CargoTheft.SuppStmntA (1110-0048)

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

1110-0048

CARGO THEFT INCIDENT REPORT

The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program requests a three-year extension of this approved collection for the purpose of receiving information regarding new cargo theft incidents and updates from law enforcement agencies (LEAs).

A. Justification

1. Necessity of Information Collection

Under the authority of the USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, Public Law 109-177, 120 Stat. 192 (2006); Uniform Federal Crime Reporting Act of 1988, Title 34, United States Code, section 41303; and Title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, section 0.85, the Attorney General was mandated to ensure incidents of cargo theft reported by federal, state, and local LEAs are reflected in the statistics collected by the FBI’s UCR Program.

The Cargo Theft Incident Report provides the FBI’s UCR Program with information about each cargo theft incident including the offense classification(s); location of the incident; type of weapon used, if applicable; description of the property stolen and the monetary value; if the property is recovered; the victim type; and the demographics (i.e., age, sex, race, and ethnicity) of the associated offender(s) and arrestee(s).

2. Needs and Uses

The collection was mandated in an effort to capture the essence of the national cargo theft crime problem and its negative impact on the economy and national security of the United States. Subsequently, the FBI’s UCR Program developed and implemented a separate master file to manage information regarding cargo theft and provided technical specifications which were finalized in 2010. The FBI’s UCR Program serves as the national clearinghouse for the collection and dissemination of cargo theft crime data and began publishing the information in 2013.

Summary Reporting System (SRS) and National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) agencies continue to submit data regarding cargo theft incidents and the information is added to the master file. On January 1, 2021, the FBI transitioned to a NIBRS-only data collection under which cargo theft incidents are reported. However, some agencies did not complete the transition to NIBRS by the given date, so the FBI’s UCR program will continue to collect information from SRS agencies regarding new cargo theft incidents, along with updates to previously reported incidents, via the Cargo Theft Incident Report. The updated information will be added to the master file.

Quality cargo theft data serve as a valuable resource to the criminal justice and academic communities, government entities, the general public, and the media. One specific benefit could be the identification of potential cases of organized crime, drug trafficking, or terrorism which are sometimes associated with cargo theft.

Various sources and uses for cargo theft data are shown below.

1. The FBI serves as the national clearinghouse for storage of all cargo theft statistics, and the information is available upon request.

2. The FBI’s UCR Program’s Crime Data Explorer (CDE) web application also provides nationwide cargo theft crime data to users around the country.

3. LEAs use UCR data for administration, operation, and management, and to determine the effectiveness and placement of task forces.

4. The academic community, government entities, media, and the general public study the data to learn about the crime situation.

3. Use of Information Technology

Cargo theft data collection begins at the local agency level when law enforcement officers submit administrative and operational data to their record management personnel from hard copy or electronic incident reports. The local agency record managers then compile the data and submit the information to their state UCR programs (if applicable). Many state UCR programs have a centralized repository and have established electronic communications with LEAs throughout their state, as well as the FBI’s UCR Program. This allows for information technology interaction within the required electronic data submission formats. All FBI’s UCR Program participants submit data electronically via e-mail at [email protected].

SRS and NIBRS agencies continue to submit data regarding cargo theft incidents and the information is added to the master file. On January 1, 2021, the FBI transitioned to a NIBRS-only data collection under which cargo theft incidents are reported. However, some agencies did not complete the transition to NIBRS by the given date, so the FBI’s UCR program will continue to collect information from SRS agencies regarding new cargo theft incidents, along with updates to previously reported incidents, via the Cargo Theft Incident Report. The updated information will be added to the master file.

4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

The FBI, via its UCR Program, is the only federal agency mandated by law to collect cargo theft data. Since NIBRS collects information associated with cargo theft incidents, SRS agencies will no longer be permitted to submit new cargo theft incidents to the FBI’s UCR Program after the SRS data collection officially expires.

5. Minimizing Burden on Small LEAs

SRS and NIBRS agencies continue to submit data regarding cargo theft incidents and the information is added to the master file. On January 1, 2021, the FBI transitioned to a NIBRS-only data collection under which cargo theft incidents are reported. However, some agencies did not complete the transition to NIBRS by the given date, so the FBI’s UCR program will continue to collect information from SRS agencies regarding new cargo theft incidents, along with updates to previously reported incidents, via the Cargo Theft Incident Report. The updated information will be added to the master file. Any updates to previously submitted incidents will have no significant burden on small LEAs.

