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Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: The FBI this year prepares to collect data on animal cruelty crimes through its National Incident-Based Reporting System, or NIBRS. I’m Mollie Halpern of the Bureau with FBI, This Week.

NIBRS is a collection of detailed crime statistics that law enforcement agencies from across the country provide to the FBI. Unit Chief Amy Blasher says the Bureau partnered with the National Sheriffs' Association and the Animal Welfare Institute to make the change...

Amy Blasher: They believe that animal cruelty was an early indicator of violent crime, and that’s really what led the discussions with our law enforcement partners throughout the country.

Halpern: The FBI will collect data on four types of animal abuse...

Blasher: Examples of which would be organized abuse, which would include dog fighting and cock fighting, and animal sexual abuse.

Halpern: Implementing the change is a year-long process.

Blasher:  We do a lot of outreach to our partners so they understand the change and how they can ready their systems to collect the data.

Halpern: Data collection will begin in 2016 and will be available to the public the following year.

Related information:

Story - Tracking Animal Cruelty