LLA report: Louisiana law enforcement has trouble sending crime data to FBI

Trinity Velazquez
·3 min read

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A review by the Louisiana Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office found that local law enforcement agencies face challenges submitting crime data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The LLA report provides information on how local law enforcement agencies send crime statistics to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement (LCLE). LCLE reports the statistics to the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) incident-based program.

This data is important because it helps law enforcement use resources effectively, identify trends and affect policy decisions.

There were two ways to submit crime statistics: the Summary Reporting System (SRS) or the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).

In 2021, the FBI began requiring more detailed crime data by switching to the NIBRS. Reports sent to the UCR decreased, and Louisiana did not make agencies submit NIBRS crime data before the FBI made it a requirement, according to the LLA report.

To become Louisiana Incident-Based Reporting System (LIBRS)-certified by LCLE and have data submitted to the FBI, the submitted data must be accurate and complete.

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How many local agencies reported crime statistics to the FBI in 2022? How many didn’t and why not?

According to the LLA report, 256 out of 374 law enforcement agencies in Louisiana reported their crime data to the FBI in 2022.

“Most agencies that did not report are actively working towards LIBRS certification,” the LLA said. “However, funding and resource constraints, the complexity of the NIBRS reporting process, and upgrading to a records management system that is LIBRS compliant are implementation
challenges that have limited the number of agencies reporting NIBRS crime data.”

What is the difference between the two reporting systems?

SRS requires law enforcement to only report the most serious offense occurring within an incident. SRS measures crime by counting the number of offenses reported for the most serious crimes, such as murder, aggravated assault, rape or burglary.

NIBRS requires detailed incident information on 52 offenses, including the race, sex and age of victims and offenders. It also needs details such as property stolen, recovered or damaged.

The LLA report said that participation in crime data reporting decreased nationwide after the switch to NIBRS. 16,546 out of 18,631 law enforcement agencies submitted crime data through
SRS and NIBRS in 2020. It decreased more in 2021, with 11,794 out of 18,806 agencies submitting data.

In 2022, the FBI allowed agencies to report SRS data, which caused the number of reports to increase to 15,724 out of 18,884 agencies.

Agencies in the Greater Baton Rouge area that reported 2022 data to the FBI include:

  • Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office

  • Baton Rouge Police Department

  • East Baton Rouge Police Department

  • East Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office

  • Denham Springs Police Department

  • Donaldsonville Police Department

  • Fordoche Police Department

  • French Settlement Police Department

  • Gonzales Police Department

  • Gross Tete Police Department

  • Iberville Parish Sheriff’s Office

  • Jackson Police Department

  • Livingston Police Department

  • Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office

  • Livonia Police Department

  • Marigouin Police Department

  • Morganza Police Department

  • Plaquemine Police Department

  • Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff’s Office

  • Port Vincent Police Department

  • Springfield Police Department

  • St. Francisville Police Department

  • West Feliciana Parish Sheriff’s Office

  • Walker Police Department

  • West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office

According to the LLA report, the New Roads Police Department in Pointe Coupee Parish, the Port Allen Police Department in West Baton Rouge Parish and the St. Gabriel Police Department in Ascension Parish did not report their 2022 data to the FBI.

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