National Incident-Based Reporting System, or NIBRS 
The National Incident-Based Reporting System, or NIBRS, was created to improve the overall quality 
of crime data collected by law enforcement. NIBRS is unique because it collects data on crimes reported 
to the police, but also incidents where multiple crimes are committed, for example when a robbery 
escalates into a rape. 
3 NIBRS also collects information on victims, known offenders, relationships between 
victims and offenders, arrestees, and property involved in the crimes. See the link to go directly to 
NIBRS https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/nibrs 
Hate Crime Statistics 
Congress passed the Hate Crime Statistics Act, 28 U.S.C. § 534, on April 23, 1990.  This required 
the attorney general to collect data “about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, 
religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.” Hate crime statistics may assist law enforcement agencies,  provide 
lawmakers with justification for certain legislation, provide the media with credible information, or simply 
show hate crime victims that they are not alone (FBI, 2018). See the link to go to the FBI’s hate crime 
statistics link https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/hate-crime. 
The FBI UCR Program’s Hate Crime Data Collection gathers data on the following biases: 
Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry 
• 
Anti-American Indian or Alaska Native 
• 
Anti-Arab 
• 
Anti-Asian 
• 
Anti-Black or African American 
• 
Anti-Hispanic or Latino 
• 
Anti-Multiple Races, Group 
• 
Anti-Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 
• 
Anti-Other Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry 
• 
Anti-White 
Religion 
• 
Anti-Buddhist 
• 
Anti-Catholic 
• 
Anti-Eastern Orthodox (Russian, Greek, Other) 
• 
Anti-Hindu 
3. Rantala, R. R. (2000). Effects of NIBRS on crime statistics. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of 
Justice Programs. Washington, DC. 
ALISON S. BURKE, DAVID CARTER, BRIAN FEDOREK, TIFFANY MOREY, LORE RUTZ-BURRI, AND SHANELL
SANCHEZ
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