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Web Sources of Criminal Justice Data
These are the major categories of Criminal Justice Data links:
General Sources for Criminal
Justice Data Sets
Online Data Analysis Links
General National Data Sources
International Data Sources
State and Local Agency Sites
Other Sites of Interest
NACJD: National
Archive of Criminal Justice Data
A vast collection of criminal justice related data files that may be downloaded
in SAS or SPSS format.
BJS: Bureau of
Justice Statistics
BJS offers access to a wide variety of reports and analyses of criminal justice
data.
UCR
Data: UCR County Data from Fisher Library-Virginia UT
The UCR data, as provided by the FBI, are not especially easy to use. The Fisher
Library at the University of Virginia provides fairly comprehensive access that
is easy to use.
UCR Data: Uniform
Crime Report
The FBI's online publication of the UCR, essentially the same as the printed
version. Reports are provided in pdf format from 1995 on. There are also documents
available about hate crimes, law enforcement casualties, and some information
about NIBRS. Because the data are provided in table format and as pdf documents,
the site is of limited utiity for research; however, most of the underlying
data are available elsewhere, say at NAJCD or the Fisher Library's GeoStat center
(see above).
In addition to UCR data you will find data from National
Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS).
NIBRS is gradually replacing the Uniform Crime Reports system albeit with very
slow progress. This ICPSR site provides an overview of the system. The data
are rich, promising and relatively unexploited for policy or research.
FedStats
You can find here statistics for every state of the US.
Crime
& Justice Data Online
Increasingly, crime data are avialable for analysis at online web sites. This
BJS site provides access to a variety of these sites.
National
Crime Victimization Survey, 1992-2005
An ongoing series of annual surveys that attempt to measure the extent of crime,
to include the "dark figure". This site gives access to NCVS data
and allows estimates of national rates of victimization based on the survey
results.
General
Social Survey, 1972 - 1996
For years, the National Opinion Research Center has conducted an annual survey
that is representation of the overall U.S. population. These survey data have
been a mainstay of sociological research for decades. Many opinion items are
included that relate to crime, justice and public safety. You can find patterns
between attitudes and experience with criminal justice issues and other social
and personal characteristics.
Statistical
Abstract of the United States - 2008 (online)
Published annually for many year, this Census Bureau volume provides extensive
comparative data by state, to include crime and justice data.
City
and County Data: City and County Data Book
A classic U.S. Census Bureau document published every few years that provides
an extensive series of data that allow comparisons and analysis of city and
county data. An online version by the Fisher Library at the University of Virginia
allows custom downloads of the data.
U.S. Sourcebook
of Criminal Justice Statistics
The Sourcebook is produced by the SUNY/Albany School of Criminal Justice. A
huge compendium of lots of data with a useful index. Data from the tables can
be further analyzed.
National
Criminal Justice Reference System - Statistics
This site does not provide raw data but data refined into tables on various
topics. The trick is to mine the data provided in the tables for your own research
questions.
U.S. Census
Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the online availability of vast
troves of data such as data from the U.S. Census. This site is a virtual candy
store of data!
U.S.
Census 2000 EEO Data Tool
This is an example of the extraordinary access to data that can be provided
when an agency puts its mind to it. Alas it also shows how agencies tend to
only serve a specific need. In this case, the purpose is to provide tables and
downloadable data geared to ethnicity and employment for the EEO. For example,
here you can find out how many, say, Asian and black police officers there are
by place but not how many female officers. By the way, this site is run with
SAS.
United
Nations: Statistics and Research Sources
A useful, if spotty, collection of international data, including criminal justice
and crime data.
BJS:
The World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems
This site is geared to country specific portraits of criminal justice systems.
However, comparative data can be harvested from this site with a bit of copying
and pasting.
European
Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics
An attempt to provide some comprehensive source of data on European criminal
justice.
EUROPOL
Europol is the European Law Enforcement Organisation which aims at improving
the effectiveness and co-operation of the competent authorities in the Member
States in preventing and combating terrorism, unlawful drug trafficking and
other serious forms of international organised crime.
World
Prison Brief
An interesting site by a British organization that monitors national prison
situations. A good example of how access to potentially useful comparative data
is complicated by the use fancy graphics.
Some National Sites for Crime Data:
Australia
Canada
China
Germany
France
Japan
Russia
South
Africa
Sweden
United
Kingdom
Criminal
Justice Statistics for New York State
The official web site for the state. Geared to getting location specific data.
New
York State Statistical Yearbook
A rare accounting of crime rates for New York City counties.
Mayor's
Management Report for NYC: My Neighborhood Statistics
Local New York City crime statistics are available through this annual publication.
NYPD:
New York City Crime Statistics
The data posted only stay online for a short time, but you can see very specific
weekly crime data by precinct.
Cambridge,
Mass: Annual & Quarterly Crime Reports
An examplary local police department web site that provides extensive crime
data.
South
Carolina Statistical Analysis Center: Statistical Publications
South Carolina was one of the earliest states to fully adopt NIBRS. Some of
the products of NIBRS are shown here.
London
Crime Statistics
A slick site that shows neighborhood crime statistics for London in the UK.
Transactional Records
Access Clearinghouse
A remarkable site run by TRAC, based at Syracuse University, that collects and
provides data that federal law enforcement agencies have traditionally avoided
sharing with the public.
Uniform
Crime Report -- State Index Offenses from 1960 - 2006
A handy source of 40+ years of state based index crime reports from the UCR
from a private site.
New
York State UCR Statistics from 1965 - 2006
The New York page of crime statistics from the above site (The Disaster Center).
Understanding
Crime Statistics: A Reporter's Guide
Useful site that attempts to provide journalists with a quick study of crime
statistics and the issues associated with using and interpreting them.