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Statistical Analysis In Criminal Justice Research

Article · January 2016

DOI: 10.4172/2169-0170.1000203

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Journal of Civil & Legal Sciences
DOI: 10.4172/2169-0170.1000203

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ISSN: 2169-0170

Perspective OMICS International

Statistical Analysis In Criminal Justice Research

Jeaneth Michelle Labis Balaba*
University of the City of Manila, Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines

Abstract
The use of statistics and statistical analysis on crime and criminal justice is critical in order for governments to be
effective in implementing anti-crime programs and protect the well-being of the population and assess the social impact
of public expenditures and policies. In an increasingly globalized and interconnected world, in the age of cybercrimes
even, the collection of reliable and comprehensive criminal justice statistics cannot be understated. Countries collect
huge amount of data pertaining to crimes, criminal profiles and related socio-economic, political and geographic profile
of different communities and the country as a whole in order to sustain its respective criminal justice system. In many
cases, the governments undertake extensive research using quantitative or qualitative techniques or both in order to
generate the data. During the research process, statistical analysis is required to transform all these data into useful
information for effective criminal justice decision-making as well as policy research.

Keywords: Statistics; Criminal justice and specialized institutions for juvenile delinquents, sex offenders,
the criminally insane, alcoholics and drug abusers. This component
Introduction also includes probation and parole agencies, a variety of community
The study of statistics involves the extensive use of numbers and treatment centers and privately-contracted halfway houses.
information meant to describe a situation or derive a logical inference or The non-custodial component of criminal justice systems is the
conclusion from analyzing both numerical figures and non-numerical least documented and varies from country to country. It includes a
facts. Statistics broadly refers to a range of techniques and procedures wide range of non-custodial dispositions, activities and facilities such
for analyzing, interpreting, displaying and making decisions based on as fines and fine programs, community alternatives to incarceration,
data. Statistics may either be descriptive or inferential. The explosion treatment programs and community service orders.
of available data made possible by technology advances has resulted
in a great need to make sense of all data collection, thus statistical Scope of Criminal Justice Statistics
analysis has never been more important. Today, data mining is being Statistical data in criminal justice are gathered to answer questions
undertaken across many fields and organizations and statistical analysis and often data is collected during the crime investigation process. In
becomes indispensable in order to convert all the data into information
defining the scope of criminal justice statistics, it is important to know
that will be useful in a variety of ways. In addition, information systems
who the past and present users are and for what purpose the data will
of organizations rely on good statistics so that users are able to rely
be used. The questions may also deal with who submits the data, who
on the information they generate for a variety of purposes including
receives the data, what data is submitted and in what form and at what
planning and decision-making.
interval. In considering the criminal justice statistics system by itself,
Description of the Criminal Justice System there is also a need to consider what critical policy issues should be
included in the formulation of any program to improve it.
According to a United Nations document, the development of
criminal justice statistics is closely tied to the operations of the criminal The same UN document discloses that an analysis of the
justice system itself. Generally, this system is composed of five major requirements for a good justice statistics program might look into the
justice components: police, prosecutors, courts, prisons and non- following concerns as a starting point:
custodial measures. There are sub-components to each of the major
(a) Incidence of crime (seriousness, trends, structure, others)
criminal justice branches that all make up a complex network of
agencies concerned with crime, criminals and victims. (b) Profile of offenders and their characteristics
The police component is made up of national, state, regional and/ (c) Workload of the system (crimes, arrests, dispositions, offenders
or local police units tasked mainly with maintaining domestic peace under supervision)
and order. There may also be specialized police agencies that handle (d) Offenders and cases moving through the system
specific crime-related issues like traffic, executive protection, tax
violations, drugs or environmental crimes.
The prosecutor component is composed of public prosecutors in *Corresponding author: Jeaneth Michelle Labis Balaba, University of the City of
Manila, Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines, Tel: (+63 2) 527-7941 to 48;
various levels of government, public defenders or private legal defense E-mail: [email protected]
systems [1].
Received May 10, 2016; Accepted August 01, 2016; Published August 10, 2016
The court component comprises of local courts with limited Citation: Balaba JML (2016) Statistical Analysis In Criminal Justice Research. J
jurisdiction to general trial courts, appellate courts and courts with Civil Legal Sci 5: 203. doi: 10.4172/2169-0170.1000203
specialized jurisdictions like tax courts and juvenile courts. Copyright: © 2016 Balaba JML. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
The prison component is comprised of the penal system institutions use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and
like the jails for pre-trial detainees and prisons for post-trial detainees source are credited.

J Civil Legal Sci, an open access journal Volume 5 • Issue 5 • 1000203

ISSN: 2169-0170
Citation: Balaba JML (2016) Statistical Analysis In Criminal Justice Research. J Civil Legal Sci 5: 203. doi: 10.4172/2169-0170.1000203

(e) Recidivism identification of alternative procedures for attaining a future goal.