6. Consequences of Not Conducting, or Less Frequent, Collection

SRS and NIBRS agencies continue to submit data regarding cargo theft incidents and the information is added to the master file. On January 1, 2021, the FBI transitioned to a NIBRS-only data collection under which cargo theft incidents are reported. However, some agencies did not complete the transition to NIBRS by the given date, so the FBI’s UCR program will continue to collect information from SRS agencies regarding new cargo theft incidents, along with updates to previously reported incidents, via the Cargo Theft Incident Report. The updated information will be added to the master file.

Without up-to-date information, cargo theft data users would lose the ability to analyze the data and provide an accurate report on any findings. In addition, inaccurate data may negatively impact law enforcement programs aimed at fighting cargo theft crimes.

The FBI’s UCR Program’s data can be used for tracking crime; administration, operation, and management purposes (e.g., budget formulation and resource allocation); assessment of police operations; effectively positioning task forces and officers; and determining the effectiveness of various law enforcement programs to address the crime problem at various levels. Agencies can justify staffing levels and officer counts based on the data. Although the FBI discourages the practice, some agencies may compare their crime statistics with those of other LEAs to justify an increase in funding for additional staff or equipment.

7. Special Circumstances

SRS and NIBRS agencies continue to submit data regarding cargo theft incidents and the information is added to the master file. On January 1, 2021, the FBI transitioned to a NIBRS-only data collection under which cargo theft incidents are reported. However, some agencies did not complete the transition to NIBRS by the given date, so the FBI’s UCR program will continue to collect information from SRS agencies regarding new cargo theft incidents, along with updates to previously reported incidents, via the Cargo Theft Incident Report. The updated information will be added to the master file.

8. Public Comments and Consultations

No public comments were received after the 60- and 30-day notices were submitted to, and published in, the Federal Register.

9. Provision of Payments or Gifts to Respondents

The FBI’s UCR Program does not provide any payment or gifts to respondents.

10. Assurance of Confidentiality

The FBI’s UCR Program does not ensure confidentiality. Cargo theft data are obtained from public agencies and submitted to the FBI with the expectation the information will be made publicly available. However, statistical releases reporting information obtained from the Cargo Theft Data Collection do not contain personally identifiable information which may reveal the identity of an individual.

The location of an incident is noted in the Cargo Theft Data Collection; however, it is not the home address of each victim. The location is reported as a general site (e.g., residence, park, community center, school, or grocery store).

11. Justification for Sensitive Questions

Information collected via the Cargo Theft Data Collection is not sensitive in nature.

12. Estimate of Respondents’ Burden

A past study concluded five minutes is required to complete the Cargo Theft Incident Report. The table below shows the burden hours associated with submitting cargo theft data in SRS. An additional 300 burden hours were added for LEA outreach.

Data Submitted	Number of Agencies		Number of Responses	Burden (Minutes)	Burden (Hours)
(A)	(B)		(C)	(D)	(E)
1 month	562		562	2,810	46.8
2 months	108		216	1,080	18.0
3 months	89		267	1,335	22.3
4 months	312		1,248	6,240	104.0
5 months	87		435	2,175	36.3
6 months	88		528	2,640	44.0
7 months	66		462	2,310	38.5
8 months	31		248	1,240	20.7
9 months	35		315	1,575	26.3
10 months	315		3,150	15,750	262.5
11 months	118		1,298	6,490	108.2
12 months	1,142		13,704	68,520	1,142.0
Total	2,953		22,433	112,165	1,869.6
Total Number of Responding Agencies: 2,953 agencies Total Number of Annual Responses: 22,433 responses (Column C = Column A x Column B) Total Form Completion Burden (Minutes): 112,165 minutes (Column D = Column C x 5 minutes per response) Total Form Completion Burden (Hours): 1,870 hours (Column E = Column D/60 minutes per hour)

LEA Outreach
Number of Respondents:	100 respondents
Frequency of Responses:	Varies
Time per Response:	180 minutes
Annual Burden:	300 hours

Total Annual Burden: 2,170 (1,870 hours + 300 hours)

13. Estimate of Cost Burden

Agencies submitting new incidents or providing updates to incidents occurring before January 1, 2021, are not expected to incur any capital, start-up, or system maintenance costs. Costs to agency records management systems are very difficult to obtain. Vendors do not divulge costs because charges differ from agency to agency and many costs are built into vendors’ contracts. Depending on the contract, charges mandated by law may be included with no additional costs. However, an estimated annual fee of $107,000 for system maintenance costs has been projected.

