The Las Cruces Police Department has become the first law enforcement agency in New Mexico to successfully meet FBI requirements for certification in NIBRS – the National Incident-Based Reporting System.
On July 20, 2018, LCPD received notification from the FBI that the department has met final requirements for NIBRS certification. LCPD is awaiting the official letter of certification from the FBI which should arrive within the next week.
NIBRS relies on comprehensive data and provides a more complete picture of crimes committed within the city. The use of NIBRS should allow LCPD to better understand crimes and crime trends, and better allocate resources to proactively prevent criminal activity.
“The old system we used was a summary-based reporting system and reported only the most serious crime committed while NIBRS provides a better picture of what’s happening in our community,” said Patrick Gallagher, Chief of the Las Cruces Police Department. “NIBRS will allow us to drill-down on trends in crime and better allocate resources.
“For the first time we’ll have a more complete picture of crimes committed within our city.”
LCPD, like most other law enforcement agencies, had been reporting crime using summary-based reporting which mainly accounts for only the most serious crime that occurred in any incident. NIBRS requires that all crimes committed in any incident be counted along with any known relationships between victims and offenders.
LCPD is now capable of collecting and recording comprehensive data on an expanded array of criminal activities. The increased information is forwarded to the FBI and benefits other law enforcement agencies within the immediate area as it helps paint a comprehensive picture of crimes committed in the community.
As directed by the FBI, all law enforcement agencies in the United States are required to transition to NIBRS by 2021.
Information from Las Cruces Police