NIBRS-offenses

Author

Affiliation

Hung Kit William Chiu

UCSB Econ

Published

April 22, 2025

Modified

June 5, 2025

This document compares offense categories used in this project and offense categories adopted by NIBRS (specifically Manual 2021.1). This project aims to unify crime categories adopted by agencies across the country since early 2000s, during which the classification suggested by FBI has undergone multiple revisions; many agencies also only started to adopt the NIBRS standard in the late 2010s. For practical reasons, a slightly modified set of crime categories are used, without altering the main structure of the hierarchy. Below reproduces the FBI offenses in alphabetical order and points out the modifications made:

**Group A Offenses**
Offense	NIBRS Offense Code	Crime Against	NCIC Offense Code
Animal Cruelty
Animal Cruelty	720	Society	7201
Arson
Arson	200	Property	2001–2009; 2099
Assault Offenses
Aggravated Assault	13A	Person	1301–1312; 1314–1315
Simple Assault	13B	Person	1313
Intimidation	13C	Person	1316; 5215–5216
~~Bribery~~ (→All other offenses)
~~Bribery~~	~~510~~	~~Property~~	~~5101–5113; 5199~~
Burglary/Breaking & Entering
Burglary/Breaking & Entering	220	Property	2201–2205; 2207; 2299
~~Commerce Violations~~
Import Violations*	~~58A~~	~~Society~~	~~None~~
Export Violations*	~~58B~~	~~Society~~	~~None~~
Federal Liquor Offenses*	~~61A~~	~~Society~~	~~4101–4104; 4199; 6103~~
Federal Tobacco Offenses*	~~61B~~	~~Society~~	~~6102~~
Wildlife Trafficking*	~~620~~	~~Society~~	~~None~~
Counterfeiting/Forgery
Counterfeiting/Forgery	250	Property	2501–2507; 2509; 2510; 2589; 2599
Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property
Destruction/Damage/Vandalism of Property	290	Property	2901–2906; 2999
Drug/Narcotic Offenses
Drug/Narcotic Violations	35A	Society	3501–3505; 3510–3513; 3520–3523; 3530–3533; 3540–3543; 3560–3564; 3570–3573; 3580–3583; 3599
Drug Equipment Violations	35B	Society	3550
Embezzlement
Embezzlement	270	Property	2701–2705; 2799
~~Espionage~~
Espionage*	~~103~~	~~Society~~	~~0103~~
~~Extortion/Blackmail~~ (→All other offenses)
~~Extortion/Blackmail~~	~~210~~	~~Property~~	~~2101–2105; 2199~~
Fraud Offenses
False Pretenses/Swindle/Confidence Game	26A	Property	2601–2603; 2607; 2699
Credit Card/Automated Teller Machine Fraud	26B	Property	2605
Impersonation	26C	Property	2604
Welfare Fraud	26D	Property	None
Wire Fraud	26E	Property	2608
Identity Theft	26F	Property	2610
Hacking/Computer Invasion	26G	Property	2609
Money Laundering*	26H	Society	6300
~~Fugitive Offenses~~
Harboring Escapee/Concealing from Arrest*	~~49A~~	~~Society~~	~~4904; 4901~~
Flight to Avoid Prosecution*	~~49B~~	~~Society~~	~~4902~~
Flight to Avoid Deportation*	~~49C~~	~~Society~~	~~4902~~
Gambling Offenses
Betting/Wagering	39A	Society	None
Operating/Promoting/Assisting Gambling	39B	Society	3901–3902; 3904–3905; 3907; 3915–3916; 3918; 3920–3921
Gambling Equipment Violations	39C	Society	3908–3914
Sports Tampering	39D	Society	3919
Homicide Offenses
Murder and Nonnegligent Manslaughter	09A	Person	0901–0908; 0911–0912
Negligent Manslaughter	09B	Person	0910
Justifiable Homicide	09C	Not a Crime	None
Human Trafficking
Human Trafficking, Commercial Sex Acts	64A	Person	6411
Human Trafficking, Involuntary Servitude	64B	Person	6411
~~Immigration Violations~~
Illegal Entry into the United States*	~~30A~~	~~Society~~	~~0301~~
False Citizenship*	~~30B~~	~~Society~~	~~0302~~
Smuggling Aliens*	~~30C~~	~~Society~~	~~0303~~
Re-entry after Deportation*	~~30D~~	~~Society~~	~~0399~~
Kidnapping/Abduction
Kidnapping/Abduction	100	Person	1001–1009; 1099
Larceny/Theft Offenses
Pocket-picking	23A	Property	2301
Purse-snatching	23B	Property	2302
Shoplifting	23C	Property	2303
Theft From Building	23D	Property	2308; 2311
Theft From Coin-Operated Machine or Device	23E	Property	2307
Theft From Motor Vehicle	23F	Property	2305
Theft of Motor Vehicle Parts or Accessories	23G	Property	2304; 2407
All Other Larceny	23H	Property	2306; 2309–2310; 2312–2316; 2410
Motor Vehicle Theft
Motor Vehicle Theft	240	Property	2401–2405; 2408; 2412; 2499
Pornography/Obscene Material
Pornography/Obscene Material	370	Society	3700–3706; 3799
Prostitution Offenses
Prostitution	40A	Society	4003–4004
Assisting or Promoting Prostitution	40B	Society	4001–4002; 4006; 4007; 4008; 4009; 4099
Purchasing Prostitution	40C	Society	4005
Robbery
Robbery	120	Property	1201–1211; 1299
Sex Offenses
Rape	11A	Person	1101–1103
Sodomy	11B	Person	1104–1115
Sexual Assault With An Object	11C	Person	None
Fondling	11D	Person	3601 (Child)
Incest	36A	Person	3604; 3607
Statutory Rape	36B	Person	1116
Failure to Register as a Sex Offender*	360	Society	3612
Stolen Property Offenses
Stolen Property Offenses	280	Property	2801–2805; 2899
~~Treason~~
Treason*	~~101~~	~~Society~~	~~0101~~
Weapon Law Violations
Weapon Law Violations	520	Society	5201–5214; 5299
Violation of National Firearm Act of 1934*	521	Society	None
Weapons of Mass Destruction*	522	Society	None
Explosives*	526	Society	5204–5206; 5211

