Roundtable: Challenges and Successes in Establishing Data Centers and Data Warehouses to Conduct Criminological and Criminal Justice Research

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

The establishment of criminal justice data centers and data warehouses, to enhance the availability of administrative records and data for research purposes, has grown dramatically in recent years. This Roundtable brings together individuals working on such efforts, which enhance the use of state and local administrative records, by developing projects (and even infrastructure) to allow for the recurring use and dissemination of data. The rationale for such efforts is rooted in the efficiency accomplished when records cleaned and transformed for research purposes, validated, and then even linked to other records, become useful in answering a variety of research questions, and/or available to a wider research community. Key logistical issues navigated in developing data centers and data warehouses will be discussed: negotiating IRB reviews and MOUs for non-traditional uses of data; establishing data archiving, dissemination, and security protocols in an age of heightened concerns about privacy; and, finally, developing research agendas and partnerships to secure on-going agency cooperation.

Sub Unit

• Area XIII: Roundtable Sessions

Chair

• James P. Lynch, University of Maryland

Discussants

• Randie C. Chance, Office of the Attorney General / California Department of Justice

• Gipsy Escobar, Measures for Justice

• Robert Hutchison, Measures for Justice

• Brad A. Myrstol, University of Alaska Anchorage

• Amy O'Hara, U.S. Census Bureau

• Jinney Smith, University of Maryland

• Don Stemen, Loyola University Chicago