14. Cost to the Federal Government

The information presented in the following table is a fiscal year (FY) 2023 cost model provided by the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division, Resources Management Section, Fee Programs Unit, for the entire FBI’s UCR Program. The FY2023 annualized cost and full-time equivalent (FTE) are included. These are projections based on prior collection activity, as well as activities anticipated over the next three years. This cost model does not separate the costs between the systems used to collect FBI’s UCR Program data.

Data Collection and Processing Costs
Activities	FY2023 Annualized Cost	FY2023 Annualized FTE
Conduct Liaison, Education, and Promotion	$916,917.59	7.1
Conduct research and release studies on collected data	$243,082.15	2.1
Develop and Manage Policy	$69,263.87	0.5
Perform Administrative and Human Resource tasks	$603,229.19	4.0
Perform Advisory Policy Board (APB) tasks	$194,194.00	1.5
Perform Budget, Strategic Planning, and Program Control	$598,841.68	3.8
Perform Contracting Officer’s Representative Duties	$58,386.55	0.3
Perform Scaled Agile Framework Duties	$345,054.17	2.7
Planning and Implementing New Data Collections	$175,895.37	1.7
Process Media, Freedom of Information Act, and Congressional requests	$178,042.55	1.2
Provide Support to Other FBI Units/Sections (Temporary Duty, Surge)	$9,128.15	0.1
Support Crime in the United States data release	$165,419.04	1.3
Support Law Enforcement Employee Counts Data Collection	$132,740.65	1.0
Support Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection	$200,837.28	1.8
Support Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Collection and data release	$243,811.88	2.2
Support NIBRS	$285,340.64	2.2
Support National Use-of-Force Data Collection	$208,387.15	1.8
Support the FBI’s CDE	$106,852.68	0.8
Support the Hate Crime Data Collection and data release	$156,367.49	1.2
Support the Quarterly Uniform Crime Report	$121,320.92	0.9
Total	$5,013,113.00	38.2

15. Reason for Change in Burden

For this extension, the respondents’ annual burden was calculated using the actual number of months (1-12) for which the respondents submitted data. (See the table under 12. Estimate of Respondents’ Burden for specific calculations.) Three hundred burden hours were added for LEA outreach.

Total Annual Responses:	2,953 respondents x 1-12 months of data submitted = 22,433
Time per Response:	5 minutes
Annual Burden:	1,870 hours

The annual burden hours show an increase over those presented in the previous extension. SRS and NIBRS agencies continue to submit data regarding cargo theft incidents and the information is added to the master file. On January 1, 2021, the FBI transitioned to a NIBRS-only data collection under which cargo theft incidents are reported. However, some agencies did not complete the transition to NIBRS by the given date, so the FBI’s UCR program will continue to collect information from SRS agencies regarding new cargo theft incidents, along with updates to previously reported incidents, via the Cargo Theft Incident Report. The updated information will be added to the master file.

Total Annual Burden: 2,170 hours (1,870 hours + 300 hours)

16. Anticipated Publication Plan and Schedule

Published data are derived from those submitted to the FBI’s UCR Program by federal, state, local, tribal, university/college, and territorial LEAs throughout the country. Historically, data have been published annually. However, to improve the timeliness of data releases, the FBI will begin publishing data monthly to the CDE in November 2024.

This monthly release of UCR data will demonstrate commitment to public transparency. Additionally, the FBI’s UCR Program will continue to produce an annual master file.

17. Display of Expiration Date

Any updates collected under this clearance will display the Office of Management and Budget Control Number and Expiration Date on the Microsoft Excel Summary Workbook if the method is used for submission for updates.

18. Exception to the Certification Statement

The FBI CJIS Division is not requesting an exception to the certification of this information collection.

1