Find Data to Diagnose Your Crime Problem

  

The Diagnostic Center’s defining characteristic is its process for identifying the true contributing factors to crime and mapping them to strategies and solutions that have demonstrated success in reducing crime. Implementation of evidence-based programs requires communities to (1) diagnose the problem and identify sources of data that illuminate strengths and challenges in the community, (2) identify and implement data-driven strategies and (3) assess the effectiveness of programs put in place during the engagement through data collection strategies. Data can be used to:

  • Diagnose the issue. A data-driven assessment examines factors contributing to the criminal justice, juvenile justice and victim services issue of concern.

  • Monitor and communicate program impact. Using data to demonstrate and quantify impact of evidence-based programs ensures leaders can report on measurable impact and results.

  • Build community support and collaboration. Data can help quantify the issue and its impact on the community, as well as help build consensus around the need and type of intervention strategies implemented.

  • Justify continued commitment of resources. Analyzing data to demonstrate and document program impact can help policymakers make informed decisions, particularly when resources are limited. Data can help policymakers continue to commit resources to invest in what works.

The following are resources your community can use to develop baseline data against which to measure the effectiveness of the programs put in place to reduce crime:

Data Source Description
Bureau of Justice Statistics A list of searchable databases of justice related statistical information
CrimeStat A spatial statistics program for the analysis of crime incident locations funded by grants from the National Institute of Justice to provide supplemental statistical tools to aid law enforcement agencies and criminal justice researchers in their crime mapping efforts. The program is Windows-based and interfaces with most desktop GIS programs
Database of State Activities and Research A searchable database containing information on state Statistical Analysis Centers’ (SAC) research, analyses, clearinghouse activities and other projects, as well as SAC reports and publications from 52 states and territories
ESRI Spatial Statistics Resources Spatial statistics and geographic information analysis tools that can help you analyze geographic distributions, identify statistically significant spatial outliers and clusters (hot spots) and assess broad geographic crime patterns and trends over time
Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports A list of searchable databases of crime statistics from local law enforcement agencies
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (University of Michigan) A federally funded resource created to facilitate research in criminal justice and criminology through the preservation, enhancement and sharing of computerized data resources; the production of original research based on archived data; and specialized training workshops in quantitative analysis of crime and justice data
National Criminal Justice Reference Service A federally funded resource offering justice and drug-related information to support research, policy and program development worldwide
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Statistical Briefing Book An online database that provides timely and reliable statistical answers to the most frequently asked questions from policymakers, the media and the general public, as well as data analysis and dissemination tools that give users quick and easy access to detailed statistics on a variety of juvenile justice topics
State Data Centers Network (partnership of the U.S. Census Bureau) A partnership between the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the island areas and the Census Bureau that was created to make data available locally to the public through a network of state agencies, universities, libraries and regional and local governments
United States Census A searchable database of 2010 U.S. census data
World Criminal Justice Library Network (Rutgers University) A list of crime statistics and other criminal justice reports published by agencies, institutes, or organizations across the United States and other countries
World Criminal Justice Library Network: Periodicals, Indexes and Databases (Rutgers University) A directory providing links to web-based scholarly journals and serial titles that offer access to the table of contents, abstracts and full text of relevant journals in criminal justice research in the United States and worldwide