San Jose Police Department, CA
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Changes in Crime Reporting
The San Jose Police Department reports statistics to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) on a monthly basis. The CA DOJ then shares this data with the FBI to participate in the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. The UCR uses specific criteria to categorize and report crime which generates reliable statistics for use in law enforcement.
California is one of the few remaining states in the US to report to UCR via the Summary Reporting System (SRS). SRS collects information on limited crime types and only the most serious offense occurring on the same incident. The FBI has since retired SRS and replaced it with the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS). NIBRS collects information on all offenses that occur during an incident. The additional details will allow for more meaningful data, giving context to specific crime problems, and provide greater analytic flexibility.
Beginning in April 2023, the San Jose Police Department began submitting NIBRS data. NIBRS requires at least six consecutive months of data for statistical reasonableness review. One of the criteria for law enforcement agencies to become NIBRS certified is the sustaining of an error rate of 4% or less for three consecutive months of submission. These errors can include missing required data elements (applicable errors can be found on the NIBRS Technical Specification). The San Jose Police Department intends to obtain NIBRS certification in Winter 2024.
| SRS | NIBRS |
|---|---|
|
Outdated, 90-year-old system of counting crime that does not meet the needs of 21st-century policing
Will be retired December 31, 2020 |
Modern system capturing the detailed information necessary for making informed decisions about crime
Will become the national crime reporting standard on January 1, 2021 |
|
Limited to an aggregate monthly tally of crime |
Captures circumstances and context for crime in addition to counts, providing more meaningful data |
|
Records limited data for 10 offense types and reported arrests for 20 additional crimes |
Collects incident-specific data for 52 offenses and reported arrests for 10 additional offenses |
|
The most serious offense in an incident is reported; additional offenses are excluded |
Includes up to 10 offenses per incident and provides a more precise account of crime |
|
Does not collect contextual information about the crime, the victim, or the offender |
Captures 58 data elements about the crime, including characteristics of the victim and offender, their relationship, type of injury or loss, location, and weapons involved |
|
Cannot be used to answer important questions about the nature of crime |
Can be used for tactical or strategic analysis at the local, state, and national levels |
GROUP A OFFENSES |
GROUP B OFFENSES |
| CRIMES AGAINST: | only if there is an arrest |
- Aggravated Assault
- Simple Assault
- Intimidation
- Murder/ Nonnegligent Manslaughter
- Negligent Manslaughter
- Justifiable Homicide (not a crime)
- Commercial Sex Acts
- Involuntary Servitude
- Rape
- Sodomy
- Sexual Assault with an Object
- Fondling
- Incest
- Statutory Rape
- False Pretenses/ Swindle
- Credit/ Debit/ ATM Fraud
- Impersonation
- Welfare Fraud
- Wire Fraud
- Identity Theft
- Hacking/ Computer Invasion
Larceny/ Theft Offenses
- Pocket-picking
- Purse-snatching
- Shoplifting
- Theft from Building
- Theft from Coin-Op Machine or Device
- Theft from Motor Vehicle
- Theft of Motor Vehicle Parts or Accessories
- All Other Larceny
Motor Vehicle Theft
Robbery
Stolen Property Offenses
- Drug/ Narcotic Violations
- Drug Equipment Violations
- Betting/ Wagering
- Operating/ Promoting/ Assisting Gambling
- Gambling Equipment Violations
- Sports Tampering
- Prostitution
- Assisting or Promoting Prostitution
- Purchasing Prostitution
- Bad Checks
- Curfew/ Loitering/ Vagrancy Violations
- Disorderly Conduct
- Driving Under the Influence
- Drunkenness
- Family Offenses, Nonviolent
- Liquor Law Violations
- Peeping Toms
- Trespass of Real Property
- All Other Offenses
Source information: FBI NIBRS Quick Facts
What Changes Should Be Expected?
Due to the differences between SRS and NIBRS, crime statistics may appear higher. This change is not reflective of actual increases in crime, but is reflective of changes to the way crime is being reported.
Changes in crime statistics are due, in part, to the elimination of the Hierarchy Rule and to the allowance of reporting up to ten offenses in a single incident. The change in reporting will enhance the quantity, quality, and timeliness of crime data collected by law enforcement and improve the methodology used for compiling, analyzing, auditing, and publishing the collected crime data.
Visit the FBI site for more information about NIBRS