Crime Analytics
Contents
Perform crime analytics using federal data by accessing publicly available datasets and tools from agencies like the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and elsewhere. These resources provide a wealth of information for analyzing crime trends, patterns, and characteristics at various geographic levels.
Key Federal Data Sources
The primary federal sources for crime data are the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program and the BJS's National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). These two sources offer complementary views of crime in the U.S.
| • | FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program: The UCR Program collects data from law enforcement agencies nationwide on offenses reported to them. Since 2021, the FBI has transitioned from the less detailed Summary Reporting System (SRS) to the more robust National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). NIBRS provides detailed, incident-level data on up to 10 offenses per incident, as well as information about victims, offenders, and the circumstances of the crime. This is a great resource for analyzing reported crime and law enforcement activity. The FBI's Crime Data Explorer (CDE) is an interactive tool for accessing and visualizing this data. |
| • | Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS): The NCVS is an annual survey that interviews a nationally representative sample of households about their experiences with crime. Unlike the UCR, the NCVS captures both crimes reported to the police and those that are not. This makes it a crucial resource for understanding the true scope of crime and the "dark figure" of criminal offenses that go unreported. The BJS provides several data analysis tools, such as the NCVS Dashboard (N-DASH), to help users explore this data. |
Performing Analytics
Once you've identified your data source, you can perform various types of crime analytics.
| • | Descriptive Analytics: This involves summarizing historical crime data to identify trends and patterns. You can use federal data to answer questions like: |
| o | What are the most common types of crimes reported in a specific state or region? |
| o | How have violent crime rates changed over the past decade? |
| o | What are the demographic characteristics of victims and offenders for a particular crime type? |
| • | Predictive Analytics: By analyzing past data, you can build models to forecast future crime trends. For example, you could use NIBRS data to predict future "hot spots" for certain crimes by identifying patterns related to time of day, day of the week, or specific locations. |
| • | Prescriptive Analytics: This goes a step further by using data to recommend actions to reduce crime. For instance, an analysis of NIBRS data might reveal that a particular type of crime, like burglary, is concentrated in certain areas during specific hours. Law enforcement agencies could then use this information to adjust patrol routes and allocate resources more effectively. |
Tools and Resources
Federal agencies provide a variety of tools to facilitate analysis for users of all skill levels, from the general public to professional researchers. These include:
| • | FBI's Crime Data Explorer (CDE): This interactive tool allows you to create custom visualizations, download data in various formats, and explore crime statistics. |
| • | BJS Data Analysis Tools: The BJS website offers a suite of user-friendly tools for analyzing data from the NCVS, as well as other collections like the Federal Criminal Case Processing Statistics (FCCPS) Tool and the Prisoner Data Analysis Tool (SPI DAT). |
| • | National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD): Hosted by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), the NACJD is a repository of a vast amount of criminal justice data, including UCR and NCVS datasets, for more in-depth research and analysis. |
NIBRS
The coverage of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) has been a major focus of the FBI and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) in recent years, especially since NIBRS became the national standard for crime data reporting in 2021.
Current Coverage
| • | Growing Participation: NIBRS participation has expanded significantly. As of 2024, all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia are certified to report crime data to NIBRS. However, this doesn't mean all law enforcement agencies within those states are submitting data. |
| • | Population Covered: While the number of agencies is still increasing, the percentage of the U.S. population covered by NIBRS-reporting agencies has grown substantially. |
| o | In 2022, NIBRS data covered jurisdictions with over 256 million residents. |
| o | By 2023, the percentage of the U.S. population covered by NIBRS agencies increased to over 83%. |
| o | When combined with data from the older Summary Reporting System (SRS), the total UCR program data covered over 94% of the U.S. population. |
| • | Large Agencies: Many of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United States have now transitioned to NIBRS, including major cities like Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. This is a significant factor in the high population coverage rate. |
Factors Affecting Coverage
| • | Agency Size: The transition to NIBRS has been more challenging for some smaller agencies due to factors like cost, lack of funding, and technical complexity. Larger agencies often have more resources to dedicate to the transition. |
| • | State-Level Support: State Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Programs play a crucial role in helping local agencies make the switch. States that have invested in technical assistance, training, and funding for their agencies have seen higher NIBRS participation rates. |
| • | Voluntary Participation: While NIBRS is the national standard, reporting to the UCR Program is still voluntary for law enforcement agencies. This is a key reason why coverage is not yet at 100%. |
Where to Find Specific Data
For the most up-to-date and specific data on NIBRS coverage by state, population, and agency, you can use the FBI's official sources:
| • | FBI's Crime Data Explorer (CDE): This is the best resource for viewing and analyzing NIBRS data. It allows users to filter by state, agency, offense type, and more. |
| • | FBI UCR Program Reports: The FBI publishes annual reports on NIBRS data that detail participation rates, population coverage, and crime statistics. |
As the NIBRS program continues to evolve, its coverage is expected to increase, providing an even more complete and accurate picture of crime in the United States.