Criminal Justice Statistics: A Reference Guide
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
by Prof. Robert Grappone
Head of Public Services
1993

Statistics are an integral part of criminal justice research. However, locating the appropriate source for an elusive statistic can present a problem. This guide will list a number of statistical compilations and specific publications that will be useful for researchers in Corrections, Law Enforcement, and Crime. The use of the library's catalog, and other appropriate online sources will also be discussed.
 

STATISTICAL COMPILATIONS - CRIMINAL JUSTICE

      U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1973 -).  Sourcebook of criminal justice statistics.  Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing. Office.  Annual.  HV 6787 .A27

This annual handbook is the most comprehensive statistical source for all areas in criminal justice. The Sourcebook is divided into six major sections:

• Characteristics of the Criminal Justice Systems
• Public Attitudes Towards Crime and Criminal Justice
• Related Topics
• Nature and Distribution of Known Offenses
• Characteristics and Distribution of Persons Arrested
• Judicial Processing of Defendants
• Persons Under Correctional Supervision

It is important to note that the Sourcebook gathers together statistics that have already been published by other groups, including government agencies, research organizations, and various commercial publishers.  Therefore, it is likely that the statistics are always going to be slightly out of date. Since the source of the statistics is always clearly indicated, the researcher can go directly to the source for the latest edition. Check the "Sources and References" section for descriptions of each source used and CUNY+ for availability.

The Sourcebook also contains useful appendices which describe data collecting procedures and define terms for all areas covered. The detailed index and useful table of contents should be studied carefully for guidance in locating the correct tables.

      U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. (1930-).  Uniform crime reports. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual. HV 6787 .A3

The Uniform Crime Reports provides statistics for reported crimes in specific categories known as Index Crimes. The statistics are limited to data on murder,rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. Figures are given for every state, county, and city.  Arrest tables are nationwide only, but include information on percentages found guilty or acquitted, and characteristics of persons arrested.

The Uniform Crime Reports is probably the best source for information on the number of law enforcement personnel in the United States.  This includes all state police and campus police. For information on assaults on officers there is special publication, Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted
(HV 8143.L39).

The FBI also publishes a special bulletin, Bomb Summary (HV8059.U58a), which provides statistics concerning actual and attempted bombing incidents.

      U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1973-).  Criminal victimization in the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual. HV 6791.U56

In order to give a clearer picture of how crime affects Americans, the U.S. Department of Justice began to survey representative samples of the population in order to obtain statistics on persons who have been victims of crimes. The findings include measures of the amount of crime that U.S. residents experience, the characteristics of crime victims, the nature and circumstances of the crime incidents, the cost of crime, and many other factors. Since many of the crimes tabulated were unreported to law enforcement officials, these annual surveys offer fascinating studies into the nature of crime, criminals and victims.

There are also individual victimization studies for selected states and cities.  Check the section of this guide explaining the use of the library's on-line catalog for details on locating them.
 

STATISTICAL COMPILATIONS  - GENERAL

      U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1984 -). Statistical abstract of the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Annual. HA 202 .A5

This is the most comprehensive statistical reference published. It contains statistics gathered from hundreds of sources on all aspects of American life.  Section 5, Law Enforcement, Courts, and Prisons, has tables on crime and crime rates, drug arrests, courts, and prisons. For a listing of the original sources from which the statistics are compiled check Appendix I.

There is a companion volume, Historical Statistics of the United States - Colonial Times to 1970, (HA 202.B87), which gives limited corresponding statistics for earlier dates. Some criminal justice statistics go back as far as 1900.

      Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. (1977 -). New York State statistical yearbook. Albany, NY: CMS. Annual. HA 544 .A2

The main statistical compilation for New York State. Section H, Public Safety, Law Enforcement, and the Courts, contains tables dealing with arrests, offenses and correctional institutions.  Most statistics are compiled from the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Department of Correctional Services. Interesting tables include Pistol Licences Issued, Compensation Awards for Crime Victims, and a number of tables about fires and fire departments.

The Lloyd Sealy Library also collects statistical abstracts and yearbooks from a number of other individual states. These are also located in the HA 200 - HA 700 range in Reference.

      The Council of State Governments. (1967-). The Book of the states.  Lexington, KY: CSG. Annual. JK 2403 .B6

Limited statistical tables on criminal justice accompany essays on related topics.  Check both the Table of Contents and the Index to locate statistics on courts, corrections, and other topics.
 

USING THE CATALOG

There is a self-guided workbook available for first-time users of the John Jay on-line catalog, CUNY +. Ask for it at the reference desk.  The library catalogs hundreds of statistical collections and series. Some of the more useful will be listed in the next sections. However, browsing the catalog will produce some interesting results.

