Omaha data left out by mistake

Omaha police officials say they are addressing reporting problems that for years have kept Omaha statistics out of the FBI's detailed homicide database.

“We believe this issue has been going on since the 1990s, but we're aware of it now and it will be corrected in the future,'' Deputy Chief Mary Newman said.

In addition to the statistics it compiles each year on crimes in cities and states, the FBI puts together the Supplemental Homicide Report. It includes details on murders, including age, sex and race of victims and offenders and types of weapons used.

Omaha police had significant problems in the early 1990s when it sought to computerize its crime statistics. While those problems were resolved, the statistics on homicides the department sent on to the state from that time forward did not include some information the FBI requires for the homicide data.

As a result, the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice did not forward the Omaha statistics on to the FBI.

The lack of Omaha data led to a recent national study severely under-ranking the level of black homicides in Nebraska.

In response to World-Herald inquiries, Omaha police officials talked to the crime commission last week about the issue and are making sure future submissions comply with FBI requirements.

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