Enter Offense Data

     The following information requirements apply to each offense within each crime incident.  Since in NIBRS all Group A offenses occurring in an incident are to be reported, care must be taken to identify all such offenses involved in an incident.  For example, a rape case might also involve the crimes of motor vehicle theft and kidnapping, and they should all be reported.  Care must also be taken to ensure that each offense that is reported is a separate, distinct crime, rather than just a part of another offense.  For example, every robbery includes some type of assault; but because the assault is an element, which makes up the crime of robbery, only Robbery should be reported.  If during a robbery, however, the victim is forced to engage in sexual relations, both Robbery and Forcible Rape should be reported, as forced sexual intercourse is not an element of robbery.  Burglary is another example in that it almost always includes a larceny offense.  Because burglary is, however, defined in terms of theft, only the burglary is to be reported.

     Offense data describe the various types of offenses involved in the incident and are reported for each of the (up to) ten most serious Group A offenses in the incident (as determined by the reporting agency).  Information on at least one offense must be included in each Group A Incident Report.

Statute Code

     Report the Pennsylvania Title Statute Codes for the most serious offenses (up to 10) involved in the incident.  Record each code only once even though there may have been more than one victim per offense. One set of offense data is to be submitted for each code reported.

     Select the Pennsylvania Title Statute Code from the drop down box.

     See the UCR Download Area the NIBRS Statute Cross Reference Link for a complete listing and description of the NIBRS UCR codes and the Pennsylvania Title Statute Code Cross Reference.  

NIBRS Codes

     Report the NIBRS UCR Offense Codes for the most serious offenses (up to 10) involved in the incident.  Record each code only once even though there may have been more than one victim per offense. One set of offense data is to be submitted for each Statute Code reported.

     Select the NIBRS Offense Code from the drop down. 

     See the  Group A UCR Offenses Codes Link for a listing and description of the NIBRS Group A UCR Offense Codes.  

     Example (1): If an incident involved robbery and rape, two sets of offense data should be reported - one with the UCR offense codes "120" (Robbery) and the other with "11A" (Forcible Rape).

     Example (2): Even if two females were raped in Example (1) only one set of offense data should be reported with the offense code "11A".  The two rape victims would be reported in the victim data portion of the report.  That is, an offense of forcible rape occurred, and there were two victims.

   Classifying is determining the appropriate crime categories (or codes) in which to report offenses in UCR.  Classification is based on the facts of the agency's investigation of crimes.  (Refer to the discussion on IBR Submission Details Link. Contact the UCR Help Desk  at 1-866-782-7711 if assistance is needed.

Offense Attempted/Completed

     For each offense within an incident, record whether the crime was attempted (A) or completed  (C).  If there was more than one occurrence of the same UCR offense within an incident (as in the preceding Example [2] concerning Forcible Rape), and only one was completed, then "Completed" is still reported.

     It should be noted that an attempted murder is to be reported as Aggravated Assault, and all Assault Offenses are to be reported as "Completed".

     Example: During the same incident, offenders attempted to kidnap two men.  One man struggled and was able to escape.  The other man was abducted.  Since one kidnapping was completed, the offense data would indicate "Completed".

Bias Motivation

     Because of the difficultly of ascertaining the offender's subjective motivation, bias is to be reported only if investigation reveals sufficient objective facts to lead a reasonable and prudent person to conclude that the offender's actions were motivated, in whole or in part, by bias against a racial, religious, ethnic/national origin, or sexual orientation group.  The most appropriate one of the bias types to be reported.

     Select the most appropriate bias type from the drop down box on the screen.

     Racial Bias:

     Anti-White

     Anti-Black

     Anti-American Indian/Alaskan Native

     Anti-Asian/Pacific Islander

     Anti-Multi-Racial Group

     Religious Bias:

     Anti-Jewish

     Anti-Catholic

     Anti-Protestant

     Anti-Islamic (Moslem)

     Anti-Other Religion (Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, etc.)

     Anti-Multi -Religion Group

     Anti-Atheist/Agnostic

     Ethnicity/National Origin Bias:

     Anti-Arab

     Anti-Hispanic

     Anti-Other Ethnicity/National Origin

     Sexual Orientation Bias:

     Anti-Male Homosexual (Gay)

     Anti-Female Homosexual (Lesbian)

     Anti-Homosexual (Gays and Lesbians)

     Anti-Heterosexual

     Anti-Bisexual

     None (No Bias)

     Unknown (Offender's motivation not known)

Location Type

     Select, from the drop down box, one of the following location/premise types that should be reported to show where each offense took place.

