ONGOING WORK ON DEVELOPING EU-WIDE

COMPARABLE STATISTICS ON CRIME, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND

VICTIMISATION

Dr Marleen De SmedtEUROSTAT

UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Background to European Commission Action Plan

Roles of DG JAI and Eurostat

Needs (as defined by DG JAI) cover : - policy-making - general public interest and concern

Involvement of all significant actors : - collaboration between Commission and Member States - many international and research organisations represented here

UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

The European Statistical System

Close collaboration of national statistical authorities and Eurostat

Statistical Programme Committee - comprises DGs of national statistical offices and Eurostat - responsibility for strategic development of statistics - examines proposals for EU legislation (later submitted to Commission, Council, Parliament)

Directors of Social Statistics : - responsibility for social domains including criminality - regular meetings - written consultations etc. through email and website

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UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Working groups and task forces

Working groups include representatives of all Member States - responsibility for specific domain of statistics - main decisions on methodology and implementation

Task Forces consist of a sub-group of Member States - responsibility for developing specific technical proposals

and for establishment of the methodology - report to working groups

UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Collection of Statistics

Legislative measures - Regulations, Directives, Decisions - typically, framework Regulations of Council &

Parliament - Commission regulations fix exact methods and definitions

• Collection under “gentlemen’s agreements” if no legal base exists

Long-term commitment to legal bases improves clarity and efficiency

UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Place of crime statistics in the statistical system

Included in 2004 Statistical Work Programme

Discussion of Directors of Social Statistics, September 2004

Crime statistics often fall under the responsibility of ministries

Statistical offices sometimes experienced in victimisation surveys (but these are often also done by private organisations)

Need to examine organisation of crime statistics in Member States

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UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Key issues for development of EU crime statistics

Requirements - type and occurrence of crime, and structure - response of criminal justice systems

Plan and co-operate with data suppliers - existing channels and maybe new structures - procedures exist for secure transmission of confidential data Different sources available :

- police records; need for metadata - victimisation surveys (ICVS)

Need to embed crime statistics into larger statistical system

UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Action Plan

Development : - forum of national experts, Brussels, 9 July 2004 - Directors of Social Statistics, Luxembourg, 30 Sept. 2004

- ongoing development with other significant actors

Build on existing work : - European Sourcebook on Crime and Criminal Justice - UNODC Survey on Crime Trends

- UK Home Office Statistical Bulletin - HEUNI (affiliated to UN) - European Crime Prevention Network

UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Action Plan

Comparability : - international comparability difficult because systems differ - comparability of trends is a slightly less ambitious aim

Methodology : - core set of definitions of crimes - definition of statistics to be collected Objective :

- coherent and integrated system - cover both volume crime and organised crime - include reported crimes, criminal justice and victimisation

UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004

Summary of the major steps to be taken

Establish co-ordination at EU level Establish co-ordination with non-EU organisations Establish consulting structures

(expert committee, task force) Stocktaking : establish basis for developing definitions

(inventory of definitions of crime types and enforcement measures)

Develop indicators (use of existing data, develop methodology for new indicators)

Use data from research bodies and studies (EUSTOC..) Take steps towards establishment of legal basis

UNECE-UNODC Conference, Geneva, 3-5 November 2004