1. A Broad Range of Crime Data

Crimes Reported to NIBRS
1. Arson 12. Homicide offenses—murder and non-negligent manslaughter, negligent manslaughter, justifiable homicide
2. Assault offenses—aggravated assault, simple assault, intimidation 13. Kidnaping/abduction
3. Bribery 14. Larceny/theft offenses—pickpocketing, purse-snatching, shoplifting, theft from building, theft from coin-operated machine or device, theft from motor vehicle, theft of motor vehicle parts or accessories, all other larceny
4. Burglary/breaking and entering 15. Motor vehicle theft
5. Counterfeiting/forgery 16. Pornography/obscene material
6. Destruction/damage/vandalism of property 17. Prostitution offenses—prostitution, assisting or promoting prostitution
7. Drug/narcotic offenses—drug/narcotic violations, drug equipment violations 18. Robbery
8. Embezzlement 19. Sex offenses, forcible—rape, sodomy, fondling, sexual assault with an object
9. Extortion/blackmail 20. Sex offenses, non-forcible—incest, statutory rape
10. Fraud offenses—false pretenses/swindle/confidence game, credit card/automatic teller machine fraud, impersonation, welfare fraud, wire fraud 21. Stolen property offenses—receiving, etc.
11. Gambling offenses—betting/wagering, operating/promoting/assisting gambling, gambling equipment violations, sports tampering 22. Weapon law violations
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Incident-Based Reporting System, 2009–2011, data from 15 complete reporting states

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) traditional Uniform Crime Report includes data on incidents of eight Part 1 Index Crimes (murder, aggravated assault, forcible rape, robbery, motor vehicle theft, burglary, larceny/theft, and arson), and arrests for other offenses. Reporting only a subset of crimes limits the information available to service providers and can skew the real picture of crime and victimization in a community. In contrast, NIBRS provides comprehensive incident data on 22 categories of crime (see table), which are further classified into 46 offenses. By using this wide range of reported data, states and localities can better identify underserved victims and provide targeted training for victim services providers. The FBI also maintains NIBRS.

NIBRS reports the age of the victims, the time of day of the offense, clearance rates of offenses, and information regarding the use of weapons in violent crimes. This provides critical data for communities committed to understanding and addressing issues of crime and victimization. NIBRS also reports information on the place where the incident occurred, such as the type of location (e.g., home, field, work, school, bar/nightclub); the city, county, and state of jurisdiction; and the population served by the jurisdiction’s police agency. This allows researchers to link NIBRS incidents to city-, county-, and state-level information from other official statistics.

Reported Crime Incident Data. Unified Crime Report: 8 categories of crime, NIBRS: 22 categories of crime.