1110-0006 Supporting Statement B

Supporting Statement B for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

Extension of a currently approved collection

Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted (LEOKA)

OMB Control # 1110-0006

B. Statistical Methods

1. Respondent Universe

The potential respondent universe of the form 1-705 Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted (LEOKA), OMB No. 1110-0006, includes all United States LEAs who voluntarily reported their crime statistics data via the SRS prior to January 1, 2021. The LEAs consist of federal, state, local, and tribal agencies that correlate to all population group sizes and have many diverse attributes. These agencies include: a mix of population density and degrees of urbanization; various compositions of population, particularly youth concentration; population mobility with respect to residents’ mobility, commuting patterns, and transient factors; different cultural factors and educational, recreational, and religious characteristics; climate; effective strength of law enforcement; policies of other components of the criminal justice system; citizens’ attitudes toward crime; and crime reporting practices of the citizenry.

This form will be used only for updates to information submitted via a prior submission of the form 1-705. The UCR Program is no longer accepting new data via the LEOKA form 1-705. Effective September 1, 2021, all data surrounding the assault of law enforcement officers is reported via the NIBRS. The NIBRS is the path forward and will improve the way the nation collects, reports, analyzes, and uses its crime statistics to enable informed tactical and strategic decision-making.

The NIBRS reporting agencies have a higher participation rate than the SRS agencies, therefore, as the SRS agencies transition to the NIBRS, the LEOKA participation is expected to increase. The NIBRS eases the ability for the LEAs to report the LEOKA data because it is collected within the NIBRS record layout. With the SRS, the LEAs and state UCR programs receiving the NCS-X funds to transition to the NIBRS, funds will now be available to make the necessary technical changes to collect the LEOKA data.

2. Collection of Information Procedures

The LEOKA data are collected/received from state UCR program participants on a monthly basis. The FBI UCR Program has established various timeframes and deadlines for acquiring the monthly data. State UCR programs and direct contributing agencies are instructed to submit their monthly reports/submissions to the FBI by the seventh day after the close of each month. Annual deadlines are also designated in order to collect/assess receipt of monthly submissions. There are times when special circumstances may cause an agency to request an extension. The FBI UCR Program has the authority to grant these extensions. Although monthly reports are preferred by agencies, the state UCR programs, upon approval, may submit their data at intervals, e.g., monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, and annually; this minimizes the burden to the agency.

The LEAs participating in the SRS submit the LEOKA data to the FBI UCR Program via electronic files or by using the Microsoft Excel Workbook Tool which contains an electronic version of the LEOKA.

The UCR Program is no longer accepting new data via the LEOKA form 1-705. This form will be used only for updates to information submitted via a prior submission of the form 1-705.

As the UCR LEOKA data collection is intended to collect all reported LEOKA offenses from the LEAs in the United States, sampling methodologies are not used. Estimation procedures will not be applied to the LEOKA data collection. The UCR Program presents the actual number of reported officers killed and assaulted in the LEOKA publication. For assault data to be included in this publication, the LEAs must have submitted information for all 12 months regarding their sworn officers who were assaulted as well as the number of officers and civilians their agencies employed full-time for the reporting year.

3. Response Rates/Non-Response

Response rates are maximized through liaison with state UCR programs. Communications encouraging data submissions occur frequently because of the relationship between the UCR staff and the LEAs. The UCR staff have a strong understanding of contextual challenges agencies face in reporting valid and reliable data and assist agencies in overcoming non-response challenges. Ninety-two point one percent of the UCR Program SRS reporting agencies report 12 months of complete LEOKA data to the FBI, while 7.3 percent submit between 1-11 months of data. The remaining 0.7 percent do not participate in the LEOKA data collection.

The mission of the LEOKA Data Collection is to acquire the LEOKA data, establish guidelines for the collection of such data, and publish the 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.

With increased marketing of the LEOKA Data Collection’s refreshed LEOKA Officer Safety Awareness Training, response rates are expected to increase for agencies to report those law enforcement officers killed or assaulted. The LEOKA Data Collection provides outreach, statistical support, training, research studies, and instructional services for an Officer Safety Awareness Training curriculum.

The Criminal Justice Information Systems Committees of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) provide the UCR Program with vital links to local law enforcement personnel. The IACP, as it has since the UCR Program began, represents the thousands of police departments nationwide. The NSA encourages sheriffs throughout the country to fully participate in the UCR Program. Members of both committees serve in advisory capacities concerning the UCR Program’s operation, as part of official FBI processes such as the APB. The Association of State Uniform Crime Reporting Programs (ASUCRP) focuses on UCR issues within individual state law enforcement associations and also promotes interest in the FBI UCR Program. These organizations foster widespread and responsible use of uniform crime statistics and lend assistance to data contributors when needed.

4. Collection Development

The FBI has conducted the monthly LEOKA information collection since 1970. Today, the UCR Program receives guidance for implementing or making changes to a data collection from the CJIS APB. The APB, which is organized and exists under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, was established to ensure a “shared management” concept with the nation’s law enforcement community for all criminal justice information systems managed by the CJIS Division. It ensures law enforcement has the opportunity to discuss and vote on any policy or procedural changes to CJIS systems affecting the FBI’s ability to collect, maintain, and share information with the nationwide criminal justice community. The APB reviews policy and technical and operational issues related to the CJIS services and recommends appropriate changes to the FBI Director. In addition to the APB, the CJIS Advisory Process also includes five regional working groups and many subcommittees, including the UCR Subcommittee. The CJIS Advisory Process is an effective way to discuss proposed concepts and develop the shared systems that support law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.

The working groups review topic papers on operational, policy, and technical issues related to CJIS Division programs and policies and make recommendations to the APB or one of its subcommittees. All fifty states, as well as United States territories, federal agencies, tribal representatives, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are represented in the five working groups. Working group meetings are conducted as closed meetings and take place once each cycle, with two cycles per year.

The UCR Subcommittee is comprised of APB members and other UCR subject matter experts. The UCR Subcommittee was established to review recommendations for the consideration of the entire APB. The chair of the APB, in consultation with the Designated Federal Officer (DFO), may invite any governmental or quasi-governmental entity who is involved in CJIS activities to attend any meeting of the APB Subcommittee for the purpose of consultation or providing information. Subcommittee meetings take place at least once each cycle.

The APB meets at the end of each cycle or twice during each calendar year. A notice of these meetings is published in the Federal Register, and the meetings are conducted as an open session unless determined otherwise by the DFO. The APB is composed of 35 executive representatives from criminal justice agencies and national security agencies throughout the United States. It ensures law enforcement have the opportunity to discuss and vote on any policy or procedural changes to CJIS systems affecting law enforcement’s ability to share information to the nation systems.

The existing LEOKA form remains the same and, therefore, requires no additional testing. No comments, suggestions, or issues with the form have been reported through the APB working groups, UCR Subcommittee, CJIS APB, or the ASUCRP. These groups meet frequently throughout each year and are dedicated to improving the collection, use, and utility of crime data as reported through the UCR Program and all state and local crime reporting programs.

5. Contact Information

Scott E. Schubert

Law Enforcement Support Section Chief

[email protected]

304-625-3690

Edward L. Abraham

Crime and Law Enforcement Statistics Unit Chief

[email protected]

304-625-2136

Deanna L. Griffith

Management and Program Analyst

[email protected]

304-625-0515

Erin E. Mullins

Program Analyst

[email protected]

304-625-2953