Implementation Planning Lessons Learned

The following list contains “lessons learned” and advice from state and local agencies that have been NIBRS-certified or are implementing NIBRS-compliant RMSs. Agencies should refer to this list for practical advice that can be used in conjunction with the items specified in this section of the handbook. Comments from NIBRS-RMS vendors have been included where appropriate. The

comments in this list do not constitute statements from the FBI or BJS; comments are entirely from the NIBRS user and vendor community.

Lessons Learned from Agencies:

û Keep all people/staff informed about NIBRS throughout process in order to keep it on their minds (talk about it at every management meeting, give presentations and Q&A sessions, write a NIBRS article in the daily/ monthly bulletin, hold preliminary classes/training).

û State level criminal justice system (including crime reporting) works well because local agencies cooperated in its development.

û Remember, contractors cannot solve all your problems. û Understand the system.

û Must have a spokesperson that keeps this issue out in front of everyone. û Include actual, real users in the process.

û PLAN, PLAN, PLAN.

û Look for NIBRS-compliant RMS, but use caution—some vendors say they are NIBRS-compliant, but are not.

û We were already IBR, but our forms changed primarily because we went to on-line entry of Incident Report on the MDCs.

û The agency had to manually enter name and address information into new RMS to meet new system’s database requirements—we had not counted on this.

û We designed the NIBRS Incident Report form first, then selected an RMS vendor—should have done the opposite.

û On initial conversion to NIBRS from Summary UCR, a large report back log with the state developed since they don’t accept any IBR errors, and staff learning curve was long—during this time, crime analysis was inaccurate because data was old.

û The entire agency must be involved in, and trained on, the new RMS and NIBRS.

û Allow for lots of refresher training. Even after 2 years, a lot of mistakes are still made.

û It takes twice as long to train new recruits versus existing officers. û Develop test data early to test and play with the system before

implementation.

û Do “Report entry, edit and correction” right the first time, then IBR will reduce time and there will be more data available… otherwise there will be some negative impact due to time increase and messy data.

78 79 û Get most vocal end users to beat up on the system… you’ll get negative

criticism/comments however this can produce significant points early on. û Have a lot of patience in training… takes time to refocus end users to a

new reporting concept.

û Need training to offset labor-intensive elements of IBR. It takes more time to enter data but training will keep this in check.

û If the “NIBRS person” in the agency is also a sysadmin, is responsible for keeping the network going, and has other duties, it is difficult to multi-task and stay on top of NIBRS… need a person dedicated to NIBRS, but in government this may be difficult for some agencies.

û Send RMS person to training on the technology used in the vendor’s product (e.g., Oracle).

û Practice, Practice, Practice during training.

û Be prepared to cater your training, because NIBRS will require re-training officers and staff, and will require continual explanations.

û Don’t implement too fast. Do not implement a new CAD, new RMS, and other systems all at the same time.

û _{Held two training sessions for squad on how to use the IBR form. Made} help-sheets that described each field and how it is to be filled out.

û Make sure officers, staff, and management are working together toward the common goal.

Lessons Learned from States:

û Don’t sign off on anything with the vendor until you’re fully satisfied with the product.

û _{Assemble a committed staff/team.}

û Dedicate resources and staff to RMS processes.

û Focus on major agencies first in state, then smaller agencies (to get buy in).

û Don’t develop too many ways for agencies to report (e.g., paper, tapes, BBS, etc) then expect them to go to IBR… limit their reporting options. û Develop a state-level incident form that can be distributed to agencies for

use in the field.

û _{State program works with both the agency and vendor to ensure that} agency’s RMS meets the required x% error rate.

û Look at all aspects of the RMS and make sure it is “user-friendly” for all potential users of the system.

û State provides sample forms to agencies.

û Formed a state-level committee to discuss how to address non-performing vendors.

Vendor Comments:

û Agencies need to realize and accept that their culture will be changing with the new RMS.

û Put an experienced full time person in charge of training—this should be someone who is computer-literate.

û The agency will require sufficient staff if the system is going to work— one big cause for failure is not enough of the right kinds of people involved in system implementation and operation.

û Some states provide NIBRS error-checking software to the agencies so that the reports flowing to the state have fewer errors.

80 81 CHECK LIST FOR IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING AND