System upgrades support reporting crime statistics to FBI

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) will be awarding approximately 50 grants of up to $200,000 over two years to enable crime statistics reporting to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) NIBRS.

NIBRS has been the national standard for law enforcement crime data reporting in the United States since January 2021. The data collected through the system includes information on victims, known offenders, arrestees, relationships between victims and offenders, and property involved in crimes.

Only 42 percent of Pennsylvania’s population is covered by a police department utilizing NIBRS with only 10 percent of local law enforcement agencies are reporting criminal statistics through NIBRS.

“At PCCD, we have seen firsthand how challenging it is in Pennsylvania to perform real-time analysis on criminal justice trends,” PCCD Executive Director Mike Pennington said. “The robust information captured in NIBRS will allow for better accuracy in crime-related data reporting and real-time trend analysis, enabling our agency to provide a more in-depth look at the issues Pennsylvania communities face and provide recommendations on where resources are needed.”

Eligible applicants include local law enforcement agencies, campus or university police, airport authority police, county park police, and railroad or street railway police.

The application deadline is June 5.