1110-0009_Supporting Statement B

B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods

1. The potential victim officer universe of Forms 1-701, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Program; Analysis of Officers Feloniously Killed and Assaulted and 1-701a, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Program; Analysis of Officers Accidentally Killed (OMB No. 1110-0009) includes all duly sworn local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement officers (LEO) who are working in an official capacity, have full arrest powers, wear/carry a badge, carry a firearm, and are paid from governmental funds set aside specifically for payment of sworn law enforcement representatives, who were assaulted and received injury with a firearm or knife/other cutting instrument, or were accidentally or feloniously killed.

In 2015, there were 188 victim officers feloniously killed, accidentally killed, or assaulted and received injury with a firearm or knife/other dangerous weapon. Of those, 45 agencies completed Form 1-701a and 108 agencies completed Form 1-701.

2. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) data collection is intended to collect all LEOs deaths/assaults from law enforcement agencies (LEA) in the United States, sampling methodologies are not used. The FBI UCR LEOKA Program also does not apply estimation procedures in the LEOKA data collection. LEAs who do not send in officer deaths/assaults are not estimated to compensate for the missing jurisdictions. The LEOKA Program presents the actual number of officers killed and assaulted in the LEOKA publication.

Within days of an LEO being killed in the line of duty, the LEOKA Program receives an electronic communication (EC) containing details of the officer’s death from the appropriate FBI field office (FO) via Sentinel, as well as an Executive Situation Report from the corresponding FO by email. Sentinel is an internal communication system which is the next generation information and case management system and has moved the FBI from a primarily paper-based reporting system to an electronic recordkeeping system. Sentinel has significantly improved how the FBI manages its investigative, intelligence, and administrative information workflow by providing users a new way to enter, review, approve, and research case information.

Upon receipt of a death notification, a LEOKA Technical Information Specialist (TIS) authors an EC which provides a synopsis of the request, details the LEOKA Program’s mission, and provides directions for providing the pertinent information about the victim officer. A LEOKA TIS then forwards the EC via Sentinel to the assigned FBI Special Agent (SA) at the FO. A soft copy of Form 1-701is attached in Sentinel to be utilized by the SA to obtain additional details concerning the circumstances surrounding the incident. A 30-day deadline is given to the SA for return of the completed form to the LEOKA Program. Within the EC, the SA is directed to provide this form to the victim officer’s agency for completion. The victim officer’s agency is to return the completed form to the FO. After a review by the SA for accuracy and completeness, the form is forwarded to the LEOKA Program via Sentinel, email, facsimile, or hard copy mail. Completed forms received via Sentinel by the LEOKA Program are similar to an email attachment. The completed form is printed by a LEOKA TIS and the data is manually entered into the LEOKA database.

LEOKA TISs partner with other law enforcement organizations to ensure all death notifications are received by the LEOKA Program. Throughout the year, LEOKA TISs compare a list of victim officers with the list of other organizations (the Officers Down Memorial Page, the National law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, the Public Safety officers’ Benefits Program and Concerns of Police Survivors) to ensure all notifications have been received.

When the UCR Program receives information on monthly submissions from participating agencies of an officer assault with injury from a firearm or knife/other cutting instrument, notification of the officer assault is provided to the LEOKA Program. LEOKA TISs send an email with a soft copy of Form 1-701 to the state UCR program or individual LEAs requesting the completion of the form for the victim officer’s assault. The agency is given a 45-day deadline to return Form 1-701 to the LEOKA Program via email, facsimile, or hardcopy. Upon receipt of the completed Form 1-701, the data is manually entered into the LEOKA database. LEOKA TISs maintain a “tickler system” to follow-up on reports that are not received by the assigned deadline date. The information is requested in the same manner as the initial request (via EC or email); however, a reference to the previous request(s) are included and the agency is assigned another 30-day deadline.