     Air/Bus/Train Terminal

     Banks/Savings and Loan (includes other financial institutions)

     Bar/Night Club

     Church/Synagogue (includes other religious buildings)

     Commercial/Office Buildings

     Construction Site

     Convenience Store

     Department/Discount Store

     Drug Store/Doctor's Office/Hospital (includes medical supply buildings)

     Field/Woods

     Government/Public Building

     Grocery/Supermarket

     Highway/Road/Alley (includes streets)

     Hotel/Motel/Etc. (includes other temporary lodging)

     Jail/Prison (includes penitentiary)

     Lake/Waterway

     Liquor Store

     Parking Lot/Garage

     Rental Storage Facility (includes mini-storage and self-storage)

     Residence/Home (includes apartments, condominiums, and nursing homes)

     Restaurant (includes cafeterias)

     School/College (includes universities)

     Service/Gas station

     Specialty Stores (includes fur shops, jewelry stores, dress shops, etc.)

     Other/Unknown

     Example: An assault started in a bar, continued into an adjoining parking lot, and ended in the street.  The bar was the location where the offense was initiated and best describes the circumstances of the crime; "Bar/Night Club" should be reported.    

Number of Premises Entered

     Report this information ONLY if the crime is Burglary/Breaking and Entering and the location is "Hotel/Motel/Etc." or "Rental Storage Facility".  In such cases, the number of structures (premises) entered is to be reported.  Include in the total the number of individual rooms, units, suites, storage compartments, etc., entered.

     Example (1): A self-storage building was burglarized and 11 rented storage compartments were forcibly entered.  The owner/manager of the building reported the incident to police.  Since the offense was burglary and the location a rental storage facility, the 11 compartments entered should be reported.

     Example (2):  A private residence was burglarized.  Again, the offense was burglary, but because the location was not a hotel/motel or rental storage facility, no information should be recorded concerning the number of premises entered.

Method of Entry

For each Burglary/Breaking and Entering offense, report whether the burgler(s) used force or no force to enter a structure.  A force entry is where force of any degree or a mechanical contrivance of any kind is used to unlawfully enter a structure for the purpose of committing a theft or felony.  This act includes entry by use of tools; breaking windows; forcing windows, doors, transoms, or ventilators; cutting screens, walls, or roofs; and where known, the use of master keys, picks, unauthorized keys, celluloid, or other devices which leave no outward mark but are used to force a lock.  Burglary by concealment inside a building followed by an exiting of the structure after the theft is included in this category.

     An unforced entry involves unlawful entry through an unlocked door or window.  The element of trespass to the structure is essential in this classification, which includes thefts from open garages and warehouses, open or unlocked dwellings, and open or unlocked common basement areas in apartment houses (where entry is by someone other than by the tenant who has lawful access).  If the structure entered was one of open access, thefts from premises would not involve an unlawful trespass and would be reported as larceny.

     If both forcible and non- forcible entries were involved in the crime, the offense should be reported as having been accomplished through force.

Type Criminal Activity

     Report only for Counterfeiting/Forgery; Stolen Property Offenses; Drug/Narcotic Violations; Drug Equipment Violations; Gambling Equipment Violations; Pornography/Obscene Material; and Weapon Law Violations.  Record up to three of the below listed activities:

     Buying/Receiving

     Cultivating/Manufacturing/Publishing/Producing

     Distributing/Selling

     Exploiting Children

     Operating/Promoting/Assisting

     Possessing/Concealing

     Transporting/Transmitting/Importing

     Using/Consuming

     Example:  The offenders published and sold pornographic photographs they took of children.  Because up to three types of activity can be reported, "Cultivating/Manufacturing/Publishing/Producing"; "Distributing/Selling"; and "Exploiting Children" should be recorded.

Type Weapon/Force Involved

     Up to three types of weapons/force used by the offender in committing certain crimes can be recorded.  If the weapon was an automatic firearm, "Automatic" along with the firearm type is reported.

     Note: An automatic firearm is defined as any firearm that shoots, or is designed to shoot, more than one shot at a time by a single pull of the trigger without manual reloading.

