FDLE CJIS describes progress on incident‑based reporting (FIBERS) and statewide uniform arrest affidavit

Deputy Director Charles Murphy of FDLE’s CJIS division updated the Senate Appropriations Committee on the state’s transition from summary‑based crime reporting to incident‑based reporting (referred to in the hearing as “FIBERS”) and on a new uniform arrest affidavit (UAA) initiative.

Murphy said incident‑based reporting collects many more data elements — offender, victim and location details — than the older summary format and noted that, while participation is voluntary, 61% of Florida law‑enforcement agencies covering 74% of the population have adopted incident‑based reporting and submit data to the state repository.

Murphy described the UAA initiative as a standard set of data elements that local arrest affidavits should include and then electronically submit to FDLE, establishing consistent statewide inputs to the criminal‑justice process. He said the initiative is intended to build a foundation for information that can be used downstream by courts, prosecutors, defense counsel and researchers.

Senators asked about interoperability and access. Murphy confirmed that FCIC (Florida Crime Information Center) and NCIC (the national system) communicate and that certified officers performing criminal‑justice duties have access to the national data when appropriate. He said some local civil citation or parking units may be limited from federal searches because of their administrative role, but that FDLE certifies and provides agency access.

Murphy acknowledged vendors and local implementation differences are a major challenge. Different record‑management vendors, customized agency specifications and vendor setbacks cause staggered adoptions; FDLE said it is working with sheriff and police chiefs associations, providing technical assistance and tracking agency status weekly or monthly. FDLE also said it had limited state award funds to redistribute to agencies but could not fully meet all requests.

Murphy told the committee FDLE requires agencies to submit hate‑crime data monthly (including zero reports) under statute and that the department compiles and passes such information along to the attorney general’s office.

Committee members requested follow‑up on agency compliance counts and more details on which agencies have completed migration and which still require assistance.