The Negative Impact of the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS)

One study found the underestimation of gun violence in the SRS was potentially larger than previously thought.4 Additionally, for a variety of reasons, the number of homicides reported to the SHR is consistently a smaller subset than those reported to the SRS. [...] For the Violence Policy Center, the loss of previously available crime data available on a state-by-state basis has resulted in the end of annual reports that not only informed state and federal policymakers, the news media, and researchers, but also aided the violence prevention activities of federal, state, and local advocates and organizations. [...] Over its 25-year publication history, the findings of the report have: led to the passage of laws that protect women and children from domestic violence, including legislation focused specifically on removing guns from the hands of domestic violence offenders; resulted in statewide public education campaigns; spurred 5 | THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF THE NIBRS TRANSITION ON GUN VIOLENCE RESEARCH the esta. [...] 6 | THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF THE NIBRS TRANSITION ON GUN VIOLENCE RESEARCH n As an ongoing practice, the FBI should monitor and update the technical specifications of NIBRS as necessary to ensure that the information for new data categories contained in the system is captured and reported accurately and efficiently. [...] The lack of LEAs reporting to NIBRS has resulted in the inability to use the reported data or crime estimates to describe the recent landscape of firearm violence.