Supporting Statement B (1110-0001)

Supporting Statement B for the Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

Extension of a previously approved collection

Return A-Monthly Return of Offenses Known to Police and Supplement to Return A-Monthly Return of Offenses Known to Police

OMB Control # 1110-0001

B. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods

1. Respondent Universe

The potential respondent universe includes all United States LEAs participating in the FBI’s UCR Program. The FBI’s UCR Program continues the transition to collect data solely under NIBRS. Until the transition is complete, updates and new submissions from those agencies reporting via SRS are being accepted.

In 2024, there were 19,328 law enforcement agencies actively enrolled in the FBI’s UCR Program (i.e., the universe of potential respondents). Data submissions were received from approximately 2,381 law enforcement agencies reporting under SRS. Those include federal, state, county, city, tribal, and territorial LEAs which correlate to all population group sizes and have many diverse attributes. These agencies consist of 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; family conditions with respect to divorce and family cohesiveness; 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.

Number of SRS Agencies and Population Covered, 2024
Area	Population Group	Number of Agencies	Population Covered
Cities	Group I (250,000 inhabitants or more)	13	11,497,662
	Group II (100,000 to 249,999 inhabitants)	28	3,912,414
	Group III (50,000 to 99,999 inhabitants)	72	4,896,462
	Group IV (25,000 to 49,999 inhabitants)	126	4,241,228
	Group V (10,000 to 24,999 inhabitants)	274	4,341,451
	Group VI (Fewer than 10,000 inhabitants)1	1,285	4,129,054
Counties	Group VIII (Nonmetropolitan County)2	209	586,712
	Group IX (Metropolitan County)2	373	10,366,838
Possessions	Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, and American Samoa	1	3,203,295
	Total	2,381	47,175,116
1 Includes universities and colleges to which no population is attributed. 2 Includes state police to which no population is attributed.

2. Collection of Information Procedures

Crime data collection for the FBI’s UCR Program begins at the local agency level when law enforcement officers submit administrative and operational data to their records management personnel from hard copy or electronic incident reports. The local agency records managers then compile the crime data and submit the information to their state UCR programs. Many state UCR programs have a centralized repository and have established electronic communications with the LEAs throughout their state and the FBI’s UCR Program. This allows for information technology interaction within the required electronic data submission formats.

All participants in the FBI’s UCR Program submit their crime data electronically and a dashboard is maintained for that purpose. State programs use the dashboard to upload their own flat files to the system. LEAs continuing to use the Microsoft Excel Summary Workbook provided by the FBI must generate a flat file for uploading to the dashboard.

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

Since the Return A and Supplement to Return A Data Collection is intended to collect all reported Part I offense data (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) and the monetary value of property stolen and recovered from the LEAs in the United States, sampling methodologies are not used. National, regional, and state estimates are applied to the data from both forms to account for missing information.

3. Response Rates/Nonresponse

Response rates are maximized through liaison with state UCR programs. State UCR programs work closely as partners with the FBI to facilitate more comprehensive data submissions from state LEAs. Communications encouraging data submissions occur frequently because of the relationship between the FBI’s UCR Program staff and the LEAs. The FBI’s UCR Program staff have a strong understanding of contextual challenges agencies face in reporting valid and reliable data and assist agencies in overcoming nonresponse challenges.

The mission of this data collection is to acquire Return A and Supplement to Return A data, establish guidelines for the collection of such data, and publish Return A and Supplement to Return A 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.

The Criminal Justice Information Systems Committees of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) provide the FBI’s UCR Program with vital links to local law enforcement personnel. The IACP, as it has since the FBI’s UCR Program began, represents the thousands of police departments nationwide. The NSA encourages sheriffs throughout the country to fully participate in the FBI’s UCR Program. Members of both committees serve in advisory capacities concerning the operation of the FBI’s UCR Program as part of the CJIS Advisory Process. The Association of State Uniform Crime Reporting Programs focuses on UCR issues within individual state law enforcement associations and promotes interest in the FBI’s 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’s UCR Program has conducted the monthly Return A and Supplement to Return A information collection since the 1930s and receives continuing guidance from the CJIS APB. The CJIS 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 the CJIS systems affecting the FBI’s ability to collect, maintain, and share information with the nationwide criminal justice community. The APB reviews policy, 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 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 the CJIS Division’s programs and policies and make recommendations to the APB or one of its subcommittees. Federal agencies, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, tribes, United States territories, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are organized into 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 subject matter specialists. The UCR Subcommittee thoroughly reviews policies, issues, and proposed program changes, all of which create alternatives and recommendations for consideration by the entire APB. The chair of the APB, in consultation with the FBI’s designated federal officer, may invite any governmental or quasi-governmental entity which is involved in CJIS Division 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 agency head. The APB is composed of 35 executive representatives from criminal justice agencies and national security agencies throughout the United States.

The existing Return A and Supplement to Return A forms remain the same and, therefore, require no additional testing. No comments, suggestions, or issues with the forms have been reported to the FBI.

5. Contact Information

Contacts for statistical aspects and data collection can be reached via email ([email protected]) or telephone (304-625-4830).

Scott E. Schubert

Law Enforcement Engagement and Data Sharing (LEEDS) Section Chief

Michael D. McIntyre, Jr.

LEEDS Assistant Section Chief

Matthew B. Fancher

Crime and Law Enforcement Statistics Unit Chief

Chad M. Garman

Supervisory Survey Statistician

Malissa C. Vavra

Survey Statistician

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