NCJ Number
202322
Date Published
March 2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This report presents the welcoming and opening remarks as well as the proceedings for the second British Workshop on Crime and Justice Statistics, which was held in Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 14, 2003.
Abstract
The opening address cites some examples of the significant development of British government statistics on crime and criminal justice over the past 20 years and identifies four achievements made possible by the improvement and expansion of statistics on crime and criminal justice. The four achievements are an increase in the quantity and quality of comparative research in crime and criminal justice; increased effectiveness in the monitoring of the delivery of programs and policy as well as the management of criminal justice services; improved information about criminal justice processes that have helped to improve the fairness of the system in a pluralistic society; and more informed and open debate about policy. The workshop itself was divided into four sessions that addressed recent changes in the measurement of crime in the United Kingdom, integration of the criminal justice system, measurement of diversity within the criminal justice systems, and the international comparison of criminal justice statistics. Representatives from the three criminal justice systems within the United Kingdom (England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) summarized developments in their systems in the aforementioned areas. Reports and discussions on crime statistics focused on ways to standardize and improve the recording and accuracy of crime statistics in the three criminal justice systems. Regarding integration in criminal justice systems in the United Kingdom, the workshop heard a report on projects underway in both Northern Ireland and in Scotland to integrate the various criminal justice agencies' information systems. Among developments in England and Wales are the creation of a new Probation Index and a project to improve the quality of prison data. Also, a new statistical volume is to be produced to cover sentencing statistics and their impact. Discussion and reports on the measurement of diversity in the criminal justice systems considered ways in which policymakers can monitor any discrimination in criminal justice decisionmaking based on race/ethnicity. Discussion regarding international comparisons of criminal justice statistics noted that data on and analysis of contrast and trends among countries can give some sense of which governmental policies are effective in reducing and preventing crime. Examples are given of efforts to date to produce better comparative international statistics on crime and criminal justice.