NCS-X Implementation for Orchard Park, New York

The National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X) is an effort to expand the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) into a nationally representative system of incident-based crime statistics. BJS and the FBI are implementing NCS-X with the support of other Department of Justice agencies, including the Office for Victims of Crime. The goal of NCS-X is to enroll a sample of 400 scientifically selected law enforcement agencies to submit data to NIBRS; when these 400 new NIBRS-reporting agencies are combined with the more than 6,600 agencies that currently report to NIBRS, the nation will have a nationally representative system of incident-based crime statistics drawn from the operational data systems of local police departments. These incident-based data will draw upon the attributes and circumstances of criminal incidents and allow for more detailed and transparent descriptions of crime in communities. The current mechanism by which local law enforcement (LE) agencies report data to the FBI’s NIBRS, in general, is for local LE agencies to submit data to their state UCR reporting program, and then for the state UCR program to report those data to the FBI. While the FBI does accept NIBRS data directly from a small number of law enforcement agencies, the highly preferred route of reporting is through the state UCR program. The FY2018 solicitation furthers the goals of the NCS-X initiative by providing funding to the remaining states and local agencies in the NCS-X sample in order to assist them transition to NIBRS reporting.

Orchard Park Police Department (OPPD) has 32 sworn officers and 14 civilian employees. OPPD uses the Complaint History and Record Management System (CHARMS) to report crime data within their jurisdiction. CHARMS is a shared client/server Windows desktop application that was written and is maintained by the County of Erie’s Department of Central Police Services (CPS). The software is deployed in every full-time police department in Erie County, NY. In total, 28 agencies use Erie County CHARMS to report crime data.

CPS, through Erie County, will function as the technical lead for the proposed activities. The software consultant will report directly to CPS and work under its guidance. CPS team members will make any database schema changes needed. In addition, CPS, working with a subcommittee of its user group, will make the appropriate changes to existing code tables to make them NIBRS-compliant. CPS will spearhead in-house testing prior to deploying the test environment to Orchard Park. CPS will produce end-user documentation and will train agencies’ staff on systems changes. CPS will also maintain and enhance the system as needed.

Funds are requested to upgrade the existing RMS to be NIBRS-compliant utilizing contracted IT and internal staff and the acquisition of hardware and software licenses. The proposal requests funding for hardware, specifically in-car computers to automate field-based report writing as necessitated by NIBRS. The proposal also requests funds for OPPD staff to complete beta testing of the mobile software.

(CA/NCF)