Criminal Justice Research Statistics

Not too long ago the typical sources for statistics on a specific topic were those cited in books or journal articles on that topic. Sometimes the authors presented statistics gathered as a result of their own research while at other times they provided statistics gleaned from other sources. Because of the time involved in getting books and articles to press, it was not unusual for students especially to rely on what were often dated statistics.

Today there is less justification for term papers and other research projects to use anything other than the most current data on particular topics. Instead on relying on the national murder or rape rate provided in your three-year-old text book or a five-year-old journal article, go directly to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report online and get the most current data. Get crime and prison statistics directly from another country's government page. See what data are gathered about firearms from groups and organizations on every side of the issue. The list is obviously endless and that means that whether you are gathering supplementary statistics in conjunction with your own original research or are simply providing a research paper on a particular topic, you likely have direct access to statistics that are more current than any you could find in an already published source.

United States Statistics

• American Demographics
• Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
• Bureau of Justice Assistance A component of NCJRS, many of its reports are available here online
• Bureau of Justice Statistics Provides statistics on subjects like capital punishment, drugs, crime rates, and prison
• College and University Crime Statistics
• Court TV Library
• Mapping and Analysis for Public Safety (MAPS)
• Crime Statistics Site
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Lists many prison statistics under its "Quick Facts" section
• Federal Statistics The Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy maintains this site to provide easy access to the full range of statistics and information produced by U.S. federal government agencies for public use
• Inter-Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)  Provides access to the world's largest archive of social science data
• NCJRS - Statistics Publications and links
• Justice Research and Statistics Association
• Legal Information Institute Page
• National Archive of Criminal Justice Data  A collection of over 500 data sets which can be browsed and downloaded
• National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service
• National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
• National Rifle Association (NRA)
• Partnerships Against Violence (Pavnet)
• Prison Privatization Research Site
• Rand Corporation
• Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
• Sentencing Project
• Social Science Information Gateway
• Social Statistics Briefing Room  Provides easy access to current Federal social statistics
• Statistical Abstract of the United States  Selected statistical information available online from the Census Bureau
• Statistical Resources on the Web Whatever kind of data you need, there's probably a link to it at this site
• The Right Site Demographic reference and site selection service on the Web
• TRAC (Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse) FBI Web SiteComprehensive independent, and nonpartisan information about FBI
• U.S. Census Bureau  A wide variety of statistics and demographic information about the US
• Vera Institute of Justice Vera's pioneering projects and research in criminal justice and social reform have provided practical solutions to urgent problems

Statistics for Other Countries

• Europe: Statistical Office of the European Communities
• Global Bibliography of Prison Systems
• InfoNation Statistics from the United Nations on 185 countries
• International Justice Statistics
• UK National Statistics