Subject Searching

The most general search phrasing will be:

                  S= Criminal Statistics--United States (or other locale)

For subject searches in narrower subject areas you must use 3 elements in your search:

1. the subject area
2. a place name
3. the term statistics

Examples:

     S=

• Corrections--United States--Statistics
• Juvenile Corrections--United States--Statistics
• Prisons--United States--Statistics
• Prisoners--United States--Statistics
• Probation--New York--Statistics
• Capital Punishment--United States--Statistics
• Recidivism--United States--Statistics
• Prison Sentences--United States--Statistics
• Correctional Institutions--New York--Statistics
• Juvenile Delinquents--Massachusetts--Statistics
• Victims of Crimes--Japan--Statistics
• Police--Canada--Statistics
• Law Enforcement--United States--Statistics

Keyword Searching

CUNY + can also be searched by using keyword. Keyword searching allows the user to combine concepts to locate relevant material. For example, try this type of keyword search:

                          K = drunk driving and statistics

                                         or

                             K = arrest and statistics

Keyword searching can also limit your findings to only John Jay entries. To do
this, simply add the abbreviation JJ to your search:

                         K = homicide and statistics and JJ

                   K = crime and California and statistics and JJ
 

STATISTICAL REPORTS, BULLETINS AND SERIES

The library receives a number of documents relating to statistics in criminal
justice. These range from short pamphlets to annual studies. Many include a
narrative section commenting on the data. The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, (BJS), publishes many of these special reports and on-going statistical series. Listed here are some of the most important publications of the Bureau and other private and government organizations.

For series holdings, the dates given are the issues which are currently owned by
the library. Most of the serials are continuing publications and will have newer
issues in the future. An important point to remember for all statistical
bulletins: it usually takes at least two years for the data to be in print. This
material will be found in the Reference Stacks on the library's second floor.
 

CORRECTIONS

      Prisons and Prisoners in the United States. (1992). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 8314 1992

This is both a summary of recent trends in corrections and a guide to many of the available publications of the BJS.

      Williams, Virgil L. (1979). Dictionary of American penology. Westport, CT: Greenwood. HV 9304 .W54

Appendix D of this text duplicates corrections statistics from the Sourcebook of
Criminal Justice Statistics - 1977. The bulk of the book discusses ideological
disputes in American penology, administrative and security problems in prison
systems, and rehabilitative approaches in corrections. There are individual
entries for some state prison systems and individual prisons, along with a
directory. A useful source, although more for its historical content.

Serials And Statistical Bulletins - Prisoners

      Prison admissions and releases. (1981-1983). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9471 .P73

      Prisoners in State and Federal Institutions. (1980-1990). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 8311 .P75

      National corrections reporting program. (1985-1988). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 8311 .A3183

Describes in detail the characteristics of persons admitted to and released from
the prison and parole systems in the United States.

      Statistical report. (1974 - 1986). Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons. HV 8311 .B86a

      Corrections yearbook. (1982, 1989, 1990). South Salem, NY: Criminal Justice Institute. HV 8482 .A24

A useful compendium for quick statistics in the field.

      Jail inmates. (1982 - 1991). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9471 .J33

       Census of local jails, 1988. (1991). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 8746 .U5 C46

      Capital punishment. (1980 - 1990). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 8311 .A3172

      Probation and parole. (1981 - 1990). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9304 .P748

      Tracking offenders. (1983 - 1988). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 6787 .T92

      AIDS in correctional facilities. (1986-1989). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice. *Circ. Stacks HV 8843 .H362

      Correctional populations in the United States. (1985 - 1990). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9465 .C67

Annual compilation for local, state, and federal prison populations. The most
comprehensive and convenient source for all prisoner statistics.

      Children in custody. (1985 - 1989). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. HV 9103 .C46c

Includes statistics and descriptive information on juvenile offenders and
rehabilitation programs.

Serials And Statistical Bulletins - Correctional Facilities, Systems, Aand Personnel

       Facilities - 1990. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons. HV 8311 .A22

      National jail and adult detention directory. (1979-1990). College Park, MD: American Correctional Association. HV 9463 .N3

Includes yearly statistics on staff, budgets, salaries, programs, admissions, etc.

      Vital statistics in corrections. (1984, 1986, 1991). College Park, MD: American Correctional Association. HV 8482 .A37

Compensation and benefits statistics for correctional personnel.

      Probation and parole directory. (1992/1994). College Park, MD: American Correctional Association. HV 9304 .P76

Detailed figures for all probation departments nationwide.

