailed characteristics provided, for the victim, offender, and incident as well as
the expanded number of criminal offenses collected (Maxfield, 1999; Snyder, 1999).
Researchers also are pushing NIBRS data to consider these issues.
Before turning to the main goals of this article, a short background about NIBRS
data is provided. This article then will consider the use of particular details collected
by NIBRS. To accomplish this effort, a select sample of the 56 data elements available
in NIBRS is considered and commentary is provided on the analytical lessons learned
about these identified data elements The intent is to provide such information toward
more effectively utilizing NIBRS data in future crime studies.
NIBRS Background
The traditional summary UCR allowed for crime reporting in two parts: crimes known
to police which included seven Part 1 offenses (murder, rape, robbery, aggravated
196 Justice Research and Policy 16(2)

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