Green River LibGuides: CJ 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice: Find CJ Statistics & Organizations Online

Criminal Justice Statistics

There are many web sites devoted to criminal justice, prison reform, restorative justice, alternative sentencing, youth rights, sentencing disparity, racial profiling and much more.

Be sure to assess:

Is the information reliable?
Who is publishing it - and why?

The sites below provides statistics and other data on crime and criminal justice in the United States:

U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) An easy to use site with a wealth of criminal justice statistics.
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics The Sourcebook contains statistics in the following areas: Criminal Justice Characteristics, Public Opinion, "Crime,Victims", "Arrests, Seizures", "Courts, Prosecution, Sentencing", and "Parole, Jails, Prisons, Death Penalty.
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data The Archive has data on many different criminal justice issues.
Federal Bureau of Investigation: Uniform Crime Reports Produced from data provided by nearly 17,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States. Other annual publications, such as Hate Crime Statistics and Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted address specialized facets of crime such as hate crime or the murder and assaults of law enforcement officers respectively.
Federal Justice Statistics Database Comprehensive information describing suspects and defendants processed in the Federal criminal justice system. The FJSP database is constructed from data files provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Provides information on the organizational structure of the Bureau, its budget and annual reports with links to the BJS as well as other government sites. Also provides information on prisons and parole, victims of crime and civil rights.
CrimeStats Online Access to the Washington State Criminal Justice Data Book.
Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission The Sentencing Guidelines Commission derives its authority from the Sentencing Reform Act of 1981, which directs the Commission to evaluate and monitor adult and juvenile sentencing policies and practices, recommend modifications to the Governor and the Legislature and serve as a clearinghouse and information center on adult and juvenile sentencing.
Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs
Crime statistics and data sets for Washington State

Criminal Justice Advocacy Organizations

Search the Web for non-profit organizations devoted to criminal justice advocacy and work.

Look up organization on the web (wikipedia works for this!) to learn about their missions and point of view and to help you understand their agenda.

NAACP: Criminal Justice
"The NAACP advocates for smarter, results-based criminal justice policies to keep our communities safe, including treatment for addiction and mental health problems, judicial discretion in sentencing, and an end to racial disparities at all levels of the system.
The United States is home to the world’s largest prison population. As “tough on crime” laws have put an unprecedented number of non-violent offenders behind bars in recent years, our neighborhoods feel no more secure."
The Innocence Project
"The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck at Cardozo School of Law, exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice."
Center for American Progress: Criminal Justice
"The Center for American Progress is an independent nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans, through bold, progressive ideas, as well as strong leadership and concerted action. Our aim is not just to change the conversation, but to change the country."
National Center for Victims of Crime
"The National Center for Victims of Crime is a nonprofit organization that advocates for victims' rights, trains professionals who work with victims, and serves as a trusted source of information on victims' issues."
Equal Justice Initiative
The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.
If Project
The IF Project is a collaboration of law enforcement, current and previously incarcerated adults and community partners focused on intervention, prevention and reduction in incarceration and recidivism. Our work is built upon–and inspired by–people sharing their personal experiences surrounding the issues of incarceration.

Find additional organizations online that are working on criminal justice issues.

Search criminal justice site:.org

Websites

But is it a good web site?

How can you determine if you have a "good" web site?

Think critically! Don't just take the first result in Google! Think about the following:

AUTHORITY and ACCURACY

Who publishes the website? Is this a well-known or respected institution?
Is there contact information for authors of the website content? What is their background or credentials?
Is it a commercial site (.com), a government site (.gov), an educational site (.edu), a non-profit or other organization (.org)? How does this affect the information presented?
Do other reliable sites link to this one?
Are facts, ideas or references credible and backed up by citations to the original sources?

PURPOSE and OBJECTIVITY

What is the purpose of this site: to sell, inform, entertain or persuade?
Who sponsors this website? What is their agenda or goal? Look them up!

For what audience is this site written?

Is there an explicit or hidden bias behind the information presented? Do a web search of the publication and author to learn more!

Is there advertising on the site? Does this influence information found on the site?

Are arguments well-reasoned and supported?

CURRENCY

Is the information on the page up-to-date?
Is the page updated regularly?
Are there dead links?

CJ 101 Introduction to Criminal Justice