Criminal Justice (SJU Online) 

When you're looking for statistics on the open web, avoid .com, .net, .info sites, and look very carefully at .org sites to make sure they're legitimate. 

The government publishes a plethora of statistics about all aspects of crime and justice.  Try going to Google's Advanced Search page and within the box labeled Search within a site or domain: limit your search to .gov .  That'll ensure you'll get back only government websites in your results. 

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Bureau of Justice Statistics – A clearinghouse of statistical, quantitative information about the U.S. justice system- statistics about law enforcement, crime and the incarcerated are all included in hundreds of accessible websites and full-text documents.  Clicking on the Publications tab at the top of the page will take you to an extensive list of resources, presented in alphabetical order.  Some titles of interest:

Compendium of Federal Justice Statistics, 1993-2004 – Provides a yearly snapshot of justice statistics broken down by type of crime committed, sentencing, demographics, characteristics, location, etc.

Criminal Victimization, 1996-2006 – Provides a yearly summary of victimization statistics broken down by type of crime, demographic, location, etc.  It also discusses how crime rates have changed compared to previous years.

Capital Punishment, 1993-2006 – Provides a yearly snapshot of capital punishment within the U.S. – number of executions, number of pending executions, methods of execution, demographic breakdowns of those who were executed, etc.

Correctional Populations in the United States, 1993-1998 – Presents yearly breakdown of populations of people under correctional supervision of some kind, from those spending one night in jail to convicted inmates.

Drugs and Crime Facts, 2002 – Statistics about drug-related criminal activity, with information on law enforcement, courts and corrections.

Homicide Trends in the United States: 2002 Updates – Updated statistics about homicide in the U.S., including information on victims and types of homicides.

Prisoners, 1994-2006 – Presents a yearly breakdown of the number of people in state and federal prison at each year’s end, and compares the breakdowns to previous years.

Reentry Trends in the U.S. – Provides statistics on those released from U.S. prisons from 1980-2002.

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online – This site offers hundreds of statistical reports and links on all aspects of crime within the U.S.  Browse documents by topic, starting with the “Sections” list, or search for your topic in the upper right hand corner.

USA.gov – A web portal for access to government information for citizens on a myriad of topics, from defense and international relations to arts and culture.