FBI Use of Force Submission - Explained!

In our previous posts, we covered the data types and values gathered in Use of Force reporting (and even some Pennsylvania-specific fields). Let’s dive deeper into the items included in the Use of Force submission. While many reporting agencies may need to include state-specific values or additional data elements, this overview will cover the FBI standard submission.

What are data segments?

Every Incident Report contains three (3) data segments (Incident, Subject, and Officer.) Each of these segments consists of data elements.

Three (3) data elements are mandatory for all submissions:

• Data Element 1 – Action

  • Mandatory

  • Determines the action type for the report, such as “Add” or “Remove.”

• Data Element 2 – ActionTime

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the creation date and time for the report.

• Data Element 3 – Payload Content

  • Mandatory

  • The Payload Content is reported in JSON format. It doesn’t use a “Payload” identifier but rather an “Incident” field identifier.

Data elements that allow multiple entries must have commas (“,”) separating each value and be within the beginning and ending bracket and squiggly brackets [{ <value>, <value>, <value>}].

At this point, it’s perfectly fine to be confused, but hopefully, by the end of this post, you can break down and understand an FBI Use of Force submission file.

The INCIDENT Segment

The Incident Segment is the master segment and is used to provide the incident information for the Use-of-Force Incident. Also, the Incident Segment contains the subject and officer segments.

The data elements used in the Incident Segment are:

• Data Element I1 – agency_ori

  • Mandatory

  • 9-Character ORI of the Incident Owning Agency

• Data Element I2 – agency_case_number

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the agency’s case number for the Use-of-Force incident.

• Data Element I3 – incident_date

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the date the Use-of-Force incident occurred.

• Data Element I4 – reporting_agency_ori

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the ORI for the agency reporting the Use-of-Force incident to the FBI.

• Data Element I5 – incident_time_hours

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the hour of time reflecting the best estimate of when the interaction between law enforcement and the subject occurred.

• Data Element I6 – incident_time_minutes

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the minute of time reflecting the best estimate of when the interaction between law enforcement and the subject occurred.

• Data Element I7 – location_type

  • Mandatory

  • Indicated the type of location/premises where the Use-of-Force incident took place.

  • Only one value can be chosen from roughly 60 options.

• Data Element I8 – initial_contact_id

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the reason behind the initial contact between the Law Enforcement Officer and the subject.

  • Only one value can be chosen from roughly 11 options.

  • If initial_contact_id is “CRIMINAL_SUSPICIOUS_ACTIVITY,” data elements I15, I16, I17, and I25 can have values.

• Data Element I9 – total_officers_involved

  • Mandatory

  • Indicated the total number of officers from all responding agencies who used force during the incident.

• Data Element I10 – other_agencies_involved

  • Conditional

  • Used to identify all other agencies involved in the incident.

  • Includes the other agency(s) case number(s), and ORI(s).

• Data Element I11 – total_number_other_agencies

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the total number of other responding agencies whose officer(s) used force during the incident.

• Data Element I12 – ambushed

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates if the incident involved an ambush of a law enforcement official.

• Data Element I13 – did_officer_approach

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates if the law enforcement official approached the subject.

  • Only one value can be chosen from 4 options.

• Data Element I14 – senior_officer_present

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates if a supervisor or senior officer acting in a similar capacity was present or consulted prior to when force was used during the incident.

  • Only one value can be chosen from 4 options.

• Data Element I15 – offense1

  • Conditional

  • If Data Element I8 is “CRIMINAL_SUSPICIOUS_ACTIVITY,” the most serious observed offense(s) committed by the subject(s) prior to or at the time of the incident are indicated in offense1 (Data Element I15), offense2 (Data Element I16) and offense3 (Data Element I17).

  • Uses FBI Offense Code

  • Follows the Hierarchy Rule

• Data Element I16 – offense2

  • Conditional

  • If Data Element I8 is “CRIMINAL_SUSPICIOUS_ACTIVITY,” the most serious observed offense(s) committed by the subject(s) prior to or at the time of the incident are indicated in offense1 (Data Element I15), offense2 (Data Element I16) and offense3 (Data Element I17).

  • Uses FBI Offense Code

  • Follows the Hierarchy Rule

• Data Element I17 – offense3

  • Conditional

  • If Data Element I8 is “CRIMINAL_SUSPICIOUS_ACTIVITY,” the most serious observed offense(s) committed by the subject(s) prior to or at the time of the incident are indicated in offense1 (Data Element I15), offense2 (Data Element I16) and offense3 (Data Element I17).

  • Uses FBI Offense Code

  • Follows the Hierarchy Rule

• Data Element I18 – address_1

  • Conditional

  • Used to provide the street address of the use-of-force incident.

• Data Element I19 – address_2

  • Optional

  • Used to capture additional address information for the incident.

  • Suite, Apt #, Address Line Two information

• Data Element I20 – address_city

  • Conditional

  • Used to report the city where the incident occurred.