Documents And Special Reports

       Historical corrections statistics in the United States, 1850-1984. (1987). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 7415 .C34

Using information gathered by a number of federal agencies and private research
studies, this work presents summary and comparison tables on all aspects of
corrections for over 130 years. An invaluable source for researchers interested in such topics as the history of capital punishment, the rise of the juvenile
corrections system in the twentieth century, recidivism, parole, probation, prison
population, etc.

There are some less comprehensive reports which also cover historical issues in
corrections:

      State and federal prisoners, 1925-85. (1986). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9471 .M54

      Historical statistics on prisoners in state and federal institutions, 1925-86. (1988). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9471 .H57

      Race of prisoners admitted to state and federal institutions, 1926-86. (1991). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 7248 .L36

      Annual report of the New York State Commission of Corrections, 1896-1927 and 1952-1964. (some gaps). Albany, NY: N.Y. State Department of Corrections. HV 8352.A292

The following list of special reports notes the year the statistics are compiled
for in each title. Note the difference between the compiled year and publication
year. It is often a significant difference, and an important one for researchers
to consider. In most cases these will be the most recent statistics available.
However, since most of these reports are issued irregularly, a newer one might be available. Check CUNY + by Title (t =) for up to date information.

      Profile of state prison inmates, 1986. (1988). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9471 .I53

      Profile of felons convicted in state courts, 1986. (1990). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 6787 .P76

      Violent state prisoners and their victims. (1990). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 6787 .I66

      Time served in prison and on parole, 1984. (1988). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9471 .M542

      Sentencing and time served. (1987). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 7471 .S4

      The General effect of mandatory minimum prison terms. (1992). Washington, DC: Federal Judicial Center. HV 8713 .M45

An excellent study of federal sentencing implications.

      Drug enforcement and treatment in prisons, 1990. (1992). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 8836.5 .H37

      Drugs and jail inmates. (1989). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 8836.5 .D79

      Drug use and crime: State prison inmate survey, 1986. (1988). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 8836.5 .I56

      The Impact of declining drug arrests - 1991 prison population forecast. San Francisco, CA: National Council on Crime & Delinquency. HV 9471 .A96

      Survey of youth in custody. (1987). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9104. B39

      National juvenile custody trends, 1978-1989. (1992). Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice. HV 9104 .K748

      Juvenile justice trends, 1977-1987. (1990). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan School of Social Work. HV 9104 .S775

      Children in Custody, 1987. A Comparison of public and private juvenile custody facilities. (1991). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention. HV 9104 .O43

      Women in prison. (1991). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9471 .G74

      Women in jail, 1989. (1992). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 6046 .S64

      The Female offender. (1990). Rockville, MD: American Correctionanal Association. HV 9304 .A65

This publication provides a summary of three surveys conducted by the American Correctional Association's Task Force on the Female Offender. The statistics are compiled from surveys and interviews with adult and juvenile female offenders and prison administrators and personnel. The survey looks at prison conditions, in both local and state institutions, provides extensive profiles of the prisoners, and makes numerous recommendations.

      Population density in state prisons. (1987). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9471 .I53

      Population density in local jails, 1988. (1990). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 8746 .U5 I56

      Prison rule violators. (1990). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9471 .S82

      American prison riots, 1971-1984. (1985). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina. microfiche - AC1 .C7 CJD 1222

      The Prevalence of imprisonment. (1988). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 9469 .L26

      Recidivism of prisoners released in 1983. (1988). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 6049 .B328

      Recidivism of young parolees. (1987). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 6049 .B33

New York State Corrections Statistics

      1987 Data compendium. (1988). New York, NY: New York State Commission of Correction. HV 8482 .N7 D38

In addition to population figures of state and local facilities, this report
attempts to analyze complaints, grievances and all types of reportable incidents
regarding prisoners in New York State prisons and jails.

      New York State adult probationer characteristics and offense patterns, 1981 - 1986. (1988). Albany, NY: Division of Probation. HV 9305 .N7 N483

      Addicted to crime: Probation in New York City. (1989). New York, NY: Office of the Comptroller.

       Acquired immune deficiency syndrome: A Demographic profile of New York State inmate mortalities, 1981 - 1986. (1987). Albany, NY: New York State Commission of Correction.
 

