NCJ Number
87939
Date Published
1981
Length
64 pages
Annotation
This final report describes the three primary tasks of the National Criminal Justice Data Archive project and provides an extensive listing of available data collections.
Abstract
The National Criminal Justice Data Archive project has three primary tasks, including the development of computer-readable archival resources, the provision of technical and substantive consultation services, and the conduct of training workshops and seminar sessions. The project's goal is to stimulate and support the use of quantitative materials in the study of crime and the criminal justice system and thereby raise the level of the quality of research and planning in this area. Archival resources are available to any interested criminal justice researcher, planner, or analyst, without regard to their location or institutional setting. With regard to each major project task, the Criminal Justice Archive and Information Network project focuses upon the processing and dissemination of computer-readable criminal justice data acquired from Federal agencies and individual investigators. Acquisitions are made upon the recommendation of a project steering committee. As of the end of the project period, there were 46 data sets or collections of data announced as available. As to the technical support and consultation activities, the project staff has been engaged in a number of exhibits of professional meetings where available archival resources have been exhibited and advertised. Staff members have attended the annual meetings of such organizations as the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Training activities have included the 1979 Summer Training Program, a 2-week Workshop on Archiving Criminal Justice Data and a 4-week Seminar on the Quantitative Analysis of Crime and Criminal Justice Problems. Descriptions of available data sets and conference participants are appended. (Author summary modified)