• Data Element I21 – address_state_id

  • Conditional

  • Used to report the State/U.S. Territory where the incident occurred

  • Only one value can be chosen from roughly 60 options.

• Data Element I22 – address_zip

  • Conditional

  • Used to report the zip code of where the incident occurred.

• Data Element I23 – address_latitude

  • Optional

  • Used to report the latitude in the NAD83 coordinate system of the address where the incident occurred.

• Data Element I24 – address_longitude

  • Optional

  • Used to report the longitude in the NAD83 coordinate system of the address where the incident occurred.

• Data Element I25 – nibrs_incident_number

  • Conditional

  • The National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) incident number associated with the UCR Offense Codes provided in Data Elements I15, I16, and I17.

• Data Element I26 – nibrs_incident_number_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the NIBRS incident number for the incident is PENDING or UNKNOWN.

• Data Element I27 – offense_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the NIBRS Offenses for the incident is PENDING or UNKNOWN.

  • Only provided if Data Element I8 indicates “CRIMINAL_SUSPICIOUS_ACTIVITY” and Data Element I15 is not provided.

• Data Element I28 – total_officers_involved_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates when the number of officers for the incident is PENDING or UNKNOWN.

• Data Element I29 – total_number_subjects_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates when the number of subjects for the incident is PENDING or UNKNOWN.

• Data Element I30– agency_officers_involved

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the number of officers from your agency who actually applied force during the incident.

• Data Element I31 – address_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates when the location for the incident is PENDING or UNKNOWN.

• Data Element I32 – incident_tickler_ids

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates if the incident resulted in a death or serious bodily injury due to law enforcement use-of-force or if there was a discharge of a firearm by a law enforcement officer at or in the direction of a person.

  • A minimum of one value must be provided. Up to three values can be provided.

• Data Element I33 – total_number_subjects

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the total number of subjects that died or received a serious bodily injury due to a law enforcement use-of-force or, in the absence of death or serious bodily injury, received the discharge of a firearm at or in their direction.

• Data Element I34 – agency_officers_involved_pu_ids

  • Optional

  • Indicates the number of officers from your agency who actually applied force during the time of the incident is PENDING or UNKNOWN.

The Subject Segment

The Subject Segment is used to provide biographic and characteristics of the subject(s) at the time of the incident.

The data elements used in the Subject Segment are:

• Data Element S1 – subject_id

  • Mandatory

  • Used to track individual subjects for an incident.

  • Should be applied sequentially starting with 1 for the first subject.

• Data Element S2 – race_ethnicity_ids

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the race and ethnicity of the subject.

  • At least one Race/Ethnicity ID must be provided.

• Data Element S3 – gender

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the gender of the subject.

  • Only one value can be provided for a subject.

• Data Element S4 – age1

  • Conditional

  • Indicate the age of the subject or the minimum boundary for an estimate of the subject’s age.

  • Required for all subjects when age is not unknown or pending investigation.

• Data Element S5 – age2

  • Optional

  • Indicates the subject age maximum bound for the subject’s age.

  • Only required when providing a subject age range.

• Data Element S6 – age_estimated

  • Optional

  • Indicate the age of the subject is an estimate.

• Data Element S7 – age_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the age of the subject is PENDING further investigation or UNKNOWN.

• Data Element S8 – height1_feet

  • Conditional

  • Used to provide the feet value for the subject.

  • Used either as the exact height or minimum boundary for an estimated height foot of the subject.

• Data Element S9 – height1_inch

  • Conditional

  • Used to provide the value in inches for the subject

  • Used either as the exact height or minimum boundary for estimating the height inches of the subject.

• Data Element S10 – height2_feet

  • Optional

  • Used to provide the upper boundary value in feet for an estimated height of the subject.

• Data Element S11 – height2_inch

  • Optional

  • Used to provide the upper boundary value in inches for an estimated height of the subject.

• Data Element S12 – height_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicated the height of the subject is PENDING further investigation or UNKNOWN.

• Data Element S13 – height_estimated

  • Optional

  • Indicates the height of the subject is an estimate.

• Data Element S14– weight1

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the weight of the subject in pounds or the minimum boundary of an estimate of the weight of the subject.

• Data Element S15 – weight2

  • Optional

  • Indicated the maximum boundary of an estimate of the weight of the subject in pounds.

• Data Element S16– weight_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the weight of the subject is PENDING further investigation or is UNKNOWN.

• Data Element S17 – weight_estimated

  • Optional

  • Indicated the weight of the subject is an estimate.

• Data Element S18– impairment

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates if the Law Enforcement Officer felt the subject had an apparent or known impairment in mental or physical condition.

• Data Element S19– impairment_type_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the impairment type of the subject at the time of incident.

• Data Element S20– resisted

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates if the subject resisted during the incident.

• Data Element S21– resistance_type_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicated the resistance used by the subject during the incident.

• Data Element S22 - threat_directed_at

  • Mandatory

  • Indicate who the threat by the subject(s) was perceived by the officer(s) to be directed to, the officer or to another party.

