5 Things to Know About Crime Data

Crime data statistics are reported to the FBI under the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). This initiative attempts to create standardized reporting for various types of major crimes. 

There are 5 important things to note:  

1. Things have changed over time.  
2. There are differences between agencies.  
3. Compliance with NIBRS is mandatory.  
4. NIBRS is based on reported crimes.  
5. The FBI reports NIBRS statistics annually.