Last Chance for
Animals (LCA)
September 2016
Go to FBITracksAnimalCruelty.com to learn whether your state law enforcement agencies report to NIBRS, and who to contact if they do not.
Finally, there will be a national, authoritative resource for animal cruelty information. LCA’s campaign is targeted at increasing participation from citizens and law enforcement for the database to succeed.
LCA’s campaign is targeted at increasing participation from citizens and law enforcement for the database to succeed.
On January 1, 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began
tracking crimes against animals via the National Incident-Based Reporting
System (NIBRS). Animal cruelty crimes are now listed in the database as
Group A offenses -- the same category as arson, rape and murder. This is the
first federal effort to track animal crimes, and it's a major step forward.
The NIBRS database will now include all animal cruelty cases investigated by
participating law enforcement, which will fall under four categories: gross
neglect, torture, organized abuse (such as dogfighting and cockfighting),
and sexual abuse (bestiality).
Finally, there will be a national, authoritative resource for animal cruelty
information. LCA’s campaign is targeted at increasing participation from
citizens and law enforcement for the database to succeed.
LCA has just launched the
FBITracksAnimalCruelty.com campaign to support
the FBI's effort to record all incidents of animal cruelty in the United
States -- and your help is needed!
The new campaign urges law enforcement agencies across the country to join
the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS), the only
national database that tracks crimes against animals. By tracking animal
cruelty, the FBI can identify patterns and prevent future crimes from
occurring.
The FBI began recording animal cruelty via the NIBRS system on January 1,
2016. Previously, animal crimes were simply listed as “other,” using the
outdated Summary Reporting System (SRS). In contrast, the NIBRS system
includes four categories of animal cruelty: gross neglect, torture,
organized abuse (such as dogfighting and cockfighting), and sexual abuse
(bestiality). Animal cruelty crimes are now listed in the database as Group
A offenses, which is the same category as arson, rape and murder.
Currently, just one-third of the country’s law enforcement agencies
participate in NIBRS, so most animal cruelty is not being tracked at a
federal level. Some of the most populous states in the U.S. -- including New
York, California and Florida -- do not participate in NIBRS at all.
“People who torture and kill animals are very prone to violence against
people if gone unchecked,” said LCA Founder and President Chris DeRose. “The
FBI database will help track down animal abusers before their behavior
worsens – but the system will only work if all law enforcement agencies
participate, which is what LCA is working to achieve.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
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