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Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR)
Common Reporting Errors
Sharon K. Huffman
Crime Statistics Management Unit (CSMU)
Federal Bureau of Investigation
CJIS Division
304 625-3626
Sharon.huffman@ic.fbi.gov
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CJIS Division
1000 Custer Hollow Road
Clarksburg, WV 26306
FBI Headquarters
Washington, D.C.
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Definition of Error
• An error is any data that the FBI UCR’s
computer finds and rejects during the
processing of a submission. Errors keep UCR
data from being copied to the master file,
therefore, whenever reports such as Return A
record cards are run, data with errors are
missing.
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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NIBRS Error Data Set (EDS)
• Your EDS is sent to you electronically after each
submission
• All errors must be fixed and resubmitted
• Incidents with unresolved errors do not write to
the UCR master file
– crime counts are not accurate for publication
– the number of offenses housed by the FBI do not
match those that the state has on file
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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The Four Most Common NIBRS Errors
• ERROR 72 - Recovered property must also be submitted as
stolen
• ERROR 656 - This arrestee exceeded the number of offenders on
the group ‘a’ incident
• ERROR 351 – Zero property value is not allowed
• ERROR 558 – For exceptional clearances at least one offender
must have all known values
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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Error Number 72
Recovered property must first be reported
stolen
Your agency cannot report recovered property
that was stolen from another jurisdiction.
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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Error Number 656
This arrestee exceeded the number of
offenders on the group “A” incident report
If the number of offenders was unknown, or
not reported accurately when the incident
was originally reported, the incident needs to
be adjusted and resubmitted.
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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Error Number 351
Zero property values are not allowed for most stolen
property
Use $1 for unknown property values
Zero values must be entered for stolen credit cards and
debit cards
Zero values are optional for ‘other’ property
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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Error Number 558
At least one offender must have all known
values
When an incident is cleared exceptionally (data
element 4 contains an a through e), one
offender must have all known values
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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NIBRS Tech Specs
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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SRS Homicide Errors
• The number of homicides on the Return A
does not match the number of victims on the
Supplementary Homicide Report
• The Supplementary Homicide Report contains
incorrect situation and/or circumstance codes
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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SRS Homicide Errors
• The relationship of offender to victim is
reported instead of the victim to offender
• Deaths due to traffic accidents are reported as
manslaughter by negligence
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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SRS Supplement to Return A Errors
• The number of offenses on the Supplement to
the Return A and actual offenses on the
Return A do not match
• The grand total on the first and second
sections of the Supplement do not match
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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SRS Tech Specs
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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SRS Supplement to Return A errors
• The larceny theft breakdowns on the Property
Stolen by Classification section of the
Supplement do not equal
Please try to provide dollar values for property
stolen. On-line resources can help you to find dollar
amounts for some items. Kelly Blue Book can be
used to find values for motor vehicles.
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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SRS LEOKA Report Errors
• The LEOKA report is missing information –
most often the personal injury section
• The number of officers assaulted under type
of assignment and type of weapon don’t
match
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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SRS Hate Crime Report Errors
• If the victim type is anything other than
individual (building, school, church,) do not
use the individual count, just the total victim
types. In a flat file these three spaces should
be blanks, not zeroes.
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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SRS Cargo Theft Report Errors
• What cargo theft is – Four men wearing ski masks
conducted an armed robbery at a trucking facility.
Two men held the guards at gunpoint while the
other two men drove off a truck filled with cargo.
• What cargo theft is not – During the delivery of a
refrigerator for installation in an individual’s
home, the driver was carjacked while stopped at
a traffic light. This is a robbery, not a cargo theft.
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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SRS Human Trafficking Report Errors
• New initiative
• Not enough data yet to determine what the
common errors are
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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Questions?
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Alicia Wetzel – 304 625-3513
Pamela Fidler – 304 625-2968
Sharon Huffman – 304 625-3626
Your State POC At The FBI
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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UCR Program Contacts
Printed on: 4/8/2015
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