The St. Joseph Police Department recently made the switch to a new crime reporting system that has the potential to benefit the department and community.

The St. Joseph Police Department announced they are one of 38 law enforcement agencies in the state to have demonstrated the ability to report Missouri Incident Base Reporting System data.

Previously, the department has used summary reporting or Uniform Crime Reporting, a system developed in the 1920s to collect national crime data. Supervisor Dawn Hill with the department is the Assistant to the Public Safety Network Administrator. Hill said the Missouri Incident Base Reporting System (MIBRS) is a significant change in how data is collected, the detail of the data and the research capability.

“Missouri Incident Base Reporting looks at 49 different offenses. So, when we’re looking at an incident, it looks at all offenses that are involved. It also focuses on details of that incident which can be really important when you’re looking at crime trends or different crime data,” Hill said. “Things that it includes… the date, time and location of an incident. The race, the sex, the age of your victim and your offender, the relationship between your victim and offender, weapons, drug usage, details of property loss or injuries in a victim. You can see where all of these things would be really beneficial when you are looking at this type of data and trying to determine how crime is affecting our communities.”

Hill said the system will help the department work with similar jurisdictions and neighboring communities to find solutions and solve common problems.

Although it was not mandated until 2021, Hill said the police department recently obtained the MIBRS certification, which comes from criteria set by the state of Missouri and the FBI. Hill adds the St. Joseph Police Department was the first in the state to make the switch and successfully implement the software changes for the reporting system.