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Futures in Crime Analysis: Exploring Applications of Incident-Based Crime Data

NCJ Number
127201
Author(s)
K R Coyle; J C Schaaf; J R Coldren Jr
Date Published
1991
Length
55 pages
Annotation
The Criminal Justice Statistics Association (CJSA) established the Incident-Based Reporting (IBR) Project to promote the use and analysis of incident-based crime data for policy and decisionmaking purposes.
Abstract

CJSA developed the project with input from representatives of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Association of State Uniform Crime Reporting Programs, and several State Statistical Analysis Centers. A mail survey was conducted of 184 individuals involved in the production, collection, or analysis of incident-based crime data to assess current levels of implementation and to solicit input for the development of demonstration analyses. IBR survey respondents were presented with 14 topics and asked to rank the three most important applications of IBR data. The topic of victim and offender relationships was the most frequently cited analysis priority. The second and third most frequently indicated priorities were drug and alcohol involvement in criminal incidents and the tracking of offenders through the criminal justice system. IBR survey respondents were also asked to indicate the utility of potential support resources. Among the suggested resources, the production of special reports encouraging and demonstrating possible uses of incident-based crime data received the strongest endorsement. It is concluded that incident-based crime data hold promise for the criminal justice system with applications in criminal justice policy formulation, law enforcement resource management, program evaluation, and strategic planning efforts. Appendixes contain data elements and crime categories used in the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System and the IBR project survey. 17 endnotes, 2 tables, and 9 figures