In drug seizure situations, determining drug weight and type presents a problem in terms of time and logistics for most police officers. How precise do measurement and type determination have to be?
Determining the nature and extent of the illicit drug problem and the law enforcement response is one of NIBRS’ many objectives. However, NIBRS’ policy requires the seizing officer/agency to report only the “Suspected Drug Type” and “Estimated Quantity.” In 1991, the FBI modified the NIBRS’ procedures to give reporting agencies the option of entering code XX = Not Reported as an authorized data value for the drug quantity data element (p. 45). This modification gives reporting agencies time to send suspected substances to a laboratory for assessment before entering measurement data into the report. The XX code is for interim purposes only and must later be replaced with a specific measurement. The FBI conducts periodic computer checks to ensure that the XX codes appearing on incident reports are eventually replaced by a specific measurement code. UCR Handbook, NIBRS edition.
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