CRIME AND CRIMINALS

As discussed on pages 1 and 2 of this bibliography, the most comprehensive
statistical sources are the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports and the Sourcebook of
Criminal Justice Statistics, published by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau
of Justice Statistics. The BJS also issues a number of special reports and
documents relating to specific issues in crime and victimization. Some of the more important of these reports are listed below:

• Handgun Crime Victims. (1990). HV 6250.3 .U5 R35
• Violent Crime Trends. (1987). HV 6787 .R36
• Violent Crime By Strangers and Non-Strangers. (1987). HV 6791 .T55
• Violent Crime in the United States. (1991). HV 6791 .V563
• The Crime of Rape. (1985). HV 6561 .K5
• Use of Weapons in Committing Crimes. (1986). HV 6791 .U73
• Black Victims. (1990). HV 6250.4 .E75 W45
• Elderly Victims. (1987). HV 6250.4 .A34
• Robbery Victims. (1987). HV 6250.3 .U5 H376
• Teenage Victims. (1986 & 1991). HV 6250.4 .Y68 T44
• Female Victims of Violent Crime. (1991). HV 6250.4 .W65 H37
• School Crime. (1991). HV 6250.4 .S78 B3
• The Seasonality of Crime Victimization. (1988). HV 6250.3 .U5 D63
• Crime Victimization in City, Suburban, and Rural Areas. (1992). HV 6250.3 .U5 B32
• Motor Vehicle Theft. (1988). HV 6658 .H374
• Drunk Driving. (1988 & 1992). KF 2231 .G74
• Household Burglary. (1985). HV 6658 .R36
• Preventing Domestic Violence Against Women. (1986). HQ 809.3 .U5 L36
• Crime Prevention Measures. (1986). HV 7431 .W458
• Drug Enforcement By Police and Sheriffs' Departments. (1990). HV 5825.R416
• Arrests of Youth. (1990). HV 9104 .S686
• Felony Sentences in State Courts. (1986 & 1988). KF 183 .F43
• Reporting Crimes to the Police. (1985). HV 6250.3 .U5 H375
• The Economic Cost of Crime To Victims. (1984). HV 6791 .S45
• Crime and the Nation's Households. (1990). HV 6250.3 U5 H68

There are many other sources for crime statistics, and CUNY + will lead you to
them. For example, the basic subject search s = criminal statistics yields over
2000 entries. See page 3 of this guide for hints on searching CUNY+.

One particularly interesting source for criminal justice statistics are police
department annual reports. The Lloyd Sealy Library receives a substantial number of official reports from police departments nationwide. These reports offer detailed statistics on crime and arrests in both large and small jurisdictions.

To see a list of these annual reports type the following commands in CUNY+ :

                            k = annual report and police

                                         or

                    k = annual report and police and new orleans
 

NEW YORK CRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS

      Crime and justice annual report. (1984 - 1991 annual). Albany, NY: New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. HV 7282 .A62

Gathers statistics from all local and state police agencies and provides extremly
detailed statistical analysis of and comparisons by county, city and municipality.
All felonies and misdemeanors are included. Special sections on arson, domestic
violence, arrests, felony processing, hazardous waste, insurance fraud, and law
enforcement agencies, make this annual publication an invaluable source for
tracing criminal justice trends in New York for the past 17 years.

      New York State violent felony processing sourcebook 1983-1987. (1989). Albany, NY:New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. HV 6793 .N5 R35

      Arrest rates and post-arrest processing of persons with prior felony convictions. (1989). Albany, NY: New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. HV 9955 .N7 G74

      Drugs, prosecuters, predicate felons, and prison beds: A Description of changes in felony arrests and felony case processing decisions in New York State, 1981-1989. Albany, NY: New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. HV 9955 .N7 D78

      Complaints and arrests. (1972 - 1992 semi-annual). New York, NY: New York City Police Department. HV 7597 .B32

Compiled by the New York City Police Department, this statistical report details crime in New York City by precinct. The report is issued every 6 months and breaks down all reported crimes and arrests into monthly segments with comparisons to the previous year.
 

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Once again it is important to point out the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports discussed earlier in this guide. Each annual volume contains a substantial section on law enforcement personnel. Also of relevance, is the library's collection of police department annual reports, described on page 10. Along with crime and arrest statistics, these reports will give employment data and many other statistics relating to the police officers and their performance of duties.

      The Municipal year book. (1954 - ). Washington, DC: International City Management Association. (annual). JS 344 .C5 A24

Although this series is known for its data on municipal governments, there is a
large section in each volume dedicated to police and fire department personnel and expenditures. These figures include salaries and budgetary information for city and county police departments.

      Mayor's management report. (1983 - ). New York: Office of the Mayor. (annual). JS 1234 .A1 M38

An annual report by the mayor to the City Council which describes performance of all New York City agencies. Each section includes data, explantion, and interpretation. There is a large section devoted to Criminal Justice, in particular: the Police Department, the Department of Correction, Department of Probation, and Department of Juvenile Justice.

