Dialogue Between the Bureau of Justice Statistics and Key Criminal Justice Data Users

• NCJ Number: 234182
• Author(s): Lynn Addington, Ph.D.; Theodore Eisenberg, Ph.D.; Brian Forst, Ph.D.; Karen Heimer, Ph.D.
• Date Published: April 2011
• Length: 156 pages
• Agencies: BJS
• Publication Type: Conference Material

Annotation

This report contains four papers presented at the 2008 Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS') multidisciplinary workshop for professionals who use justice statistics as well as workshop discussions designed to provide feedback on how they use BJS statistical information and recommend ways for BJS to optimize the value of the data it collects and publishes.

Abstract

The paper entitled, "Current Issues in Victimization Research and the NCVS's Ability to Study Them," provides an overview of the current trends and issues in victimization research and considers how the NCVS (National Crime Victimization Survey) can address these issues. The second paper, entitled, "The Need for a National Civil Justice Survey of Incidence and Claiming Behavior," explores the desirability of and issues related to creating what the author calls a "national civil justice survey" (NCJS) analogous to the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The third paper, entitled, "Improving Police Effectiveness and Transparency: National Information Needs on Law Enforcement," considers what information BJS currently collects, organizes, and makes available about law enforcement operations and outcomes and then examines how it might improve on its current program. The fourth paper, entitled, "Understanding Violence Against Women Using the NCVS: What We Know and Where We Need to Go," focuses on what the NCVS has offered to the study of the victimization of females and how the parameters of the survey might be improved. Other proceedings of the workshop are also reported. They involved discussion panels of BJS staff and members of the justice and victim advocacy communities meeting to consider the aforementioned presentation papers. Workshop participants then commented on issues raised or posed questions for panel members.