FBI Report Ranks Austin Crime Data

AUSTIN, TX — The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently released its 2019 National Incident-Based Reporting System Crime Data ranking Austin the 11th safest in crimes against persons, 12th safest in crimes against society and 9th safest in crimes against property for U.S. cities with a population of 400,000 or greater, police revealed on Tuesday.

But there's a caveat to the newly released statistics: "It is vital to note that a significant number of U.S. municipalities are still making the transition from Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) to NIBRS and are not included in this report," the Austin Police Department acknowledged in a prepared statement. "As a result, Austin is one of only 22 cities contained in the data set. In future years, there will be additional large cities against which to compare crime rates."

According to GovThink.com, Uniform Crime Reporting is officially retiring on Jan. 1, 2021. By that date, every law enforcement agency in the country will be required to use its replacement, National Incident Based Reporting Systems. A majority of law enforcement agencies have already begun the transition to National Incident Based Reporting Systems, with many having successfully completed the transition, according to GovThink.

"However, even a completed NIBRS transition requires additional input for it to be successful as it can take anywhere from a few weeks or months to sometimes years before officers feel as comfortable using NIBRS as they are with UCR," GovThink noted.

Crimes against persons data

Chart provided by the Austin Police Department.

The Austin Police Department agreed there are significant differences in the way crime is calculated between the Uniform Crime Reporting method and that of the National Incident-Based Reporting System Crime Data. The upshot: Data and rankings of each are not comparable, police said. Under Uniform Crime Reporting methodology, only the most serious offenses are reported to the FBI, while National Incident-Based Reporting System Crime Data statistics include all offenses committed during an incident.

Crimes against society data

Chart provided by the Austin Police Department.

Additionally, police said, Uniform Crime Reporting data are divided into Part I and Part II Index Offenses, whereas National Incident-Based Reporting System Crime Data categorize offenses by Crimes Against Persons (crimes in which victims are always individuals), Crimes Against Society (offenses representing society’s prohibition against engaging in certain types of activity), and Crimes Against Property (offenses in which there is an attempt to obtain money, property or some other benefit).

These definitions come from the NIBRS User Manual, police explained. In 2018, the Austin Police Department began transitioning from UCR summary to NIBRS in accordance with the FBI’s January 1, 2021, implementation deadline. The local police department officially began submitting National Incident-Based Reporting System Crime Data statistics two years ahead of schedule on Jan. 1, 2019, the Austin Police Department said.

A recent presentation by the Austin Police Department to the city’s Public Safety Commission about National Incident-Based Reporting System Crime Data data is available to watch online. The 2019 — and much of the 2020 NIBRS data — are available in the Austin Police Department's Chief’s Monthly Reports.

According to the FBI website, 8,497 law enforcement agencies — with jurisdictions collectively covering more than 146.5 million U.S. inhabitants — submitted NIBRS data to the UCR Program. These agencies accounted for 51.3 percent of the 16,551 law enforcement agencies that submitted data to the UCR Program in 2019, FBI officials added. The remaining agencies submitted their data to the program via the Summary Reporting System (SRS).

GovThink — a project powered by CentralSquare Technologies that is a leader in public administration and public safety software for more than 8,000 local governments and public safety agencies across North America — outlined the key changes and differences between the two data sets. The project's digital magazine noted that both UCR and NIBRS collect data on homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft and arson. They both also collect data on the categories “crimes against persons” and “crimes against property.”

Unlike UCR however, NIBRS documents animal cruelty, extortion and identity theft offenses. NIBRS also documents the category “crimes against society” which do not actually involve an injured party or piece of property. Rather, they are prohibitions against engaging in certain types of activity such as drugs, gambling, pornography, prostitution and weapon law violations.

Another difference is the elimination of the hierarchy rule which yields more detailed information from a single incident, according to GovThink. A key differentiating factor of NIBRS is the elimination of the hierarchy rule, according to the site. "UCR employs the hierarchy rule to recognize the most serious offense per incident, whereas under NIBRS, agencies are required to submit detailed information about all offenses committed in a single incident," the website reads. "With NIBRS, officers can collect data on up to 10 criminal offenses within an incident. An incident is considered one or more offenses committed by the same offender or group of offenders acting in concert at the same time and place."

GovThink also details changes in classification among the two data sets, and explains that each state has its own "flavor" of NIBRS. "Unlike other systems developed to the FBI’s 2019 specifications, an agency’s NIBRS system should be tailored to the individual state’s specifications," the site reads.

Thorough training is the key to data mastery under the new model, the site reads, and the agencies that have proven most successful in their reporting have been those who more quickly invested in such traning.

To read more explanatory passages from GovThink about the new methodology, click here.