Less than a quarter of New York police departments submitted data to the FBI 2021 crime statistics, according to an analysis of the FBI’s data released last week.
Most of New York’s large police departments did not submit data, including New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties. That means less than 20% of the state’s population is covered in the most recent federal data.
Researchers use this data to identify trends in public safety. Experts have warned against drawing conclusions from the federal data because so many departments didn’t submit.
Last year was the first time the FBI switched from the Uniform Crime Reporting program to NIBRS, the National Incident Based Reporting System. NIBRS will eventually provide more detailed data, but the federal Office of Justice Programs says transition has been slow because of a lack of local funding.
One police department that did submit data in New York was Southold police on eastern Long Island.
“It's a lot easier to fit our 25,000 calls for service into a reporting system than the millions in New York City,” Lieutenant Scott Latham said.
New York’s Division of Criminal Justice Services said it will continue to accept and publish the data in an old format giving an accurate picture of public safety in New York.
“127 of 522 reporting agencies have transitioned to NIBRS,” a DCJS spokesperson wrote in a statement. “36 more are actively working with DCJS on converting to it.”