**Group B Offenses**
Offense	NIBRS Offense Code	NCIC Offense Code
~~Bond Default~~
Failure to Appear*	~~90K~~	~~5015~~
Curfew/Loitering/Vagrancy Violations
Curfew/Loitering/Vagrancy Violations	90B	None
Disorderly Conduct
Disorderly Conduct	90C	5310-5311; 5399
Driving Under the Influence
Driving Under the Influence	90D	5403-5404
Family Offenses~~, Nonviolent~~ (→Not distinguished)
Family Offenses~~, Nonviolent~~	90F	3801-3803; 3806-3808; 3899
~~Federal Resource Violation~~
Federal Resource Violations*	~~90L~~	~~None~~
Liquor Law Violations
Liquor Law Violations	90G	4101-4104; 4199
~~Perjury~~
Perjury*	~~90M~~	~~5003, 5004~~
Trespass of Real Property
Trespass of Real Property	90J	5707
All Other Offenses
All Other Offenses	90Z	Various

*Offenses for federal and tribal law enforcement agencies (LEA) reporting only

In this project, the following modifications are made:

Offenses that are reported only by federal and tribal LEA do not constitute standalone categories; they are included in All Other Offenses should agencies report them.
Crimes that are ~~strikethrough~~ also do not constitute standalone categories in this project due to too few agencies distinguishing them, they are grouped into the categories specified after the strikethrough.
Criminal Homicides are distinguished from Justifiable Homicides, which are non-criminal.
Family Offenses appears as a standalone category, potentially violent family offenses are not distinguished unless keywords such as “assault” are explicitly used. Some crimes under Family Offenses may overlap with assaults or sex offenses or other crimes by design to prevent them from skewing other crime count, because many agencies do not report Family Offenses (the reporting standard has changed across agencies and time).
Aggravated Assaults are distinguished from other assaults; both Simple Assaults and Intimidation (and any other relevant crimes) are classified as Other Assaults.
Two additional categories Non-reportable and Unclassifiable are created to keep track of non-reportable incidents (such as civil matter, assistance, or warrant arrests that would have been recorded as a crime in another row) and incidents that require more context to be classified. Typically, incidents only fall under unclassifiable when motivation is needed to determine the nature, such as “enticing a child” that could either be Sex Offenses or Family Offenses (custody related), or when even the agency fails to classify, such as “suspicious death”.
One last category Database is created to house any “offenses” that are clearly for database related operations only, such as an offense called CAD test (CAD stands for Computer Aided Dispatch System). It is reported for the sake of completeness.