• Data Element S23 – armed

  • Mandatory

  • Indicated if the law enforcement official felt the subject was armed during the incident with a weapon (other than hands, fists, and feet).

• Data Element S24 – force_type_ids

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the type of force used by the officer(s) on the subject during the incident.

• Data Element S25– injury_type_ids

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the type of injuries sustained by the subject.

The Officer Segment

The Officer Segment is used to provide biographic data and characteristics of the officer(s) involved at the time of the incident.

The data elements used in the Officer segment are:

• Data Element O1 – officer_id

  • Mandatory

  • Used to track individual officers for an incident.

  • Should be applied sequentially, starting with 1 for the first officer.

• Data Element O2 – race_ethnicity_ids

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the race and ethnicity of the law enforcement officer.

  • At least one Race/Ethnicity ID must be provided.

• Data Element O3 – gender

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates the gender of the law enforcement officer.

  • Only one value can be provided for an officer.

• Data Element O4 – age

  • Conditional

  • Should be the exact age of the officer.

• Data Element O5 – age_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the age of the officer is PENDING further investigation

• Data Element O6 – height_feet

  • Conditional

  • Used to provide the feet value for the officer.

• Data Element O7 – height_inch

  • Conditional

  • Provides the value in inches for the officer.

• Data Element O8 – height_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the height of the officer is PENDING further investigation

• Data Element O9 - weight

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the weight of the officer.

• Data Element O10 – weight_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the weight of the officer is pending further investigation.

• Data Element O11 – years_of_service

  • Conditional

  • Indicates the years of service the officer has as a law enforcement officer.

• Data Element O12 – years_of_service_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicated the years of service of the officer is PENDING further investigation.

• Data Element O13 – full_part_time

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates if the officer is employed full or part-time.

  • Full-time is defined as 160 or more hours per month.

• Data Element O14 – officer_identifiable

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates if the officer was readily identifiable as an officer during the incident.

• Data Element O15 – on_duty

  • Mandatory

  • Indicated if the officer was on duty at the time of the incident.

• Data Element O16 – officer_injured

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates if the officer was injured (serious or minor) during the incident.

• Data Element O17 – injury_type_ids

  • Conditional

  • Indicates injuries incurred by the officer during the incident.

• Data Element O18 – nibrs_incident_number

  • Conditional

  • Used when an officer incurs injuries during the incident.

  • The NIBRS (or local) incident number relating to the report detailing the assault or homicide of the law enforcement officer.

• Data Element O19 – nibrs_incident_number_pu_ids

  • Conditional

  • Used when an officer incurs injuries during the incident and the NIBRS incident number relating to the report detailing the assault or homicide of the law enforcement officer is PENDING further investigation, UNKNOWN or not reported.

• Data Element O20 – shots_fired

  • Mandatory

  • Indicates a law enforcement officer discharged a firearm during the incident.

Data Breakdown

Now that we’ve reviewed the data elements and the information they hold let’s look at an example file provided by the FBI.

As we can see, the JSON formatted file is very readable, but let's break it down into smaller sections/explanations.

Mandatory Elements

The three (3) mandatory data elements are found at the top of the file.

• Data Element 1 – Action

• Data Element 2 – ActionTime

• Data Element 3 – Payload Content

  • Remember, the file doesn’t use a “Payload” identifier but rather an “Incident” field identifier.

Everything found after the "Incident": { line contains the details of the Use of Force incident.

The information in the file is actually grouped nicely. The first group is "Incident" information, the second group is "Subject" information, and the third group is "Officer" information.

You may have even noticed that the sections are "divided" by the use of the previously mentioned brackets "[{ }]".

*Note: If more than one subject or officer was involved in the Use of Force Incident, the Subject and Officer sections can repeat.

Data Elements VS Values

Since JSON is a very readable format, we can easily determine the data element and corresponding value(s).

Let's look at an example:

In the "Incident" section, Data Element I1 is the "agency_ori."

The data element tag (or label) is found to the left of the colon (:), while the value is found to the right.

Multiple Values

Some of the data elements can have an array of (or multiple) values. An example would include the Subject "impairment_type_ids."

The data element tag (or label) is found to the left of the colon (:), while the value(s) are found to the right. If a data element accepts multiple values, they are found comma-separated, inside brackets.

["Value1", "Value2"] -> ["ALCOHOL", "MENTAL"]

No Values

Some data elements are "Conditional" or "Optional." This means they might not contain any values in the file. An example could include the Officer "height_pu_ids." The "height_pu_ids" field is "Conditional" and should be used to indicate the height of the officer as "PENDING" further investigation.

In the FBI example, the Height (Feet and Inches) is known. Therefore the "height_feet" and "height_inch" data elements contain values, while the "height_pu_ids" doesn't contain data.

Note: Depending on the data element type, unfilled values could be "" (Blank), "null," or contain empty brackets "[ ]."

Hopefully, this blog has been able to shed some light on the FBI Use of Force Submission Standards and will allow you to understand the information you are submitting!