3. Response rates are maximized through liaison with FOs and LEAs. Communications encouraging data submissions occur frequently because of the relationship between LEOKA TISs, FOs and LEAs. LEOKA TISs have a strong understanding of contextual challenges agencies face in reporting valid and reliable data and regularly work to overcome nonresponse issues when such challenges occur. The mission of the LEOKA Program is to acquire LEOKA data, establish guidelines for the collection of such data, and publish LEOKA data. Although the FBI makes every effort through its editing procedures, training practices, and correspondence to ensure the validity of the data it receives, the accuracy of the statistics depends primarily on the adherence of each contributor to the established standards of reporting. LEOKA TISs also follow-up on reports not received by the assigned deadline.

The UCR Program is working to help LEAs submit LEOKA data in an electronic format through the UCR Tech Refresh project. The new LEOKA database will allow for the following:

• Integrate LEOKA data sources eliminating multiple, purpose built data repositories within the LEOKA database.

• Reduce administrative workload for internal and external stakeholders to submit data.

• Eliminate current work functions by automating procedures currently being performed manually.

• Expand the ability to efficiently collect, store, edit, review, query, report, and publish data.

• Improve the accessibility and timeliness of releasable (non-personally identifiable information) data to the public.

• Increase the agility of the LEOKA database to modify the data collection.

• Automate correspondence and communications with stakeholders from the LEOKA Program.

• Ensure the collection and timely distribution of more accurate and complete LEOKA data.

Based on historical reporting trends, similar response rates are expected in future LEOKA data collections; however, LEOKA Liaison Specialists (LS) and TISs actively liaison with national LEAs to encourage participation in the LEOKA data collection.

4. In March 2010, Office of Management and Budget approved the collection as 1-701, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Program; Analysis of Officers Feloniously Killed and Assaulted and 1-701a, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Program; Analysis of Officers Accidentally Killed. Although these forms have been disseminated since January 1, 2011, the LEOKA Program has not been able to use all of the data collected from these changes because a database has not been developed to accommodate the expanded Forms 1-701 and 1-701a. The percentage of data collected since 2011 not captured in the LEOKA database includes 68% of each felonious incidents and 91% of each accidental death. Since January 1, 2011, the LEOKA Program has received an average of 202 data collection forms per year.

Currently, a LEOKA Management and Program Analyst (MAPA) and TISs are working with an FBI contract company to develop a new database which will provide a solution to allow LEOKA TISs to enter the new data elements. The first phase of this database should be operational by late-November, early-December 2017.

During the second phase of this initiative, the LEOKA Program plans to request approval from the CJIS Advisory Policy Board (APB) to expand the 1-701, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Program; Analysis of Officers Feloniously Killed and Assaulted and 1-701a, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Program; Analysis of Officers Accidentally Killed. Since approval of these forms in 2010, LEOKA TISs have received numerous requests for additional data elements from various agencies throughout the law enforcement community. These new recommendations will be introduced during the Spring 2018 CJIS Advisory Policy process. Once approved by the APB, the expanded forms will undergo pretesting to meet the terms of the Generic Clearance before approval can be granted by OMB. The UCR Program must receive OMB approval of the expanded forms prior to submitting to the FBI Information Technology Management Section for phase three; the implementation of the LEOKA electronic submission database through the UCR Technical Refresh project. This database is anticipated to be operational by late-2019, early 2020.

Based on data requests received, LEOKA MAPA, LSs, and TISs worked to improve both collection forms through research and multiple brainstorming sessions to add data elements, reword and rearrange questions, eliminate unnecessary questions, etc., in order to provide the most accurate and useful data to the law enforcement community. In an effort to ensure the data was relevant and accurate, a LEOKA LS created a LEOKA Focus Group which included representatives from the FBI, Major City Chiefs Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Sheriffs’ Association, etc. The forms were then presented to the focus group and its members were asked to select actual incidents within their agency and complete the forms using those details. This was done to gain input from the members and to test the usability of the forms. The focus group members provided valuable feedback and their ideas and suggestions were incorporated on the forms.

5. Christopher A. Nicholas

Law Enforcement Support Section Chief

<[email protected]>

(304) 625-3690

Amy C. Blasher

Crime Statistics Management Unit Chief

<[email protected]>

(304) 625-4840

Cynthia Barnett-Ryan

Statistician

<[email protected]>

(304) 625-3576

Kristi L. Donahue

Management/Program Analyst

<[email protected]>

(304) 625-2972