The transition to a national incident-based reporting system is expected to provide numerous research applications, including the examination of victim/offender relationships, spatial analysis (location) of crime, and the use of weapons. The NIBRS system has the potential to complement the adoption of problem-oriented policing (community policing) by many law enforcement agencies, since NIBRS data can help identify typical circumstances under which crimes occur; however, the analyses presented in this article show that knowledge of these circumstances does not necessarily empower police to prevent crime. The NIBRS/UCR system is a potentially useful tool for both law enforcement personnel and criminal justice researchers. Adoption of the system on a national scale will require a large investment of resources, including computer hardware and software, increased data collection and input, and training. Based on Pennsylvania's experience with the PA-LEMIS system, this investment is not beyond the reach of smaller police departments that rely on personal computer-based systems. Larger departments will probably require minicomputer or mainframe systems to accommodate their larger volume of data. The investment required to automate should be offset, in part, by improved efficiency. 2 tables and 5 references