      The Big six: Policing America's largest cities. (1991). Washington, DC: Police Foundation. HV 8138 .P37

Summary of a Police Foundation project which gathered comparative information on the New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, and Houston police departments.

The U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics provides a number of special reports relating to police and law enforcement agencies. The most comprehensive and current is the following:

      Law enforcement management and administrative statistics, 1990: Data for individual state and local agencies with 100 or more officers. (1992). Washington, DC: BJS. HV 8138 .L33

This is a very detailed compilation based on a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice. All aspects of police operations are included and accurate pictures of hundreds of police departments can be studied and compared easily. It is important to read the introduction which specifies the criteria for inclusion in the report. For instance, some of the less populated states do not sufficient personnel to have their local law enforcement agencies represented.

Other BJS documents include:

• Police Departments in Large Cities. (1987). HV 8138 .R386
• Profile of State & Local Law Enforcement Agencies. (1987). HV 8138.P75
• Sheriffs' Departments. (1990). HV 8138 .R387
   

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS

Locating statistics on crime and corrections in foreign countries requires the
same search steps as locating United States data.

Many countries publish an annual statistical abstract which like the Statistical
Abstract of the United States , includes figures on all aspects of national life.
The Lloyd Sealy Library has a very limited collection of these publications,
(Great Britain [HA 1122 .A33], Sweden [HA1523 .A5], Canada, [HA 744 .S81]), but other CUNY libraries and the larger public libraries will have many more. John Jay's library does have a special collection entitled Current National Statistical Compendiums, which is on microfiche,[AC 1 .C8 in microfiche drawers]. However, there are a few drawbacks to this collection. Many of the reports are in the language of the country being analyzed and not all the reports include criminal justice data. In addition, the library's collection only goes up to the mid 1980's.

CUNY + will help in finding collections of individual countries' criminal justice statistics. For example, try:

                           s=criminal statistics -- Japan

                          s=criminal statistics -- Africa

Special Reports

      International crime statistics. (1975-1991). Paris: International Criminal Police Organization. (biennial). HV 6208 .I57

INTERPOL has published this series for over 40 years and despite a number of
serious drawbacks, it remains the best compilation in the field. The statistics
are based on data collected by INTERPOL affiliated countries and often it is
sketchy or very incomplete. In addition much of the information is three or four
years old when published. The crime categories are often or undefined, for certain countries that group particular crimes together. Country comparisons, therefore, are very difficult to make.

These three brief reports offer reliable data and some interesting analysis:

      International crime rates. (1988). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. HV 7415 .K3

      Imprisonment in four countries. (1987). Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics (U.S., Canada, England, W. Germany). HV 8705 .L95

      Americans behind bars: A Comparison of international rates of incarceration. (1991and 1992). Washington, DC: Sentencing Project.

United Nations

The United Nations Criminal Justice Information Network (UNCJIN), is an electronic bulletin board and information service which is available on the Internet. The network has been growing steadily over the past few years and there are plans to make a great deal of information on international criminal justice issues available online.

At this time the most useful statistical source is the section on UN Criminal
Justice Country Profiles. A increasingly growing number of countries are
represented, and, along with a description of their justice system, provide
statistics on crime and arrests. The drawback is inconsistency. Many countries
have already put in extensive amounts of data, but others are very incomplete. The latest figures in all cases tend to be 1986, with a heavy emphasis on the 1970's. A reference librarian can log a use on to the Internet and this network at
selected terminals in the library.

Other Sources

       NCJRS Document Database. (1991 with annual updates). Fort Collins, CO: Optical Publishing. CD-ROM Workstations

The National Criminal Justice Reference Service is a federal agency dedicated tocollecting and disseminating information on all criminal justice issues. Their
extensive database is available on CD-ROM and includes bibliographic information and abstracts for thousands of documents, reports, case studies, etc. Many of the documents are available here at the Lloyd Sealy Library in hard copy or on microfiche. There are hundreds of statistical compilations listed and many more reports and research studies which rely heavily on interpretation on statistics. There is a one page handout near the workstations which explains the basic use of the system.

Justice Statistics Clearinghouse.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics provides a toll-free number for reponding to
statistical requests. The number is staffed from 8:30 A.M. to 8:00 P.M. EST,
weekdays. An information specialist will be able to provide an answer to a
specific question using the resources of the Bureau's files. For more detailed
questions referrals to other agencies or the appropriate publications will be
given. The number for the Justice Statistics Clearinghouse is 800-732-3277.


Questions or comments can be directed to Kathy Killoran.

Library | College | Research Guides