UNODC Statistics Mission in
Bosnia & Herzegovina
International Statistics:
Advantages and Pitfalls
With funding from the
European Union
DEVELOPMENT OF MONITORING INSTRUMENTS FOR
JUDICIAL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT INSTITUTIONS IN
THE WESTERN BALKANS 2009-2011
Phase three – Training
Sessions 2-4, Monday
1. (10.45-11.45) Introduction: Main
problems and main sources
2. (11.45-12.45) Focus on specific data
collections
3. (After lunch 14.45- 16.00) Particular
focus on relevance of international
statistics in BiH, especially Eurostat
data.
Roles played by International
and other groups
There are 3 main roles played by International
Statistics on Crime and Justice:
1. Guidelines for collecting statistics and training
given in their presentation and use
2. Requests for statistics on crime and justice to be
sent to a central authority
3. Collections of Comparative statistics in various
aspects of Crime and Justice
I feel that your country’s needs and resources should
make use of International statistics but they should not
constrain your progress.
Importance of comparative
data
• Show governments where they need to
concentrate efforts
• Can give ideas for legal reform
• Show population where their country is
deficient in criminal justice
• Show where statistics infrastructure needs
development( including publications)
• Can compare resources put into criminal
justice
Pitfalls
• Countries have different legal systems
• They have different statistical systems, with
varying priorities and resources
• Detailed rules for counting make differences
in basic counts of crimes, cases, offenders,
migrant flows: UK has high violence figures.
• Comparative statistics are only the start of
any comparative investigation
• Proper studies need more research and legal
comparisons
UNODC Statistical initiatives
• UNODC is the United Nations Office on Drugs and
crime in Vienna, Austria.
• UNODC provides trend and policy analyses and
publicizes and disseminates data and information on
the global drug and crime scene.
• Analytical information about the global drug and
crime problems enables the international community
to identify drug and crime control priorities.
• It has a series of statistical initiatives, that can be
seen in summary on their web site at
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-andanalysis/index.html
UNODC Standards and recommendations
for crime statistics
UNODC has published three manuals for improving crime and
justice statistics:
1.
2.
3.
A manual for the development of a system of
criminal justice statistics
A manual on conducting victimization surveys
(together with UNECE)
A manual for the measurement of juvenile justice
indicators (together with UNICEF)
Each of these is the result of input by expert statisticians from
Many countries who have between them many years’ experience
of collecting data on crime and justice statistics. Thus they
represent the best available knowledge about how to achieve
good measure of what is going on in crime and justice area.
UNODC manual for the development of a
system of criminal justice statistics
This can be downloaded in English ( 161 Pages) or French from
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/publication/SeriesF/SeriesF_89E.pdf
It contains sections on:
•
Purposes and requirements of criminal justice statistics
•
Organizational models
•
Scope and content
•
Data collection
•
Processing statistics
•
Analyzing, evaluating and disseminating statistics
•
The role of victimization surveys
•
International collections
It is valuable document for reference and gives many ideas for good
practice. However, it does not address the significant problem of how to
develop a statistics system, for crime and justice in conditions of
financial stringency
UNODC Manual for victimisation
surveys
The most recent version (231 pages long) can be found in English and
French at http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Crimestatistics/Manual_on_Victimization_surveys_2009_web.pdf
It contains sections on:
1.
Introduction to surveys
2.
Planning a victimization survey
3.
Methodological issues
4.
Counting offences and victims
5.
Questionnaire design
6.
Interviewing
7.
Data processing, estimation and analysis
8.
Ethical considerations
9.
Data dissemination and documentation
10. Evaluating completed surveys
It also covers business surveys and corruption issues
UN Statistics work in specific
regions
• UNODC runs a CARDS programme to assist
countries in transition in SE Europe to improve their
statistics on crime and justice
• This covers countries such as Kosovo, Bosnia &
Herzegovina, Albania, FYROM, & Montenegro
• More details can be found on the UNODC web site at
http://www.unodc.org/southeasterneurope/en/cardsphase-1.html
• First research into what was needed was carried out.
Then guidelines were produced., Finally training is
being delivered through country visits by statistical
experts.
• UNODC runs a ‘Data for Africa’ Programme giving
statistical training, grants for surveys and guidance
World Bank – GDDS Summary
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
From 2004 - 2010 the World Bank ran a programme of
assistance to English-speaking countries in Africa, called the
General Data Dissemination System (GDDS), of which Crime,
Justice and Security was a part.
This involved workshops, visits by statistical and IT experts,
reports on progress and recommendations for the future.