     Up to three of the following weapons can be reported for each offense:

     Firearm (type unknown)

     Handgun

     Rifle

     Shotgun

     Other Firearm (machine gun, bazooka, etc.)

     Knife/Cutting Instrument (ax, ice pick, screwdriver, switchblade, etc.)

     Blunt Object (club, hammer, etc.)

     Motor Vehicle (when used as weapon)

     Personal Weapons (i.e., hands, fists, feet, etc.)

     Poison

     Explosives

     Fire/Incendiary Device

     Drug/Narcotics/Sleeping Pills

     Asphyxiation (by drowning, strangulation, suffocation, gas, etc.)

     Other (any weapon or force not fitting the above specifically listed weapons/force)

     Unknown

     When reporting the weapons used, select the most specific weapon-type listed, e.g., a revolver should be reported as "Handgun" rather than "Firearm".  If a weapon was used that could be employed in several ways, choose the weapon-type that indicates how the weapon was used.  For example, if a bottle was used in the commission of a murder, report "Blunt Object" if the victim was beaten or "Knife/Cutting Instrument" if the victim was cut or stabbed.

     Example: Three robbers held up a bank.  One was armed with a revolver, the second had a sawed-off shotgun, and the third had an automatic assault rifle.  The weapons reported should be: "Handgun"; "Shotgun"; and "Automatic Rifle".

     The offenses for which weapon/type of force information is collected are:

     Murder and Nonnegligent Manslaughter

     Negligent Homicide 

     Justifiable Homicide

     Kidnapping/Abduction

     Forcible Rape

     Forcible Sodomy

     Sexual Assault with an Object

     Forcible Fondling

     Robbery

     Aggravated Assault

     Simple Assault

     Extortion/Blackmail

     Weapon Law Violation  

Offender(s) Suspected of Using

     Indicate whether any of the offenders in the incident were suspected of consuming alcohol or using drugs/narcotics during or shortly before the incident; or of using a computer, computer terminal, or other computer equipment to perpetrate the crime.  any or all of the following three categories can be used for each offense:

     Alcohol

     Computer Equipment

     Drugs/Narcotics

     Example (1): Witnesses to an assault reported that the victim and offender were drinking beer when an argument broke out, and the offender attacked the victim with a knife.  The report should indicate "Alcohol".

     Example (2): A rape victim advised that her attacker bragged that he had been "freebasing" cocaine just prior to the incident.  The report should read "Drugs/Narcotics".

     Example (3): A medical supply warehouse was burglarized and large amounts of Methadone, Morphine, Benzedrine, and Valium were stolen.  The report should NOT indicate "Drugs/Narcotics".  While the drugs were the object of the crime, there was no indication that the offenders used drugs or narcotics before or during the incident.  That drugs were the object of the offense will be recorded with the property data on the crime.

     Example (4): A computer "hacker" used his personal computer and a telephone modem to gain access to a company's computer and steal proprietary data.  "Computer Equipment" should be reported.

Add Button

     After entering the data for the Offense Screen, click on the "Add" button.  The data you entered will be displayed on a recap line, under the data entry area.

Change Link

     Notice that the "Offenses" data is displayed as per PA-IBR guidelines.  This recap area provides a review area for Offense Screen data, and the ability to change or delete the data entered.  If during review it is discovered that erroneous data was entered for an offense click the "Change" link in the Action column.  The line will move from the recap area back to the data entry area, where the data can be corrected.

Save Button

      After correction, click the "Save" button, and the data will move back to the recap area.

Remove Link

     To delete a line from the recap area, select the line by clicking on the "Remove" link in the "Action" column next to the offense to delete.

OK Button

     You will be presented with a confirmation screen. Click the "OK" button to proceed with the delete.

Cancel Button

     The "Cancel" button is used to stop the delete process.  The data will be removed from the recap area.

Need Help Link

     At any time during the data input, Help for the completion of the Offenses Screen is available by clicking on the "Need Help?" link on the bottom of the page.

Save Submission Link

     Clicking on the "Save Submission " link will save all data entered up to that point, in the event you are not able to complete entering all of the data for the current month's Incident Report in one session.

Continue Link

     Clicking "Continue" link will signal the system that you have completed entering Offense data.  The system will verify the data that has been entered, and return any errors for correction before moving to the next screen.