Guide to Understanding NIBRS
Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
With A Guide to Understanding NIBRS
With evolving crime issues, law enforcement needs more
information than what has been available historically to assist
with decisions about training, resource allocation, and crime-
Law Enforcement Can fighting strategies. For that reason, major law enforcement
organizations recommended that the FBI retire the Summary
• Specify more than the 30 Reporting System (SRS) to focus on the rich data captured
crimes collected in SRS through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s National
using: Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Through the NIBRS-
o 52 Group A Offenses only data collection set to be universally adopted by law
within 24 crime enforcement nationwide by January 1, 2021, the FBI aims to
categories. enhance the quantity, quality, and timeliness of reported crime
data and to improve the methodology used for compiling,
o 10 Group B Offenses.
analyzing, auditing, and publishing it.
• Report up to 10 offenses
per incident versus only NIBRS is capable of producing more precise and meaningful
the most serious offense data because of the many facts about crime chronicled in the
as dictated by the SRS Group A Incident Report and Group B Arrest Report. Arranged in
Hierarchy Rule. six topical segments, data elements describe various facts
through specified data values that have been assigned data
• Collect information about six
codes to condense the descriptions. The flexibility of this
facets of an incident: structure also permits NIBRS to adapt to keep up with modern
o Administrative Segment crime issues.
o Offense Segment
o Property Segment Beyond the increase in data collected, the major advantage of
o Victim Segment NIBRS is its capability to provide specific retrievable information
o Offender Segment and preserve the data linkages. With NIBRS, law enforcement
o Arrestee Segment
can better determine victim populations of sex offenses,
understand more about the scope of a local drug problem, and
• Capture features of each
identify the relationships of victims to offenders for many
segment of the crime with offenses.
58 data elements using
various data values to Reporting Procedures and Units of Count
describe each feature.
Although many law enforcement agencies have automated
• Use contextual data to
records management systems tailored to their individual needs,
develop crime prevention
NIBRS affords these agencies the ability to distinguish certain
strategies for victim crime characteristics within their own jurisdictions as they
populations and target relate to surrounding NIBRS agencies. And when these agencies
resources to combat participate in the FBI’s UCR Program through either a state UCR
common issues identified Program or direct submission to the FBI, NIBRS can help them
across jurisdictions. recognize crime patterns similar to occurrences in other
jurisdictions. As NIBRS replaces SRS as the data standard for
UCR, the detailed data of local, academic, county, state,
A Guide to Understanding NIBRS U.S. Department of Justice—Federal Bureau of Investigation
July 2019 1
Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
territorial, tribal, and federal agencies are bringing the overall picture of the crime in the nation into
sharper focus.
Agencies submit single- and multiple-offense incidents to the FBI UCR system through monthly
electronic records in the Group A Incident Report. Up to 10 offense types of the 52 specified
Group A offenses can be reported in an incident. Circumstances can range from one-victim and
one-offender situations to those with multiple victims, offenders, offenses, property loss types, and
arrestees. In addition to characteristics such as the age, sex, race, and ethnicity of victims,
offenders, and arrestees, the Group A Incident Report captures other details. These include, but are
not limited to, clearances; the value of property involved; the offender’s bias motivation (if present)
toward the victim’s real or perceived race, gender, gender identity, religion, physical or mental
disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity; and information regarding law enforcement officers killed
or assaulted.
Agencies also submit arrest information for 10 additional crimes via the Group B Arrest Report.
These arrest data include information about the age, sex, race, and ethnicity of arrestees; date of
arrest; type of arrest; arrest offense code; weapon arrestee was armed with, if present; resident
status of the arrestee; and disposition if the arrestee was under age 18. Should an agency not have
any criminal activity within a reporting month, the Zero Report Segment is used.
To help maintain uniformity in reporting NIBRS, agencies count various elements of an incident. Like
SRS, NIBRS includes the categories of Crimes Against Persons (where the victim is always an
individual [and can be specified if Law Enforcement Officer]) and Crimes Against Property (where
the offender’s objective is to take property). NIBRS also collects the additional category of Crimes
Against Society, which are those offenses that represent society’s prohibitions against certain
activities such as gambling or prostitution. By considering these and other standard units, NIBRS
measures a wider volume and scope of crime than has previously been counted in UCR.
