Presidential Panel: The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice III: Taking Stock of Crime Statistics Since "The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society"

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract

The President's Commission recommended the creation of a "National Criminal Justice Statistics Center" in the Department of Justice that would have responsibility for, among other things, generating data characterizing criminal careers and the justice system response to crime. Established some ten years after the Commission's report, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) assumed many of the responsibilities of the recommended Center. This panel will look into 1) BJS's origins and statutory authorities and how they facilitated or impeded accomplishment of the Commissions's recommendations, 2) the challenges BJS faces in addressing its mission and in response to new sources of data, private sector competition, and priority setting given the breadth of its mission and scope of its resources; 3) the combined efforts of BJS and the FBI to modernize crime statistics by chartering a National Academies of Science panel to address information needs, gaps, methods and division of labor in our statistics programs; and 4) the relevance and utility of national crime statistics for local justice agencies. The Acting Director of BJS will serve as a discussant and present her views about possible pathways forward.

Sub Unit

• Area I: Presidential Sessions

Division of Special Interest

• Divisions of Special Interest / Division of Policing

Individual Presentations

• BJS's Origins and Authorities and the Crime Commission's Recommendations - Paul Wormeli, IJIS Institute

• Modernizing Crime Statistics: The Role of the NCVS and the UCR and Beyond - Janet Lauritsen, University of Missouri-St. Louis

• Challenges in Setting Priorities for a Small Federal Statistical Agency with a Broad Mission - William Sabol, Georgia State University

• On the Utility of National Crime Statistics for Local Law Enforcement - Michael C. Miller, Coral Gables Police Department

Chair

• William Sabol, Georgia State University

Discussant

• Jeri M. Mulrow, Bureau of Justice Statistics