Its aim was to improve the collection, presentation and use of
statistics on crime and justice.
Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles and Tanzania
A summary of the final conclusions of this exercise can be
found on the web site
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SCBEXTERNAL/Resource
s/REPORT_Justice_Security_Closing_workshop.pdf
GDDS Outputs
•
GDDS Phase II produced a large number of materials, These
included reports on the statistical situation in each of the
countries: Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles and Tanzania, as well
as to Namibia, which partly completed the programme.
•
There are also reports of workshops and other material of
use to other countries interested in developing their work on
Crime and justice statistics. All these materials can be found
on The World bank web site at:
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATAST
ATISTICS/SCBEXTERNAL/0,,contentMDK:21723005~pa
gePK:229544~piPK:229605~theSitePK:239427,00.html
Bilateral arrangements
• These are when one country helps another with its
statistical development
• UK is helping Abu Dhabi, a very rich Gulf State to
develop its crime and justice statistics.
• Abu Dhabi has modern IT and infrastructure but no
tradition of collecting statistics or using them for
policy development or operations.
• Crime is a feature of an unusual demographic
situation (85% of the population are non-citizens)
• Project is situated within a more general police
training facility.
Requests for crime statistics from
international and other agencies
The main organisations that request data on crime and justice
from time to time are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
UN Survey on Crime Trends, which is conducted every three
or four years and is now on its 10th sweep
The Collection of Data for around 40+ countries of Europe by
the team producing the European Sourcebook on Crime and
Justice Statistics. This is produced every three or four years
and is now on its fourth sweep.
The collection of victimization data through the International
Crime Victimization Survey. This has been conducted four
times an various intervals since 1990.
Eurostat collects data on police recorded crime and prison
statistics
The next slides look at each of these collections one by one.
United Nations Survey
on Crime Trends
• Collects data on the incidence of reported crime and
the operations of criminal justice systems
• An EXCEL questionnaire is sent to each country
each time asking for information on crime, police,
prosecution, courts, probation and prisons.
• Copies of the questionnaire for the 11th sweep of the
survey are available at:
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-andanalysis/crime_survey_eleventh.html
• The core questionnaire is contained on 11 sheets (7
police, 1 prosecution, 1 courts, 2 prisons)
• 4 worksheets are rotated every 3 years on
Trafficking, Corruption and Sentencing and there is a
sheet on illicit trafficking in cultural property.
European Sourcebook on Crime
and Justice Statistics.
• The European Sourcebook includes data on crime
and justice for 40-45 countries, including the EU and
also countries in S and E Europe such as BiH.
• It also includes a good deal of explanations about
definitions and statistical procedures which clarify
the statistics included in the report.
• A questionnaire is produced in English/French and
sent to a national correspondent in each European
countries: usually associated with the justice
ministries and not the CSO.
• Details of methodology and data collected are at:
http://www.europeansourcebook.org/
International Crime Victimization
Survey (ICVS)
• The ICVS is a survey of victimization in different countries. It is
less formal than many other surveys and tends to be carried
out by a loose grouping of experts in survey data collection
from mainly North European countries.
• However, countries from all over the world have taken part,
depending on whether they have resources available.
• A questionnaire is designed that can be used by all states
participating in the survey: methodologies are also prescribed,
although not all countries can keep to the recommended
methodology exactly
• Countries are asked to survey a relatively small number of
potential victims, perhaps 1,000+ to ask their experience of
crime over the last 12 months.
ICVS (Continued)
Details of the most recent survey, which was the fifth sweep of the
survey, can be found at http://english.wodc.nl/onderzoeksdatabase/icvs2005-survey.aspx?cp=45&cs=6796
The following victimisation is covered:
1. Any common crime
2. Vehicle related crimes
3. Burglary and other theft
4. Contact crimes
5. Non-conventional crimes
Trends and Comparisons with recorded crime are also covered as are
methodological issues. Information is also published on
1. Fear of crime
2. Security precautions
3. Public attitudes to law enforcement
EuroStat Data collection
• Data collected from statistical experts nominated by
the Directors of Social Statistics (mainly from
National Statistical Offices)
Coverage
• EU-27:
• Candidates: Potential Candidates:
– AL, BiH, ME, RS, XZ
• EFTA/EEA: IS, LI, NO, CH
• Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Russian
• Federation, USA, South Africa
Details of collection
• Data requested from national experts
annually in November
• Data collected for previous calendar year
• Deadline for returns - 1 month
• Data available within 2 months of
collection
• Report published 2 month after deadline
EuroStat definitions
of crime types
•
•
•
•
Total crime: Offences against the penal code or criminal code. Less
serious crimes (misdemeanours) are generally excluded.
