Police agencies briefed on state data system
From our weekly issue dated October 07, 2009
A new more powerful and useful crime reporting initiative is being used by Oregon law enforcement agencies.
It was described by Greg Prins, executive director of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, during the Sept. 24 meeting of the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council (LPSCC) at Grants Pass City Hall.
The Oregon National Incident Based Reporting System (O-NIBRS) already is being used by police departments in Ashland, Central Point, Jacksonville, Medford, Phoenix, Rogue River, Talent, Eagle Point and the sheriff’s offices in Douglas and Jackson counties.
Prins said that the O-NIBRS system provides more “rich” data than that collected through traditional police reporting methods. O-NIBRS is part of a national movement, Prins said, adding that Oregon State Police would be the “funnel” for such a system on the state level.
“I think it will be useful to us,” Prins said.
According to documents Prins furnished to LPSCC members, the benefits of O-NIBRS include the ability to report crimes by Oregon Revised Statute, share information and control records that an agency does not wish to share with others and form a virtual task force with other agencies.
The information obtained through O-NIBRS can enable agencies to engage in crime mapping, as well as gather personal information on parties involved in incidents. That could include gang affiliations, the documents state.
Terry O’Connell, director of OSP’s law enforcement data system, said that more than 50 law enforcement agencies in Oregon are on O-NIBRS. The system has just been upgraded for the first time, O’Connell said, and has new software programs and Website access capacity for agencies to better obtain information.
Federal grant funds paid for those upgrades, he said.
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O-NIBRS collects more data than the Oregon uniform crime reporting system, O’Connell said, which aids in interagency investigations. Much of that data is sent to the FBI, and often is used to help justify federal grants to state and local agencies, he added.
“It provides a richer database to derive our statistics from,” O’Connell said.
Although the Legislature has placed O-NIBRS under the control of OSP, that agency cannot force police departments to carry the system, O’Connell said. Nonetheless, he said, many decide to do so voluntarily because they see its benefits.
“We don’t have any structure in our statute that would allow us to require agencies to meet certain guidelines and standards,” O’Connell said.
O-NIBRS is a regional system, O’Connell said. The state “encourages” law enforcement agencies to adopt O-NIBRS when upgrading their systems, he added.
O’Connell said that police departments in Eugene and Portland plan to implement O-NIBRS within the next couple of years.
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