Criminology Data and Statistics: Overview

The BJS is the federal source for data and statistics on U.S. crime, law enforcement, and corrections. See their latest data releases.

Hosted by ICPSR, sponsored by Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) all within the US Department of Justice. More than 3,000 curated datasets, including the major data products used to derive criminal justice statistics are archived here. Datasets may require statistical software (SPSS, Stata, R, SAS) for processing, but many datasets offer online analysis tools for data exploration. Datasets with sensitive information may be restricted, with documentation only available to the public.

The BJS compendium of tables in PDF or Excel format on the criminal justice system, crime, courts, public opinion, and more, 1994-2011. Available online in HeinOnline and other sources; also available in print (1977-2003). Although the no new Sourcebook will be issued, previous editions are still useful as a guide to BJS data sources.

A database that indexes statistical publications from international (1980-present), national (1973-present), state and local governments (1980-present), as well as some nongovernmental sources. Search filters include geography, agency, and data breakdowns. Fulltext for indexed publications is provided, mid-2000s to present. Older publications are reproduced in large microfiche sets : ASI (US national), SRI (US state, local; private), and IIS (international).

Publicly-available datasets on incidents reported to the Philadelphia Police Department, and more. Most large US cities have similar Open Data repositories.