Homicide: Intentional killing of a person, including murder,
manslaughter, euthanasia and infanticide. Causing death by
dangerous driving is excluded, as are abortion and help with suicide.
Attempted (uncompleted) homicide is also excluded. Unlike other
offences, the counting unit for homicide is normally the victim.
Violent crime/Assault: Violence against the person (such as physical
assault), robbery (stealing by force or by threat of force), and sexual
offences (including rape and sexual assault).
Robbery: Stealing from a person with force or threat of force,
including muggings (bag snatching) and theft with violence.
Pickpocketing, extortion and blackmailing are generally not included.
EuroStat definitions
of crime types II
• Burglary Gaining access to a dwelling by the use of
force to steal goods.
• Motor vehicle theft: Includes all land vehicles with an
engine that run on the road which are used to carry
people (including cars, motor cycles, buses, lorries,
construction and agricultural vehicles)
• Drug Trafficking: Illegal possession, cultivation,
production, supplying, transportation, importing,
exporting, financing etc. of drug operations not
solely in connection with personal use.
Other data collected
by Eurostat
• Police numbers: All ranks of police officers including criminal
police, traffic police, border police, gendarmerie, uniformed
police, city guard, municipal police. Do not include civilian
staff, customs officers, tax, military and secret service police,
part-time officers, special duty police reserves, cadets, and
court police.
• Prison Numbers: Total number of adult and juvenile prisoners
(including pre-trial detainees) at 1 September. Including
offenders held in Prison Administration facilities, other
facilities, juvenile offenders' institutions, drug addicts'
institutions and psychiatric or other hospitals. Excluding noncriminal prisoners held for administrative purposes (for
example, people held pending investigation into their
immigration status).
Collections of Internationally
comparable statistics
A constant series of questions always being asked
is how an individual country compares with others
in the area of crime and justice:
1.
Is homicide higher?
2.
How many robberies were there ?
3.
How many rapes were there?
4.
What is the extent of corruption?
5.
Are there enough police in a particular country?
6.
How many people are in prison?
The next few slides summarize data that is routinely
available for the use of governments, businessmen and
international organisations.
World Prison Brief
The World Prison Brief is an initiative of an academic
institution, The International Centre for Prison Studies
of the University of London, UK.
• The material is found at the World Prison Brief web site:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icps/worldbrief/
• Information is obtained on the main prison indicators from
contacts, mainly in the prison service of the individual
countries.
• The data are presented in a straightforward way so that they
are easily readable. The typical output for an individual country
can be found (for Tanzania) at
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icps/worldbrief/wpb_c
ountry.php?country=48
• The material has a wide coverage with almost every country in
the world responding to the questions.
UN Crime Trends Survey
• The collection of data for this survey was mentioned
in Slides 16 and 17. Material is published in EXCEL
format for each sweep of the survey on:
• http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-andanalysis/crimedata.html
• Not all countries respond to the questionnaire so the
results are sometimes selective. However, for those
countries that do respond data are easily available
and countries that have not responded are identified.
• Occasional research reports in a more readable
format are produced: eg see the Global Report on
Crime and Justice at:
• http://www.uncjin.org/Special/GlobalReport.html
UNODC publications
There are four specific publications series on statistics and
related issues from the UNODC:
1.
The series of victimization surveys that have been conducted
for certain African countries. These can be downloaded free
from: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-andanalysis/Data-for-Africa-publications.html
2.
Specific studies of Drugs and crime which can be
downloaded free from http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/dataand-analysis/Studies-on-Drugs-andCrime.html?ref=menuside
3.
A comprehensive data base of data on drug seizures in all
reporting countries that can be downloaded free from:
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/ResearchDatabase.html?ref=menuside
4.
Studies of global crime issues: eg recent report on global
organised crime that can be downloaded free from:
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2010/June/internati
onal-criminal-markets-have-become-major-centres-of-powerunodc-report-shows.html?ref=fs0
Eurostat publications
• An annual bulletin on European crime statistics is at:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/
KS-SF-08-019/EN/KS-SF-08-019-EN.PDF
Homicide data for
SE European countries
UNODC Statistics Mission in
Bosnia & Herzegovina
International Statistics:
Advantages and Pitfalls
With funding from the
European Union
DEVELOPMENT OF MONITORING INSTRUMENTS FOR
JUDICIAL AND LAW ENFORCEMENT INSTITUTIONS IN
THE WESTERN BALKANS 2009-2011
Phase three – Training