TABLE OF CONTENTS


To report NIBRS data in Pennsylvania, you'll need to complete the PA NIBRS certification process with the assistance of the Pennsylvania State Police's NIBRS team.


This article will help guide you through the process.


Pre-certification steps


Follow these steps to prepare for NIBRS certification:


  1. Reach out to the Pennsylvania State Police NIBRS/UCR Program to request that you want to begin the NIBRS certification process.
  2. You may be asked to have one or more staff members attend state-provided NIBRS training courses to gain a high-level understanding of NIBRS.
  3. The state will provide several test cases ("scenarios") that you'll need to enter into Informant.
  4. Contact us to have NIBRS activated for your department so that you can set up Informant for NIBRS and generate NIBRS files.
  5. Configure the Informant RMS for NIBRS using the NIBRS > Configuring Informant for NIBRS article in the Informant Help Center (you can access the Help Center by clicking the Help menu in Informant and selecting Informant Help Center). This includes the following:
    • Ensuring your Agency record is correctly configured for NIBRS.
    • Ensuring the Incident module is set up for NIBRS.
    • Assigning permission to generate NIBRS files to relevant user groups.
    • Configuring NIBRS codes for selection lists (similar to setting up UCR codes for selection lists).
    • Configuring NIBRS codes for offense definitions (similar to setting up UCR codes for offenses). Many PA offenses in Informant are already mapped to a NIBRS offense code, so you may be reviewing codes or only adding those that are missing. For this step, the PSP can provide you a list of recommended NIBRS codes for each statute.
  6. Ensure that your 5-digit PSP jurisdiction code (or codes if you are a multijurisdictional agency) is set up in the <General> | Jurisdiction selection list in Administration. When reporting to NIBRS, each Incident will need to have its Jurisdiction set to the correct 5-digit jurisdiction code representing where the incident occurred.
  7. Ensure that the Activate Location Lookup option is turned on in Administration under Setup > Module Options > Incident > Preferences. PA NIBRS requires submitting incidents with a latitude and longitude, and this requires using master index Location records to specify an Incident's location so that this data can be collected.
  8. Ensure that Latitude and Longitude are turned in Administration under Setup > Module Options > Location > Optional Data. As noted, PA NIBRS requires the collection of this data in Location records.


Completing the certification process


Once you have the scenarios from the state and have configured NIBRS in Informant, follow these steps to complete the certification process:


  1. Change your NIBRS Start Month in Informant's "NIBRS" feature to January 2019 or whichever date reflects the earliest scenario the PSP provides.
  2. Create a new Incident record for each scenario provided by the state, and each Incident will need to have a Description of "NIBRS Certification". This will pull all your test scenarios into one batch when you submit it back to the state.
  3. Generate a NIBRS file using the "NIBRS" feature in Informant, filtering it to include only the Incidents with a Description of "NIBRS Certification." If any errors are found, correct them in Informant and re-generate a NIBRS file. For details on how to create a NIBRS file in Informant, go to Help > Informant Help Center within the program and then to the NIBRS > Exporting NIBRS data article there.
  4. After you've entered all the scenarios and have fixed any NIBRS errors reported in Informant, you'll email the PSP your generated NIBRS file, which they will review and provide feedback on.
  5. If necessary, make any corrections that the PSP requests, generate a new NIBRS file (see step 3), and email the PSP your updated file. Repeat this process until the PSP has accepted your submission.
  6. Once the PSP accepts your test submission, they will work with you to select a new NIBRS start date.


Post-certification steps


After you submit your test cases to the state and they accept your NIBRS file, follow these steps to set up Informant for future NIBRS submissions:


  1. Delete the test records you created for the certification process, as they are no longer needed.
  2. Change your NIBRS Start Month to reflect the NIBRS start month that you and the PSP have agreed on.
  3. You can turn off UCR reporting in Informant once your NIBRS start month arrives. If your NIBRS start month is the current month, you can do this immediately; if it is later, disable UCR after your final UCR submission. To turn off UCR reporting, go to Administration > Setup > Module Options and then unselect Activate Uniform Crime Reporting.
  4. You and your officers can now enter Incident records in Informant as normal and can use the "Crime Reporting Assistant" (i.e., the "UCR check") to review and correct NIBRS errors when entering Incident records.
  5. At the end of your NIBRS start month and for all subsequent months, you'll use the "NIBRS" feature to generate your first monthly NIBRS file and will upload it to the state's website, similar to how you upload UCR files today. For example, if your start month is June 2025, then in early August 2025 you'll generate your NIBRS file for June 2025 and upload it to the state's website.