NCJ Number
149131
Date Published
1994
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This report summarizes the results of two surveys focusing on the efforts of various countries to acquire, process, and distribute crime prevention and criminal justice information.
Abstract
In all countries, the collection, collation, analysis, and dissemination of information appears essential to good governance. In both developed and developing countries, substantial differences exist in the arrangements designed to collect, collate, analyze, and disseminate data on crime and justice. These differences result in substantial differences in the quantity, quality, and availability of criminal justice information and in the extent to which the various criminal justice administrators can be held accountable. However, the availability of more powerful and cheaper computer equipment, together with developments in software, make the computerization of criminal justice systems worldwide an achievable goal. A data set from the fourth survey should be available sometime during the first half of 1994; the fifth survey will be sent out by the third quarter of 1994 and will cover 1990-93. Finally, at its third session, the Commission should discuss the strengthening of its capacity to assist this effort, set specific priorities for the processing of survey data, encourage governments and international organizations to share their experiences on measuring transnational crime and its impact on society, and suggest specific topics for the United Nations Criminal Justice Information Network (UNCJIN) Crime and Justice Letter.