NIBRS submissions are based on five basic units of count:
1. Incidents. Count one incident for each Group A Incident reported via the Administrative
Segment with a unique incident number, i.e., law enforcement agency case number, followed
by a minimum of the offense, victim, and offender segments.
2. Offenses. Count one offense for each victim of Crimes Against Persons and each unique offense
type for Crimes Against Property and Crimes Against Society.
3. Victims. Count one for each victim, i.e., a victim segment for each victim connected to each
offense type in the incident (in a multiple-offense incident, a victim is counted for each
connected offense type in a table reflecting offense categories).
4. Known Offenders. Count one for each offender, i.e., an offender segment for each offender
connected to each offense type in the incident.
5. Arrestees. Count one for each arrestee, i.e., arrestee segment, reported in Group A and
Group B Arrest Reports. NIBRS counts arrestees detained in connection with more than one
incident only once.
A Guide to Understanding NIBRS U.S. Department of Justice—Federal Bureau of Investigation
July 2019 2
Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
Editing Procedures and Data Validity
Through its training practices, editing procedures, and correspondence with agencies, the FBI
makes every effort to ensure the validity of the data it receives. From providing the most current
technical specifications prior to a state UCR Program testing for certification to continued validation
of reporting procedures through quality assurance reviews, the FBI makes NIBRS experts and other
technical resources available.
Upon receipt of NIBRS submissions, the UCR Program thoroughly examines each one for accuracy
and deviations in the data from month to month, and from present to past years to help detect
potential errors. Using a combination of manual checks performed by UCR staff and of automated
processes now completed by the FBI’s UCR system, the FBI runs quality control checks on the data.
Through electronic error data sets and correspondence, the FBI returns any submission errors to
state UCR Programs for correction and requests validation of data significantly differing from
established trends.
Ultimately, the UCR Program relies on the good faith reporting of the law enforcement agencies
that voluntarily contribute data to the UCR Program via NIBRS. The accuracy of the statistics
depends primarily on the adherence of each contributor to the established standards of reporting.
Accordingly, it is the responsibility of each state UCR Program or direct contributing agency to
submit accurate statistics and to correct any data reported in error.
Availability of NIBRS Data
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer (CDE) is an interactive data tool that enables
law enforcement and the public to call out specific statistics from the various
UCR collections, including NIBRS. Using the FBI’s digital front door for data,
site visitors can view charts and graphs that break down NIBRS data in a
variety of ways, and download state-level data as early as 1995, depending
on whether a particular state was a NIBRS contributor at the time. Also,
because the CDE’s content and features are updated and expanded
continually, time stamps reflect the refresh date of content, which is a step
toward the FBI publishing the data more frequently. Data users can access
the CDE at www.fbi.gov/cde.
Beginning with data for 2011, annual NIBRS compilations are available on the
FBI’s website. Users can access the annual NIBRS publications and other
annual reports at www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/publications.
Finally, master files of annual NIBRS data are available upon request from the
UCR Program. Requesters should email the national program at
CRIMESTATSINFO@fbi.gov and include their name, mailing address, and
telephone number, as the files are too large to send via e-mail.
A Guide to Understanding NIBRS U.S. Department of Justice—Federal Bureau of Investigation
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Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
For More Information
• NIBRS Transition: www.fbi.gov/nibrs
Learn more about the UCR Program’s transition to a NIBRS-only data collection and get
resources to assess agency readiness and to assist with planning and implementation.
• UCR Technical Specifications, User Manuals, and Data Tools:
www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/data-documentation
Access NIBRS Technical Specifications, NIBRS Information Exchange Package Documentation
(IEPD) Master Documentation (XML), NIBRS User Manual, and other data entry tools.
• UCR Program Quarterly: www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/ucr-program-quarterly
Review new information about UCR procedures, policy updates, and clarification of
reporting issues, including those focused on NIBRS.
• UCR Data: www.fbi.gov/cde
Sort and view various UCR data sets including NIBRS.
• State UCR Program Contacts: www.fbi.gov/file-repository/ucr/state-ucr-program-
contacts.pdf/view
Get in touch with state UCR Program managers to learn about your state’s commitment to
the NIBRS transition.
