Overview

Agencies in the RTCI publish data through either Uniform Crime Report Part I or National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) categorizations. NIBRS offers more offense types than are available through UCR Part I so NIBRS offenses have been translated to match their Part I counterparts to ensure a generally apples-to-apples comparison across agencies regardless of reporting system. A previous study by the FBI showed that transitioning from UCR Part I to NIBRS reporting can lead to a small increase in property crimes with minimal impact on violent crimes. Offense definitions can also be found on the FBI’s website.

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Glossary of Crime Types

Violent Crime

Defined by the FBI’s UCR Part I system as murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.

Murder

This category includes “the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another. Deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, and accidental deaths are excluded.”

Rape

This category includes “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

Robbery

This category includes “the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear.”

Robbery is considered a violent crime under UCR Part I categorization but a property crime under NIBRS. It is considered a violent crime in RTCI.

Aggravated Assault

This category includes “an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm.” Simple assaults — assaults without a weapon or where no injury is incurred — are excluded from this category.

Property Crime

Defined by the FBI’s UCR Part I system as burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft.

Burglary

This category includes “the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or a theft. Attempted forcible entry is included.” Vehicle burglaries are counted as thefts under UCR Part I and NIBRS categorizations.

Theft

This category includes “the unlawful taking, carrying, leading, or riding away of property from the possession or constructive possession of another. Examples are thefts of bicycles, motor vehicle parts and accessories, shoplifting, pocket-picking, or the stealing of any property or article that is not taken by force and violence or by fraud. Attempted larcenies are included. Embezzlement, confidence games, forgery, check fraud, etc., are excluded.”

Motor Vehicle Theft

This category includes “the theft or attempted theft of a motor vehicle. A motor vehicle is self-propelled and runs on land surface and not on rails. Motorboats, construction equipment, airplanes, and farming equipment are specifically excluded from this category.”

Translating NIBRS Offenses

The FBI has traditionally reported major crime for the above seven categories under the Summary Reporting System (SRS). Arson was added as a category in 1979, but it is so underreported that the FBI does not calculate national arson estimates.

The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) became the primary reporting system for most agencies in 2021. NIBRS collects data on more categories of crime, so the RTCI translates NIBRS offense types back to SRS categories to make an apples-to-apples crime comparison for agencies that have transitioned to NIBRS.

Additionally, while agencies only recorded the most serious offense under SRS (known as the Hierarchy Rule), NIBRS allows for up to 10 offenses to be collected for one incident. Studies by both the FBI and Jacob Kaplan of the impact of the Hierarchy Rule on NIBRS crime counts have found its effect to be minor with the impact almost exclusively isolated to a roughly 2 percent increase in property crimes. Most of that impact would be accounted for in the RTCI in 2021 data with likely little or no impact on present year reporting.