An example would be a court administrator who wants to reduce
(f) Characteristics of victims
case processing time or develop a more efficient way to produce trial
(g) Resources expended (human and fiscal) transcripts. Another example would be a prison administrator who
wants to develop a better classification system for the allocation of
(h) Crime correlates like economic, demographic and other data
resources to identified requirements and objectives.
(i) Social and economic cost of crime
The general planning process will consider many steps to include
(j) Citizens attitudes towards and concerns about crime and (1) analysis of the situation and identifying the problem, (2) setting out
criminal justice a clear statement of the objective or goal, (3) identifying and assessing
alternative courses of action, (3) establishing the criteria for selecting
The consideration of underlying questions with regard to these the best approach, (4) implementing the programmed plan of action
starting points may very well lead to an exhaustive description of the and (5) adopting a system of evaluation of the plan’s implementation.
scope and concern of criminal justice statistics and most importantly Each of these planning steps requires information that sound statistical
its analysis. Data must be transformed into information in order to analysis can produce. All planning exercises will be futile without
be truly useful and practical. In this paper, we discuss the influence of substantial and sound historical information and a sense of perspective
statistical analysis on criminal justice research and the role of research that research can bring to the planning process.
in the delivery of the services under the criminal justice system.
Policy Research and Analysis
Statistical Analysis in Criminal Justice Research
A third area of impact of statistical analysis on criminal justice
The use of statistics and statistical analysis on crime and research is in policy research and analysis. Policy analysis seeks to
criminal justice is critical in order for governments to be effective in determine the effects of changes in policy, law or procedure or in
implementing anti-crime programs and protect the well-being of the the environment and to develop appropriate strategies when these
population and assess the social impact of public expenditures and anticipated effects occur. An example would be policy analysts looking
policies. In an increasingly globalized and interconnected world, in the at the effect of procedural changes on the criminal justice process
age of cybercrimes even, the collection of reliable and comprehensive such as when it undertakes research to assess the level of increase in
criminal justice statistics cannot be understated. Countries collect huge judicial capacity when a change in case-filing procedures that reduces
amount of data pertaining to crimes, criminal profiles and related socio- the average case-to-case period by five percent is adopted. Another
economic, political and geographic profile of different communities would be looking at the effects of demographic shifts such as declining
and the country as a whole in order to sustain its respective criminal median population age on the crime rate. Still another example would
justice system. In many cases, the governments undertake extensive be undertaking studies to determine the effect of crime rate shifts on
research using quantitative or qualitative techniques or both in order the workloads of components of the criminal justice system [3].
to generate the data. During the research process, statistical analysis is
required to transform all these data into useful information for effective Policy analysis can either be internal or external. By internal
criminal justice decision-making as well as policy research [2]. analysis, the research questions focus on self-initiated policy or
procedural changes on an agency’s operation. By external analysis, the
Administration of the Criminal Justice System focus can be on the effect on the agency coming from changes in another
Organizations today, whether private or public, rely on information agency’s policies and procedures or of changes in the environment. In
systems in order to effectively manage their business or functions. This both cases whether these are undertaken before or after a change is
is especially true in complex organizations. In the case of criminal assessed, statistical analysis needs to be undertaken.
justice systems, this may be undertaken by a multi-layered organization References
that requires reliable information processed using sound statistical 1. Garrison AH (2009) The Influence of Research on Criminal Justice Policy
analysis in order to effectively monitor and deliver criminal justice Making. Professional Issues in Criminal Justice 4: 9-21.
across a span of communities including the international community.
2. Lane D, Scott D, Hebl M, Guerra R, Osherson D (2009) Introduction to Statistics.
Effective management engages the efficient use of resources in the
administration of criminal justice programs. This requires sound, valid 3. U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs Statistics Division (2003)
Manual for the Development of A System of Criminal Justice Statistics.
and reliable information throughout. All the information processed
through data available allow criminal justice administrators to meet
the objectives and goals of criminal justice programs, such as but not
limited to public safety issues and apprehension of offenders, through a
judicious allocation of resources to include personnel, budget, facilities
and equipment, or the acquisition of any or combination of these. The
availability of regular statistical reports integrating information on
resources with the agency’s concerns will be critical to responding to
the problems that plague the implementation of many criminal justice
programs. More importantly, statistics born out of careful statistical
analysis serve to guide the problem-solving process.

Planning Process in Criminal Justice

In typical criminal justice systems, planning is an essential Citation: Balaba JML (2016) Statistical Analysis In Criminal Justice Research.
J Civil Legal Sci 5: 203. doi: 10.4172/2169-0170.1000203
component in its administration. The planning process allows the

J Civil Legal Sci, an open access journal Volume 5 • Issue 5 • 1000203

ISSN: 2169-0170

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