Police Chief Eric Sims told the Lebanon City Council that the department implemented a new Tyler Technologies records‑management system and switched crime reporting from UCR to the National Incident‑Based Reporting System (NIBRS) on Feb. 1, 2025. The change, Sims said, offers more detailed incident data and enables regional record sharing with neighboring agencies.

The change came as part of a broader technology upgrade the chief said was funded in part by ARPA and city resources. "We went live with it 02/01/2025," Sims said, and described the system as initially difficult to learn but now an "asset" that produces charts, heat maps and zone‑based reports the department can use for patrol planning.

Sims said NIBRS reports multiple offenses per incident rather than using the old UCR "hierarchy rule," which can make some categories show modest increases in reported incidents. "It's not because the crime rate is going up or there's more crimes occurring. It's just the manner in which they're being reported," he said, adding that violent‑crime figures under NIBRS were on average less than 1% higher than UCR and property categories were slightly higher (roughly 2–3%).

The chief gave staffing and outreach updates: the department added four officers in 2025 and continues active recruiting; he described cooperation with North Cornwall Township and the newly formed Lebanon County Regional database to share person and vehicle records. Sims also highlighted community engagement through CrimeWatch, noting the department's web traffic (the chief cited roughly 143,770 visits for the first half of the year and said that, while lower than last year's 206,000 figure, the site remains highly ranked among Pennsylvania agencies).

Sims described an operational change: an animal drop‑off authorization form developed with the Humane Society to avoid the city being charged for animals found outside city limits and to verify drop‑off circumstances. He also described typical park and school outreach (National Night Out, Trunk or Treat, Big Brother Big Sister activities).

Council members asked about historical comparisons and whether NIBRS will be required statewide; Sims said direct comparison with earlier UCR data is difficult and that statewide adoption is the goal but not yet universal (he cited that about 11% of Pennsylvania agencies were reporting to NIBRS at the time of his remarks). He said certification was required before the city could submit NIBRS data.

The chief closed by urging residents to bring questionable parking tickets to the department for review and thanking the council for time to explain the reporting changes. The council did not take a formal action on the presentation; it invited the public to review an explanatory video and documentation the department would share by email.