NCJ Number
62458
Date Published
1979
Length
26 pages
Annotation
THIS PAPER DISCUSSES SOME POSSIBLE USES OF THE OFFENDER BASED TRANSACTION STATISTICS (OBTS) SEGMENT OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SYSTEM (CJIS) AND ASKS READERS FOR HELP IN ASSIGNING PRIORITIES.
Abstract
THE PROPOSED OBTS SYSTEM WILL USE INFORMATION DRAWN FROM THE COMPUTERIZED CRIMINAL HISTORY (CCH) SEGMENT OF THE CJIS AND DESIGN IT FOR ANALYSIS EMPLOYING AVAILABLE STATISTICAL SOFTWARE. OBTS CAN, THEREFORE, TRACK GROUPS THROUGH A NUMBER OF STEPS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND CAN COLLECT STANDARDIZED INFORMATION ON AN ANNUAL OR MORE FREQUENT) BASIS SO THAT CHANGES IN THE SYSTEM CAN BE MEASURED. THIS SHOULD RESULT IN AN IMPROVED UNDERSTANDING OF HOW UNITS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM FUNCTION OVER TIME. FOUR TYPES OF REPORTS CAN BE OBTAINED FROM OBTS: (1) DESCRIPTIONS OF THE FLOW OF INDIVIDUALS THROUGH THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM; (2) STATISTICS DESCRIBING INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS WHICH PROVIDE HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR STUDYING THE CAUSES OF CRIME, THE PROJECTION OF CRIME RATES, AND SPECIALIZED OFFENDER SERVICES; (3) MANAGEMENT INFORMATION REPORTS; AND (4) STUDIES EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TWO OR MORE VARIABLES OF INTEREST--FOR EXAMPLE, POSSIBLE DISCRIMINATION WITHIN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM ON THE BASIS OF RACE OR SEX. A COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM WOULD ALSO DECREASE THE TIME NEEDED FOR DATA COLLECTION AND PERMIT MORE FLEXIBLITY IN SAMPLE DESIGN SO THAT INFORMATION ON PERSONS THROUGHOUT THE STATE CAN BE OBTAINED AND SO THAT RARE EVENTS CAN BE EASILY STUDIED. OBTS CAN ALSO MAKE POSSIBLE LARGE SAMPLES, IMPROVEMENT IN DATA QUALITY ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS CHECKS, AND INCREASED RESEARCH SCOPE THROUGH THE ADDITION OF VARIABLES. A QUESTIONNAIRE IS ENCLOSED TO ELICIT READER INFORMATION ON THE MOST ESSENTIAL USES OF OBTS, AND AN APPENDIX OF VARIABLES IS ATTACHED.