• FBI UCR Trainers: UCRtrainers@leo.gov
Inquire about upcoming NIBRS training opportunities and the availability of other
instructional materials on crime reporting procedures, the rules of uniform classification
and scoring, and the methods of assembling and reporting NIBRS data.
• FBI NIBRS Staff
o E-mail: UCR-NIBRS@fbi.gov
o Telephone: 304-625-9999
A Guide to Understanding NIBRS U.S. Department of Justice—Federal Bureau of Investigation
July 2019 4
Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
Appendix A
Table: NIBRS Group A Incident Report and Associated Data Elements
DE = Data Element
Administrative Segment Group A Incident Report
DE 1-Orginating Agency Identifier
(ORI) Offense Segment
DE 2-Incident Number Administrative Segment DE 6-UCR Offense Code
DE 2A-Cargo Theft DE 7-Offense Attempted/Completed
DE 3-Incident Date DE 8-Offender Suspected of Using
DE 3-Report Indicator Offense Segment DE 8A-Bias Motivation
DE 3-Incident Hour DE 9-Location Type
DE 4-Cleared Exceptionally DE 10-Number of Premises Entered
DE 5-Exceptional Clearance Date Property Segment
DE 11-Method of Entry
DE 12-Type Criminal Activity/Gang
Information
Victim Segment
DE 13-Type Weapon/Force Involved
Property Segment DE 13-Automatic Weapon Indicator
DE 14-Type Property Loss/Etc.
DE 15-Property Description Offender Segment
DE 16-Value of Property
DE 17-Date Recovered
DE 18-Number of Stolen Motor Arrestee Segment Victim Segment
Vehicles DE 23-Victim Sequence Number
DE 19-Number of Recovered Motor DE 24-Victim Connected to UCR
Vehicles Offense Code
DE 20-Suspected Drug Type DE 25-Type of Victim
DE 21-Estimated Drug Quantity DE 25A-Type of Officer Activity/
DE 22-Type Drug Measurement Circumstance
DE 25B-Officer Assignment Type
DE 25C-Officer-ORI Other Jurisdiction
DE 26-Age of Victim
Offender Segment DE 27-Sex of Victim
DE 36-Offender Sequence Number DE 28-Race of Victim
DE 37-Age of Offender DE 29-Ethnicity of Victim
DE 38-Sex of Offender DE 30-Resident Status of Victim
Arrestee Segment
DE 39-Race of Offender DE 31-Aggravated Assault/Homicide
DE 40-Arrestee Sequence Number
DE 39A-Ethnicity of Offender Circumstances
DE 41-Arrest Transaction Number
DE 42-Arrest Date DE 32-Additional Justifiable Homicide
DE 43-Type of Arrest Circumstances
DE 44-Multiple Arrestee Segments DE 33-Type Injury
Indicator DE 34-Offender Number to be
DE 45-UCR Arrest Offense Code Related
DE 46-Arrestee Was Armed With DE 35-Relationship of Victim to
DE 46-Automatic Weapon Indicator Offender
DE 47-Age of Arrestee
DE 48-Sex of Arrestee
DE 49-Race of Arrestee
DE 50-Ethnicity of Arrestee
DE 51-Resident Status of Arrestee
DE 52-Disposition of Arrestee
Under 18
A Guide to Understanding NIBRS U.S. Department of Justice—Federal Bureau of Investigation
July 2019 5
Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program
National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)
Appendix B
Table: NIBRS Group B Arrest Report and Associated Data Elements
DE = Data Element
Group B Arrest Report
Arrest Segment
DE 1-ORI
DE 41-Arrest Transaction No.
DE 40-Arrestee Sequence No.
DE 42-Arrest Date
DE 43-Type of Arrest
DE 45-UCR Arrest Offense Code
DE 46-Arrestee Was Armed With
Automatic Weapon Indicator
DE 47-Age of Arrestee
DE 48-Sex of Arrestee
DE 49-Race of Arrestee
DE 50-Ethnicity of Arrestee
DE 51-Resident Status of
Arrestee
DE 52-Disposition of Arrestee
A Guide to Understanding NIBRS U.S. Department of Justice—Federal Bureau of Investigation
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Source: Guide to Understanding NIBRS.docx