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TO: Mayor Richard C. Irvin
FROM: Bryan Handell, Police Department Central Services Lieutenant
DATE: 08/03/21
SUBJECT:
A resolution requesting training presented by Full Circle Training Solutions of Morgantown, West Virginia for all sworn police officers for compliance with state and federal police NIBRS reporting requirements for an amount of $40,000.00.
PURPOSE:
The Aurora Police Department and all Illinois law enforcement agencies are required to report their crime statistics to the State of Illinois as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigations, under Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), for use in law enforcement administration, operation, and management. As of January 1st, the FBI required ALL law enforcement agencies to begin reporting via NIBRS (National Incident Based Reporting System). The state of Illinois was behind getting the repository set up and understands agencies will not meet this deadline; they have been informed we were unable to meet the deadline. We will be implementing NIBRS as our primary crime statistics reporting system on January 1st, 2022. The FBI implemented NIBRS to improve the overall quality of crime data collected by law enforcement, as it captures details on each single crime incident as well as on separate offenses within the same incident, including information on victims, known offenders, relationships between victims and offenders, arrestees, and property involved in crimes. Unlike data reported through the UCR Program’s traditional Summary Reporting System (SRS), an aggregate monthly tally of crimes, NIBRS goes much deeper because of its ability to provide circumstances and context for crimes like location, time of day, and whether the incident was cleared by arrest. See the attached documents provided by the FBI detailing the benefits of NIBRS and FAQs regarding NIBRS.
Aurora Police Officers will require training in NIBRS reporting as it represents a conceptual change in the way officers document information in their reports. Officers will continue to utilize Hexagon WebRMS for reporting, which is already in the process of being configured for NIBRS reporting prior to January 1st, 2022.
BACKGROUND:
Training for NIBRS based report writing is very limited due to its specialized nature. Full Circle Training Solutions was founded by Brad Zoladz, who is also the instructor for courses. Mr. Zoladz has more than 20 years of work experience with the FBI and was a training instructor for 12 of those years. He helped develop and implement NIBRS at the FBI and has been dedicated to NIBRS training since 2015.
DISCUSSION:
Full Circle Training Solutions would be providing ten 8-hour classes, accommodating 30-35 officers per class. Normally, they would charge $259.00 per person, which would be between $7,000.00 and $9,000.00 per class, totaling $70,000.00-$90,000.00 to train the entire department. However, they are offering a significant discount to the Aurora Police Department and charging $40,000.00 as the total cost of all ten classes. The price of this training course per officer would then be approximately $133.33, or nearly half of the regular price.
Similar training is offered by another group, Police Records Management. They charge $250 per person and only feature online instruction. See the attached price list for Police Records Management. To train all of the department's approximately 310 sworn officers, the cost would be $77,500.00. Additionally, on-line training would be more difficult to hold attendees attention, encourage class participation, and answer questions. Due to Full Circle Training Solutions’ experience with developing and implementing NIBRS at the FBI, providing live, in-person training, and their significantly reduced cost, it was decided to pursue their training.
Please see the attached quote for $40,000.00 to utilize Full Circle Training Solutions for 10 classes of NIBRS training.
Funding for this training was not planned for in the department's annual training budget (account 101-3536-421.42-01). The police department's current training budget does not have enough funds remaining to cover this training due to other training courses and expenses already booked through the end of the year, therefore a budget amendment was submitted in June 2021 to cover the expense..
IMPACT STATEMENT:
The approval of this item is necessary due to the Federal and State requirements to provide crime statistic reporting. Failure to properly train Aurora police officers in NIBRS reporting could result in inaccurate crime statistics being reported to the state of Illinois and FBI. Crime statistics are used for a variety of purposes, including by the police department to develop crime prevention and response strategies. Inaccurate statistics could cause police resources and personnel to not be effectively utilized to prevent and combat crime. Agencies that do not participate in NIBRS will not have their crime statistics included in the FBI's nationwide crime statistics, and federal funding assistance based on crime statistics reporting could be lost or missed.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Approve resolution authorizing funding for NIBRS training presented by Full Circle Training Solutions in the amount of $40,000.
cc: Finance Committee
CITY OF AURORA, ILLINOIS
RESOLUTION NO. _________
DATE OF PASSAGE ________________
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A Resolution Authorizing Full Circle Training Solutions of Morgantown, West Virginia to Provide Training to the Police Department for Compliance with Federal and State Police Reporting Requirements.
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WHEREAS, the City of Aurora has a population of more than 25,000 persons and is, therefore, a home rule unit under subsection (a) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970; and
WHEREAS, subject to said Section, a home rule unit may exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its government and affairs for the protection of the public health, safety, morals, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the Aurora Police Department and all Illinois law enforcement agencies are required to report their crime statistics to the State of Illinois as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigations, under Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR), for use in law enforcement administration, operation, and management; and
WHEREAS, as of January 1st, 2022, the Aurora Police Department will begin utilizing NIBRS (National Incident Based Reporting System), and
WHEREAS, Aurora Police Officers will Require Training in Writing Reports Complying with NIBRS, and
WHEREAS, Full Circle Training Solutions represents the lowest cost for NIBRS reporting training at $40,000.00 for ten 8-hours classes; and
WHEREAS, a budget amendment was submitted in June 2021 to fund this training from account 101-3536-421.42-01.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Aurora, Illinois, as follows: A Resolution Authorizing Full Circle Training Solutions of Morgantown, West Virginia to Provide Training to the Police Department for Compliance with Federal and State Police Reporting Requirements and the Director of Purchasing to issue necessary orders.